Bright and Morning Star (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Richard Wright
- First Published: 1938
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The 1930's
- Setting: Near Memphis, Tennessee
- Principal Characters: Johnny-Boy, Sue, Sug, Reva, Booker
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, Power, personal or social, Class conflict, Communism or communists, Racism, Race, Police, South or Southerners, Interracial relationships, Betrayal, 1930’s, Violence, Death or dying, Old age or elderly people
- Locales: Memphis, TN
The Story
In the first of the story's six sections, Sue, an elderly and dignified black woman, recalls her burdensome life and efforts to survive the death of her husband and the births of her sons, Sug and Johnny-Boy. Both sons believe in the promise of the Communist Party to end strife between the races and economic classes. Sug, however, is imprisoned for his party activities, and Johnny-Boy, like many Richard Wright characters, is fleeing from white people who seek to identify Communist Party members in order to destroy both them and the party. Sue and Reva, a white woman...
[The entire page is 1311 words long]
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