Norvell is an independent educational writer who specializes in English and literature. In this essay, Norvell discusses three types of conflict in Richard Wright's story "Big Black Good Man."

Much of Richard Wright's fiction can correctly be said to be about race. His early stories and novels deal with the experiences of African Americans both in the North and in the South, within their own communities as well as in their relationships with white individuals and white institutions. It is easy, then, to categorize "Big Black Good Man" as a story about race, particularly since it is the story of a relationship between a black man and a white man. It is not wrong to say that "Big Black Good Man" is about race, but it is not the whole story either. In a mere ten pages, Wright has managed to tell a story about race, a...