Abdul R. JanMohamed

JanMohamed in this text argues that Richard's Wright's writing from short stories to his unfinished manuscripts can be be understood through the lens of the exploration (or archeology as the title denotes) of death as it would relate to black persons. JanMohamed does a good job supporting this argument and has added new insight into my understanding of Wright's work. Given todays focus on police brutality and the value of black life JanMohamed's insights into Wright's writing and anxieties to be extremely relevant as the subject matter deals with ideas like: coming of age as a black person means understanding how easily you can be killed and how your death will not be considered a loss. Such a thing is especially chilling in the a world of Mike Browns and Sandra Browns where one is put on trial for their own death. It also draws heavily from Orlando Patterson Slavery and social death which i found formative to my current world view.

The most significant drawback to this text is that it is written for the consumption by other academics. This a long standing complain of mine as what good is to write something so informative an relevant that is so difficult to read. While a person could be aloof and get a dictionary and learn the terminology (which is not an argument w/o its merits) in context of the kind of world we living and the people who could really use JanMohamed's analysis to provide the tools with which to examine and explain their world its a shame this is so taxing to read.

Though it was positively a chore (we are talking like days where i had to read the same 5 pages again and again to figure out what was being said) the insight is worth the effort.… (més)