Responding to Richard Wright

Reaching toward the Reader

“…Wright was not able to depict a Black man in America sufficiently in Baldwin's view, because Wright was, like Bigger Thomas, "trapped by an unrewarding rage which prevent[ed] him from voicing his concerns about the social conditions in America more productively. " 5 The Wright reader's view, therefore, could only be of the Black man as "debased. " 6 "This dehumanization of the African American" was, according to Craven, one of Baldwin's core criticisms of Wright.…”

“…8 Craven asserts that Baldwin is here "laying the groundwork for later themes. " 9 I would add to this viewpoint that Baldwin is also signaling his intention to employ rhetorical choices that will support those themes. Baldwin wanted to write in a way that would humanize the Black man in America for a white reader.…”