Wright's Communist Bias
How did Richard Wright's affiliation with the communist party affect his depiction of the communists in Native Son especially Jan and Max. Wright spend nearly eight years writing for the communists in Chicago, whether it was for one of their many magazines, or for a novel promoting communism. He formed close relationships with many of their members, and only left the party after having a falling out with a select few of the leaders. This could have influenced his depiction of the communist party in Native Son. On one hand he probably still was very fond of the communists, and would have written them in a better light, or on the other hand he could have sent a draft of the book to some of his former colleagues who could have then pressured him into making his depiction more favorable.
I don't personally know very much about what the communist party was actually like in 1940s Chicago, but the books depiction of them is very favorable, which combined with Wright's connections seems very suspicious. He paints the communists as a group of people from all different racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds, all of whom are extremely friendly and willing to try to "help" Bigger as much as they can. He heavily emphasizes the fervor in which the police try to blame the communists for anything bad that happens, almost creating kind of an oppressed hero feeling. The first main passage where we get to see the communist characters is when Bigger is driving around with Jan and Mary. Now, one could say that this passage is somewhat critical of communism, as they continuously make Bigger feel extremely uncomfortable even as they preach equality as well as praise communism. But this honestly feels more like a criticism of their personal naivety, instead of the communists as a whole. Especially since Max later seems to very clearly understand what is making Bigger so uncomfortable, it seems like a criticism of them as individuals.
The most important point where Wright depicts communism in a favorable light is in Book Three, after Bigger has been captured. First, he depicts Jan as such a nice guy who doesn't blame Bigger at all for Mary's death, and just wants to do his best to understand and help him. We even commented in class about how odd it was that he was so forgiving without even knowing any of the details. Then Max comes in, and becomes almost a knight in shining armor for Bigger. He sits down and talks to Bigger, then devotes a good portion of his time to defending Bigger as well as he can. There is never any talk of him receiving anything in return for this tremendous act of kindness, and he even stays with Bigger all the way to the end. While this is clearly ideal for Bigger, and it would be great if there were people who would always do things like that, it's extremely unrealistic. Whatever Max's personal belief in communism, it is extremely unlikely that he would go to such lengths for someone he doesn't know who has so much against him. Especially at his own personal risk, and after living in an environment where everyone is taught to hate black people. I think that Wright's depiction of both Jan and Max are almost fantastical, and were heavily biased due to social pressure in regards to his friendships and loyalty to the idea of communism, and we must consider this bias when talking about the book.
I never really thought about Wright's connection to communism throughout the novel so it's cool that you brought it up. I definitely saw flashes promoting communism but it never really occurred to me that Wright himself might be actually promoting the group rather than including it as just an element of the story. I agree with you that Wright may have been criticizing the naivety of Jan and Mary rather than communism, but on another note, you mention that Max seems like a character used to promote communism and put communists in a good light. While I definitely think that there's a possibility of bias to communism within the book that may be painting them out to be greater than they really are, I also think that Max served a greater purpose than just Bigger's knight in shining armor and as a good representation of communism. I think Max's purpose, like we mentioned in class, was to explain Bigger's thought process and emotions to the reader and Max was a way for Wright to speak to the reader. In addition, I think Max wasn't just defending Bigger for like Bigger's own sake, but rather to protect the slander and defamation of the communist party because if Bigger was torn apart in court, the communist party would also be receiving some backlash due to their supposed connection to him. So in that sense, Max's kindness was not completely unmotivated.
ReplyDeleteOverall I agree with what you are saying but I also think that Wright showed how the unenlightened communists (like Jan and Mary at the beginning) who make up a large portion of the communist party can be unaware of some of the social implications they are surrounded by. Wright definitely depicts this at the beginning before Jan develops as a character. Wright also apparently faced racism in the communist party at the time which might have influenced his depiction. If you want another perspective I recommend you check out Charlotte's blog post.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it "suspicious" that Wright depicts the American Communist Party in a favorable light? He was indeed in the midst of becoming disillusioned with American communism, but he still understood that it was the only political organization in the country that was even talking about racial justice and civil rights at this time. There are critical aspects to his portrayal--especially with Jan, as a somewhat naive racial idealist--but he's also giving the Party its due for the real community organizing it engaged in in neighborhoods like Chicago's South Side. Max's defense of Bigger (for free, pro bono) has historical precedent in the CPUSA's defense of the Scotsboro Boys, a group of young black men in Alabama who were accused of sexually assaulting a white woman. The CPUSA organized massive anti-lynching campaigns and sought to draw attention to issues of police brutality and voting rights. In many respects--despite the ways the novel is critical of American communism--the depiction of Max and Jan (and the media and police bias against "reds") is in keeping with the novel's historical realism. The fact that Bigger is fully aware that he can scapegoat Jan as a communist reflects how widespread the popular bias *against* American communists was: Jan and Bigger both are subjected to pretty vicious, knee-jerk vitriol from the mainstream capitalist press.
ReplyDeleteNow that you've mentioned that it might be a criticism of their naivety, I wonder if Wright wrote native Son in part towards members of the communist party. In "How Bigger was Born" Wright talks about many of the characters being based off real people he met in his life. I'm sure Wright met people like Jan and Mary during his experience with the Communist party. If he had people like that in mind as he wrote his characters, he probably wanted them to see the way they impacted his idea of them.
ReplyDeleteRather than a positive depiction of the communist party, I feel like Wright however subtly (or unknowing as he described not knowing what his writing would be or mean until the words "spilled onto the page") depicts them in a negative light tinged with ingenuity and hypocrisy. This is especially apparent to me after reading the past few chapters of Invisible Man, which mirror Bigger's interactions with Jan and Mary in many ways. Even despite their "amiability" toward Bigger's "people", Jan and Mary still stereotype him in many ways, assuming things about him before he can really express his own opinions and identity to them. There may be the same question raised by the narrator in Invisible Man, whether it's right for one to assume someone is entirely politically incorrect and a terrible person because they invoke racial stereotypes in form of microaggression. In the case of Jan and Mary and the "brothers" in Invisible Man, I feel they are deliberate enough to be considered offensive. On the subject of ingenuity, Jan and Mary see Bigger as simply a political pawn, just as Brother Jack and Emma seem to, questioning whether he's "black enough". They are unable to see past his race and even if they can, they cannot put it aside.
ReplyDeleteWright is absolutely biased because of his ties to the Communist Party. He really enjoyed his time as a Communist, and remained aligned with the political far left even after he left the Party. He was actually still a communist when he wrote "Native Son," so that is probably why communism is so idealized. However, there are also some depictions of communists in "Native Son" that are rooted in fact. The Communist Party strongly advocated for racial equality before any other political groups really did, so Wright's endorsement of the Communist Party and the positive perspective he puts on them is justified. About Max: he is trying to make a point. It doesn't matter if he knows Bigger or not, because he wants to try to show the public the long-term and systemic oppression of African-Americans. Max does politicize Bigger and his case, which is not a great thing, but he doesn't care about financial compensation because he is so deeply invested in his fight for equality that raised awareness would be enough compensation for him.
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