Black Boy
 Literary Criticism  

The following resources will assist you in completing your critical essay on Richard Wright's Black Boy. 

Be sure to record your information on the research notes page.

 Reference




How to Cite

   Novels for Students (REF 808 NOV Vol. 1)
Each volume of Novels for Students contains easily accessible and content-rich discussions of the literary and historical background of works from various cultures and time periods. Each novel included in this new resource was specially chosen by an advisory panel of teachers and librarians.

Within the pages of Novels for Students, young researchers will discover everything they need to complete homework assignments and lead classroom discussions. Here's what they'll find at their fingertips:

  • Introductory essays that place each novel in its historical and literary context
  • Easy-to-understand discussions of the novel's themes, plot and characters
  • Analysis of the novel's literary construction
  • Age-appropriate critical commentary on the novel's significance for our times
  • A literary glossary that defines difficult terms
  • A timeline that juxtaposes literary and world events
  • Illustrations
  • Additional sources for further study

See also:

 Non-fiction

Richard Wright's Black Boy (813.52 RIC)
Black Boy is a firsthand account of what it was like to come of age in the Jim Crow South. Richard Wright’s story is an emotional journey through violence, abandonment, neglect, and hunger, as well as blatant racial discrimination. Richard Wright's Black Boy details the themes and history of this seminal American classic with thought-provoking critical essays, a comprehensive chronology of Wright's life and times, and an easy-to-follow index.
 
  • Critical essays reflecting a variety of schools of criticism
  • Notes on the contributing critics, a chronology of the author's life, and an index
  • An introductory essay by Harold Bloom.  
    •

    See also:

    The following online databases will require user ID and Passwords for use off site.  Please refer to PHS LMC Online Database Log In Information Handout.

     Online Databases

    		  Contemporary Literary Criticism
    Contemporary Literary Criticism--Select is an extensive collection of critical essays on contemporary authors. Each CLC--Select entry contains a biographical/critical introduction, listing of principal works and sources for further study.
         

    		LitFinder for Schools
    LitFinder for Schools     includes full-text poetry, short stories, essays, plays, and speeches, including 126,500 poems, 5,000 short stories, 2,800 essays, 1,800 speeches, and 1,000 plays. Also includes biographies, work summaries, photographs, and a glossary.

    		Scriber's Writers Series
    Scribner Writer's Series includes 15-20 page signed essays on more than 1,600 authors and literary genres drawn from the acclaimed Scribner print series.
    Student Resource Center Gold - Offers more than 1,100 full-text periodicals and newspapers, primary sources, creative works, and multimedia, including hours of video and audio clips and pod casts.  (see also, Discovering Authors)

    		The Twayne Authors Series - (World, English, and US Authors)   
    Comprises 600 full-text titles from the Twayne Literary Masters series, 200 each from Twayne World, US, and English Authors.


     Internet Resources

    General Websites

    Internet Public Library - Online Literary Criticism - Richard Wright:
    http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?au=wri-236

    Richard Right - http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=1&
    locID=s2153&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=wright%2C+richard&TI=black+boy

    Richard Wright - Black Boy: http://www.itvs.org/RichardWright/

    Richard Wright - A Guide to Literary Criticism on the Internet for Richard Wright: www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/WrightRichard.htm
    Database & Website Articles
    African American  Contemporary Literary Criticism - "I Thought I Knew These People': Richard Wright & the Afro-American Literary Tradition" ; http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=
     d&c=4&locID=s2153&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=wright&TI=black+boy

     The Power of Blackness: Richard Wright Re-Writes Moby Dick: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2838/is_4_33/ai_59024885
    Feminist

    Have a site that fits this category?  Let us know about it at: PHS Library Media Center
    Historical Biographical An Apprenticeship to Life and Art - Narrative Design in Wright's Black Boy: http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=
    5&locID=s2153&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=wright%2C+richard&TI=black+boy
    Marxist Nationalism, Marxism, and Africa-American Literature Between the Wars - A New Pandora's Box: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-128869451.html

    Richard Wright - An Introduction to the Man and His Works: http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&c=
    2&locID=s2153&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=wright%2C+richard&TI=black+boy
    Psychological From No Man's Land to Mother-Land: Emasculation and Nationalism in Richard Wright's Depression Era Urban Novels: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2838/is_3_33/ai_58056040
    Other

    Have a site that fits this category?  Let us know about it at: PHS Library Media Center

    If you don't find what you're looking for in any of the sites above,
    try your own keyword search using the following tips...

     Internet Search Tips

    1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex: www.yahoo.com, or www.google.com, etc.
       
    2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
       
    3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two parts such as: "Richard Wright", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites about Richard Wright as opposed to all of the sites containing the word Richard plus all of the sites containing the word Wright.
       
    4. If you would like to search for something specific about Richard Wright, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma, followed by a space and you other search term.  For instance; if I wanted to find literary criticism of Richard Wright's works, I would enter the following:
       

       "Richard Wright", "literary criticism", racism,
       

    5. Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
       
    6. Be sure to critically evaluate Internet sources.  UC Berkley Library's Evaluating Webpages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask is an excellent source to help you critique the quality of websites in the following areas:
    7. Remember: if you choose to use any information (text or graphics) found on the Internet, online databases, or print material, you must cite every resource you used.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.
       

    Created by Leslie Kelly, English Teacher and Liza Zandonella, Library Media Specialist.

     

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