Difference Between Steinbeck And Richard Wright

John Steinbeck and Richard Wright both lived in times that George Orwell would say compelled them to write as a form of historical impulse-- because they were deeply upset by the world around them, they wanted others to understand their distress. Both writers, though their motivations and methods were unique, sought to change the times they lived in. The question, however, is how true social change is achieved-- does progress begin with the stimulation of an individual or through movement of the masses? Although no one person can have a significant systematic influence, the masses that do change systems are built from individuals. The more successful rebel writer, then, is one that can impact each individual reader enough to spur them to create …show more content…
While both In Dubious Battle and Uncle Tom’s Children present communism as a mode of social progress, Wright’s focus is undeniably racial and subtly more hopeful. In a 1944 essay for The Atlantic Monthly, he wrote about his communist enlightenment: “It was not the economics of Communism, nor the great power of trade unions, nor the excitement of underground politics that claimed me; my attention was caught by the similarity of the experiences of workers in other lands, by the possibility of uniting scattered but kindred peoples into a whole. It seemed to me that here at last, in the realm of revolutionary expression, Negro experience could find a home, a functioning value and role.” Unlike Steinbeck, whose concerns seem to be with all those kept in poverty by a system that exploits them, Wright was engaged not by the economic policies of Communism, but by the possibility of minority men and women being allowed to feel like they belong. In the same essay, Wright shares subtle cues of his optimism in that regard. When he is intimidated to argue against the views of the Party, he writes, “It was inconceivable to me, though bred in the lap of Southern hate, that a man could not have his say” . Then, after a Party member has difficulty finding someone who will let Wright spend the night in their home, he asks himself, “Could a Negro ever live halfway like a human being in this goddamn country?” Though indirect, his anger comes from disappointment-- despite being raised in the South, Wright is shocked and upset at the idea of a black man’s views being stifled or of a white person’s refusal to lodge him for the night. His surprise at cruelty reveals his belief in the ultimate goodwill of people, and this hopeful view weaves itself into his writing. As fanciful as it may be, one need only look at the ending scene of