The Protest Novel: Examining Civil Rights Era Literature Through Richard Wright and Lorrain Hansberry
“Down By the Riverside,” a socialist-driven naturalistic short story by Richard Wright confronts the intense white supremacist ideology of 20th century America amidst the flooding of the Mississippi River. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorrain Hansberry, likewise, confronts American racism and segregation in the urban setting of Chicago, IL through a liberal-inflected realistic point of view. Though both are prominent examples of protest literature, they differ markedly in their diagnosis of American society. Wright, a socialist at the time of the publication of Uncle Tom’s Children, viewed the American market-based economy and society as unsalvageable and unable to create a just society for African-Americans. He drew a parallel between the Mississippi River flood and segregationist society (both devastating issues converging on the protagonist Brother Mann) to depict the unrelenting violence and harshness of the latter. Wright confronted the fundamental unfairness of the ...