Richard Wright, in his autobiography Black Boy, wants not only to tell the story of his life growing up as a black boy and man in the United States under a racist cloud, he also wants to issue a warning to both blacks and whites in this country. He is not trying to portray all whites as evil or all blacks as good, but instead seeks to show how both whites and blacks suffer mightily by being on both the giving and the receiving of racist behavior and treatment. His message is far more humanistic than moralistic. Even when he proposes the political remedy of communism, the message comes from his heart rather than from his fist. He certainly wants to touch the conscience of whites in the United States and hopes that they can change their racist attitudes and practices, but above all he wants to touch their hearts and their humanity. As he writes on the last page of the book:
Yes, the whites were as miserable as their black victims, I thought. If this country can't find its way to a human path, if it can't inform conduct with a deep sense of life, then all of us, black as well as white, are going down the same drain ((Wright 453).
Wright is powerfully and movingly effective in his effort to portray his own life and express his dire fears about the future of the America racially and spiritually primarily because he is so honest about his own experiences and feelings and so humanistic about the conclusions he draws. He does not condemn whites but tries to show how both blacks and whites suffer from racism. Both black and white readers, therefore, will be deeply touched by his book and, if they have open hearts and minds, will certainly be moved toward a more loving approach to their own and one another's suffering.
The technique of autobiography is particularly effective because it allows Wright to personalize his story and the candidness of his account includes self-criticism which, again, must soften the reader's heart and lea...