Black Boy | Themes

Black Boy Themes

Prejudice and Tolerance

Race and Racism

Racism is not as much a theme in this novel as it is an environmental condition—an integral part of the setting. The novel tries to expose the ethical effect which the Jim Crow system had on its subjects, both black and white. Black Boy is a novel about individual positions within a racist mind-set. That is, the world in which Richard must live is racist, and within that world prejudice against blacks is all-pervasive. However, Richard occasionally meets with tolerant persons. Furthermore, Richard himself must be tolerant with those around him who do not have the intellect to see the world like he does. He must also endure the Jim Crow system until he has enough money to escape or else he will be killed.

Richard, having realized that his options are either to play along by being dumb or to be tolerant and escape, chooses the route of...
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