Civil Rights By the Riverside

    Hey there! Welcome back to my blogging page about African American literature. In this blog, I want to discuss Richard Wright’s “Down By the Riverside”, a powerful story that is part of a collection of novellas called Uncle Tom’s Children. To me, what makes this novella so powerful is Wright’s unique usage of naturalism to protest against the racial segregation of the Jim Crow south. For those unfamiliar, naturalism follows the idea of humans struggling as helpless animals against the surrounding natural environment, which reduces their individual freedom. Oftentimes, humans are portrayed as succumbing to their surroundings, like in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. Yeah, generally very pessimistic. Wright adapts this idea a little bit, using it in combination with the environment of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 to turn the flood into a metaphor for the systemic racism in the South. Though in a very harsh and “hopeless” way.

    Let’s first begin by observing how Wright relates naturalism to his story, through the main character Mann. One of the best instances in which we can observe how Wright uses naturalism is towards the beginning of the story, in which Mann is becoming delusional from the conditions of the flood:

“He looked out; his house was about twelve feet above the water. And water was everywhere. Yellow water. Swirling water. Droning water. For four long days and nights it had been there, flowing past. For a moment he had the illusion that that water had always been there, and would always be there. Yes, it seemed that the water had always been there and this was just the first time he had noticed it. Mabbe somebody jus dropped them houses n tree down inter tha watah . . . He felt giddy and a nervous shudder went through him. He rubbed his eyes. Lawd, Ah got fever. His head ached and felt heavy; he wanted sleep and rest” (Wright 56).

After so long, Mann is slowly succumbing to the forces of the flood, and in this case, more mentally than physically. Specifically, Wright describes how the flood water is endless, everywhere, and almost permanent, making the flood feel like more than something that's temporary. Wright creates the sense that Mann is encapsulated within a much larger and stronger force. 

    Mann also experiences other forces that act similarly to the flood. As Mann adventures throughout the story, he experiences racism and white supremacy that seem to be inescapable, almost surrounding him as does the flood. Some notable instances of this is how Mann is forced to work on the levee amongst other Black Americans despite the harsh conditions, or when Mr. Heartfield completely disregards any of Mann’s family’s conditions, focusing instead on their race and their stealing of his boat. With how Wright portrays the flood using naturalism, he connects the flood to the equally overpowering force of racism in the Jim Crow South. Much like in the idea of naturalism, Mann succumbs both to nature but also to the racism that surrounds him. Mann holds no individual power to overcome any of these forces, and especially with the ending of the story, Wright’s story provides a pretty different perspective on the New Negro movement of the time and instead points towards the Civil Rights movement.

    Although Wright’s “Down By the Riverside” is quite bleak, its bitterness speaks a lot to the Civil Rights movement by refusing to soften the violence and cruelty of Jim Crow in the South. The straightforward and unsentimental writing works to protest against the very systems that keep Black people down rather than offering hope through uplift. Instead of presenting the suffering of Black people in the South in a way that is easy to empathize with, Wright showcases how racism shapes every part of Mann’s attempt to survive even during crisis. He does this in order to have readers realize how deeply racism is built into ordinary life, to where people like Mann don’t even consider opposing it no matter the conditions. Wright’s bitterness also feels powerful because it rejects the idea that Black progress can only come through improving one’s self determination and respectability. To me, this novella is one of the best anti-Jim Crow stories that puts forth its purpose in a blunt manner through a unique perspective in comparison to others of this time period.