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Richard Wright, American Hunger, and the Communist Party
Richard Wright's flirtation with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) was not based
on idealism, strong beliefs, or rational judgment, but rather on Wright's need
to take off his mask and share his intelligence with the world. We see no
evidence that Wright looked to Communism because of its ideals. Instead,
Wright made his political foray because of his yearning to break out of his
shell and reveal his real self to others.
Richard Wright lived most of his life through a mask. Rarely letting down his
guard:
The essence of the irony of the plight of the Negro in America, to me, is that
he is doomed to live in isolation...[1] (p. 14)
Though I had fled the pressure of the South, my outward conduct had not
changed. I had been schooled to present an unalteringly smiling face and
I continued to do so despite the fact that my environment allowed more open
expression. I hid my feelings and avoided all relationships with whites that
might cause me to reveal them.[1] (p. 14-15)
Here we see that Wright felt that he is trapped behind his mask and could not
express his feelings. Unlike some, Wright actually did have strong emotions
as we learn earlier: "All my life I had done nothing but feel and cultivate
my feelings [1]" (p. 13). Even though Wright was now in the North, he could
not even engage in an intelligent conversation with anyone besides himself
because of a combination of societal pressures and his own inner anxieties.
Bradley [3] concurs:
These observations seems to reflect more than they illuminate; to me they
reveal a man horribly crippled, uneasy with emotion, unaccustomed to warmth.
The causes of that crippling are not totally clear. (p. 70)
The illness that Wright suffered was not one with an easy cure. Though the
symptoms were apparent enough for even Wright to notice, Bradley [3] points
out that the causes were not clear. Societal pressures, like the underlying
racism in Chicago, may have been a large factor. In Chicago, in the 1920's
and 1930's, if you were black and you were lucky, maybe you would have the
opportunity to become a mailman. If you were black, you could not dream.
You could not even dream of becoming a professional baseball player. Even
today, Jesse Jackson has said that Chicago is the most racist city in
America.
Wright was confused and unable to understand his inner emotions. Withdrawn,
Wright longed to open up to someone, but he did not have that someone.
I still had no friends, casual or intimate, and felt the need for none. I had
developed a self sufficiency that kept me distant from others, emotionally
and psychologically...Emotionally, I was withdrawn from the objective world;
my desires floated loosely within the walls of my consciousness, contained
and controlled.
...Even though I reacted deeply, my true feelings raced along underground,
hidden.[1] (p. 20)
Wright claimed that he had no need for friends but we know he only lied to
himself. People as intelligent as Richard Wright need an outlet for
conversation and others to stimulate their minds. Wright contradicts
himself less than a page later:
I did not act in this fashion deliberately; I did not prefer this kind
of relationship with people. I wanted a life in which there was a constant
oneness of feeling with others, in which the basic emotions of life were
shared...But I knew that no such thing was possible in my environment.[1]
(p. 20-21) [italics mine]
Wright did not just want "a life in which there was a constant oneness of
feelings with others," he needed such a life. He had a strong need for
other people and for a sense of belonging even though he initially acted
in the opposite fashion. To live this life, Wright had to believe in
something larger than himself. Wright had to associate himself with a
higher being. Because he had already discounted God and religion, Wright
gravitated toward the Communist party.
Wright joined the Party not because he admired socialism, but because he
needed people and because it was a vehicle for him to cultivate his writing.
Through the John Reed Club, Wright was able to show the world, or at least
other people associated with the Communist Party USA, his intellect and
insight.
Not only did Wright not believe in Communism, but he made little effort to
learn what the Party really stood for. Wright had no trouble studying
Dostoevski or Sociology to cultivate his writings, but he could not find
the time to read Marx or Moore or even to pick up a newspaper or an
encyclopedia and learn about Trotsky.
... I stammered, trying not to reveal my ignorance of politics, for I had
not followed the details of Trotsky's fight against the Communist party
of the Soviet Union ...[1] (p. 81)
McCall [5] points out that Wright had little in common with the Communist
party:
Doctrinal differences don't matter; ideas themselves scarcely matter; all
that counts is the blessed new feeling of belonging [5] (p. 363)
What did Wright believe? What were his political views? Did he even agree
with socialism? American Hunger does not make any attempt to answer these
questions. Wright believed in the individual rather than the collective
body, an idea foreign to most members of the Communist party in those days.
The Communists were not looking to cultivate free thinkers - people who
they felt belonged to the bourgeoisie. Wright believed that one could not
be free until one could freely think. CPUSA was looking for men and women
of action, they were looking for soldiers. Wright was a man of action, but
he was not a soldier. A soldier shoots without asking "why?" A true member
of the Communist Party did not read books, a real member worked in the
factory by day and led protest marches by night. The Communists had two
basic essentials: food and shelter. Wright needed something else - he
needed books.
The Party demanded that Wright subordinate his artistic goals for their
needs. Members attacked Wright's intellect as no good for their cause,
a cause that Wright either did not believe in or did not fully understand.
But Wright made a conscious, calculated, and rational decision to join the
Communist party. Wright used the Party as an umbilical cord to nurse his
writing and nurture his soul. Wright wanted to use CPUSA to make friends
and reveal his thoughts. Wright, however, had no intention of being used
by the Communist party - especially by those who did not appreciate his
talents. American Hunger reveals that Wright was mistrusted because he
was deemed an "intellectual." At one point Wright attends his first
Communist unit meeting and his serious report is followed by laughter
by the rank and file of those in attendance:
During the following days I had learned through some discreet questioning
that I had seemed a fantastic element to the black Communists. I was
shocked to hear that I, who had been only to grammar school, had been
classified as an intellectual. What was an intellectual? I had never
heard the word used in the sense in which it was applied to me. I had
thought that they might refuse me on the grounds that I was not
politically advanced; I had thought they might place me on probation;
I had thought they might say I would have to be investigated. But they
had simply laughed.[1] (p. 77)
The John Reed Club filled a large void which allowed Wright's writing to
feel and flourish. The Club was why Wright had associated himself with
CPUSA in the first place - it was a forum for thoughtful discussion and
it provided outlets for writers to publish their work. Wright's Communist
foray was all but over after the Communists decided to eliminate the John
Reed Club in the New York Conference:
Debate started and I rose and explained what clubs had meant to young writers
and begged for their continuance. I sat down amid silence. Debate was closed.
The vote was called. The room filled with uplifting hands to dissolve. Then
came the call for those who disagreed and my hand went up alone.[1] (p. 98)
Wright used the Communist party as a tool to dislodge the mask he had worn
for so long. Initially, CPUSA liberated him and enabled Wright to express
his feelings. However, it soon became apparent that the Party wanted to go
further and replace Wright's old mask with a new mask of their creation.
They sought to apply a filter to his mind which would sift through Wright's
thoughts and only allow him to express such feelings that were in line with
Communist mentality. Leibowitz [4] agrees:
Any authority that usurps his liberty and brushes aside his feelings is
intolerable to Wright4 [ ](p. 351)
Wright had come too far to be pressured to give up his individuality. And
his sense of himself, which initially attracted him to the Party, is what
led to his Communist demise. Ironically, Wright ultimately left the Party
for the same reason he joined it - to reach his artistic goals.
An invisible wall was building slowly between me and the people with whom
I had cast my lot. Well, I would show them that all men who wrote books
were not their enemies. I would communicate the meaning of their lives
to people whom they could not reach; then, surely, my intentions would
merit their confidence... I had to win the confidence of people who had
been mislead so often that they were afraid of anybody who differed from
themselves. Yet deep down I feared their militant ignorance.[1] (p. 78)
Leibowitz [4] remarks:
That the Communists did not respect individuality wounded Wright in his
secret spot: his ambition to be a writer.[4] (p. 349)
Wright probably would have never become a great writer if not for his foray
into Communism. The John Reed Club, the intelligent discussions, and even
his experience with petty politics gave him the tools, the vision, and the
confidence to write. Wright's entire life was destroyed by the Communist
party in a way, however. During the Red Scare, he chose to leave the
country rather than testify against those people who had oppressed him.
Wright's exodus from the United States ultimately lead to his life's
decline,
The Communist party has been a mainstay with many of the great African-
American writers. As recent as the 1980's, Angela Davis was an active
Communist. Davis, a great writer, ran for Vice President under the
CPUSA ticket both in 1980 and in 1984. However, even Davis' involvement
became tragic. Gus Hall, the Communist party boss, purged her from the
party in 1991 after she complained about racial quotas.[6]
As for Wright, he wrote half a book in the prime of his life about his
experience with Communism. His political experiences and traumas left a
profound mark on his conscious. It is as though he thought he found
himself only to realize that his search was far from over:
Humbly now, with no vaulting dream of achieving a vast unity, I wanted
to try to build a bridge of words between me and the world outside,
that world which seemed so distant and elusive that it seemed unreal.[1]
(p. 135)
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Appendix - Bibliography
1. Wright, Richard. American Hunger. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1977.
2. Reilly, John M. (p. 213-227). Critical Essays on Richard Wright. Edited
by Yoshinobu Hakutani. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1982.
3. Bradley, David. "American Hunger (1977)," (p. 69-71). Richard Wright -
Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
and K.A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993
4. Leibowitz, Herbert. "?Arise, Ye Pris'ners of Starvation': Richard
Wright's Black Boy and American Hunger," (p. 328-358). Richard Wright -
Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
and K.A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993
5. McCall, Dan. "Wright's American Hunger," (p. 359-368). Richard Wright -
Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
and K.A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993
6. "California Honors Communist." Campus Fall 1995, Volume 7: 10-11