Prospects - Emerson

“But the best read naturalist who lends an entire and devout attention to truth, will see that there remains much to learn of his relation to the world, and that it is not to be learned by any addition or subtraction or other comparison of known quantities, but is arrived at by untaught sallies of the spirit, by a continual self-recovery, and by entire humility.”


So in the last chapter, Prospects, Emerson commences with reflections on nature. I really like this part (of the first paragraph) because Emerson pinpoints what makes a great naturalist. He says that “the best read” naturalists is someone who will devout their attention to truth and try to learn as much as they can about the world and that person's relation to it. Emerson also says that learning your relation to world “arrives”. You can’t learn your relationship to the world by your known qualities, but rather its by unassuming nature and humbleness. I think that’s a very honest assessment, and it’s true. Nothing ever comes straight to you, it happens when you least expect it.

Empire State Building in Bedroom

So when I first saw this picture, Camera Obscura Image of the Empire State Building in Bedroom, by Abelardo Morell it sparked my interest and grabbed my attention. I've studied Morell's work in past photography classes and he truly is a talented photographer. What I love most about his work is how he emphasis's the use of lines and there is depth to his photographs.

In my opinion, this photograph it's just really, really interesting to look at. There is an image of the Empire State Building reflected onto a bed. To Morell, this building must have some sort of significance in his life and he is attracted to it. When I look at the photograph, it makes me think of how, when you are dreaming, nothing is ever clear - it's almost upside down - and that's how it is portrayed here.

Realization

What is Wright’s realization at the end of the novel? Do you agree with it?

At the end of the novel, Wright realizes and comes to the understanding that creation, writing, is the only way to make sense of a senseless world. For him, writing is the only way to make sense of meaningless suffering. He feels that he needs to publicize his beliefs because no one is away. Wright decides that he is going to keep on trying to get people to understand that the only way they are united is how they messing up society with race. Wright really has the most hope he has ever had throughout the entire book, and yet, he is the loneliest.

I think it’s a great thing that Wright has hope at the end of book, however I think it’s really sad that writing is the only way for him to make sense of the world. No one was ever there for him and now, for him to get up and think that he can get people to understand is a really difficult task – I’m surprised is he has that much hope really. I think it’s a good way to get on with the rest of his life and not focus on the past.


P.S. Black Boy was a great book and I'm definitely going to re-read it at a slower pace during the summer.

Opposite Poles

Do you agree with Wright’s theory that artists and politicians stand at opposite poles?

I agree with Wright’s theory that artists and politicians stand at opposite poles, especially when it comes to the Communist party. The two really have a completely different way of life and how they approach gathering groups of people. Politicians propagate a system; they group people into categories by certain factors such as class or importance. Most of the time a politician will act on something based on how it could advance their career; they don’t look at how situations could be for the interest of the people. An artist on the other hand, strives for something that would better the people and not do any harm. What they want to do is educate and improve people through art. It's really interesting to look at how the two go about influencing people and goals because they are opposites.

"Perhaps even a kick was better than uncertainty"

Even more so than in Part I, Wright the author – not Wright the person in the text – is speaking to us through these passages in parenthesis. Pick such a passage from this chapter and comment.


“While working in Memphis I had stood aghast as Shorty had offered himself to be kicked by the white man; but now, while working in Chicago, I was learning that perhaps even a kick was better than uncertainty… I had elected, in my fevered search for honorable adjustments to the American scene, not to submit and in doing so I had embraced the daily horror of anxiety, of tension, of eternal disquiet. I could now sympathize with- though I could never bring myself to approve- those tortured blacks who had given up and had gone to their white tormentors and had said: “Kick me, if that’s all there is for me; kick me and let me feel at home, let me have peace”” (Wright, p.265).

This is a very powerful passage Wright put in parenthesis. When he began working in Chicago he rethinks his position on blacks accepting degradation and their willingness towards it. At first when Shorty told a white man to kick him the ass for money, Wright is horrified. However now that he is in the North and is uncertain, he begins to have sympathy for blacks who lower themselves and their standards in order to get by. Wright begins to understand the intuitiveness of the black community and their ability to know what it takes to get by.

A Positive Change for Wright

Is the change Wright sets in motion at the end of Part I a positive or negative change?

I think the change Wright sets at the end of Part I is a positive change. He makes the decision to move to Chicago with his mother, brother, and Aunt Maggie. When he was living in the South, he was heading down a dangerous path. Wright wasn’t listening to what people were telling him to do which was a problem because black people who do this end up lynched. He was trying to stand up to something bigger than himself. Making the decision to move to the North was a good thing because it's so much safer. In the North, Wright goes unnoticed and he among so many other kinds of people. However, I think Richard will find that racism is still prominent and will have problems similar to those in the South.

Moral Dilemma

Write about Wright's moral dilemma regarding stealing and comment whether he is justified in doing what he does.


Wright's has a moral dilemma regarding stealing and I feel that he is justified. He steals because he has this need to better himself and get out. I also feel that Wright is justified because he is doing what he has to do to survive – he has good intentions. If he stayed and worked to get money, it would have taken forever. I think in the chapter, Wright even mentions that it would take him at least 2 years to come up with that kind of money, and in that time, other things would have happened and he very well would have given up. He steals to get out in the quickest way possible.

Pressure to Cover Take 2

What does Griggs mean by ‘learn how to live in the south’?

Wright certainly is an interesting character. He keeps on going out and getting another job, but then he quits. He keeps losing jobs because he does now want to buy into the system; he doesn’t want to be stepped on by whites. It goes back to his conversation with his principal in the previous chapter when he calls him a “bought man”. Wright tells his principal that the white society has bought him out and be has become part of the system of repression. Wright doesn’t want to allow that to happen to him.

So when he gets a job from his buddy Griggs, he tells him straight up that the reason why he can’t keep a job is because Wright needs to learn how to live in the south. Griggs tells him that although he doesn’t believe in the system he needs to at least at like it - which is to say Wright needs to act as though a regular black person in that time would. He needs to put himself below whites or else he will in fact get lynched. This really upsets Richard because it’s giving in and that is everything he is against. He tries but he simply can’t cover who he is.

Justified to Say What He Wants

Is Wright justified in refusing to say the speech?

Of course Wright is justified in refusing to say the speech his principal gave him. If I were named valedictorian of my class, and was told I could not give my own speech, but rather say someone else’s, I wouldn’t do it. The principal threatens to keep Wright from graduating if he gives the speech, but he persists to give his own speech. Richard’s life has been full of discouragement from his family and the community, and this time he decides to take a stand against it.

What is really interesting about what happened at graduation was the reaction of the crowd. Some people clapped and tried to shake his hand, others invited him to parties. The audience did not push him down from the stand they were applauding him, a first in Wright’s life.

Lighting the Fire in Wright

When money gets extremely tight at Granny’s house, Uncle Tom and his family move in exchange for some extra cash. Wright doesn’t exactly like his Uncle though and this leads to a huge fight.

One morning, Uncle Tom wakes up Wright and asked for the time. Wright tells him however, Uncle Tom does not believe it’s accurate – which is odd because why would you ask the time and then not believe it. So Wright checks again and tells him that the time he had given was close enough in a tone that was perceived as rude and “sassy”. This gets Tom VERY angry and he vows that he is going to teach Wright a lesson. This just lights the fire in Wright, seeing as he was taught by his mother to fight, especially to those who beat him. Wright fights off his Uncle with two razor blades and yells at his Uncle for having no right to tell him what to do. Wright made sure to scare his Uncle Tom enough so that they would never have this type of confrontation again.