Capitalism, Communism, and the Daltons
I thought the depictions of the Daltons and the communist party were very interesting. Knowing that Wright himself was a communist changes how I view the depiction of communism. Through Wright’s portrayal of Jan and Mary, he made quite the commentary on wealthy white communists. Jan and Mary seemed so oblivious and at times ignorant when talking to Bigger. They compared the treatment of African Americans to the treatment of communists, as if communists weren’t choosing that life. While “communism” was quite the buzz word at the time (I would say it still is) and there were real repercussions for being a part of the communist party, it was not anything like racism. They also claimed to be interested in helping African Americans through communism, but that is impossible when you have such little understanding of their problems. I think Wright must have been saying that while communism was the solution, the people leading the charge were exclusive and ignorant to the real issues in America. Also, how can you lead the charge for communism when you’ve benefited and continue to benefit so much from capitalism and don’t even recognize it?
I know Mary and Jan had good intentions, however they were living through such a distorted lens, and didn’t have a good grasp of reality. To me, it seemed like they wanted to rebel in some way and the communist party was the perfect way for them to do that. Her father was a wealthy, performative jerk that donated money to make himself look good. He wasn’t interested in solving systemic racism or doing things that would actually benefit others. He overcharged black people to live in crummy apartments and was really only interested in making more money. Mary called her father a “capitalist” with negative connotations, yet still continued to benefit from him being a capitalist by living under his luxurious roof and having many other privileges that come with being his daughter. It seemed to me like she was going through an “I hate my parents” phase while still relying on them for support. You can’t really do both, though and truly be a communist.
You do a really good job here of expressing the way that Jan and Mary specifically have a lot of major problems with their political views. I specifically really appreciate the way that you highlight the way that Mary's politics act as a kind of rebellious phase against her parents rather than a real commitment to making some kind of political change.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree! When I first read it I assumed that the portrayal of Jan and Mary was a broad criticism of communists but it's interesting the nuance behind it and the specific type of communist Wright was calling out. Their lack of awareness of the reality of Bigger's situation, while almost tokenizing him and using him as a way in to black establishments, while they actually made Bigger and his acquaintances uncomfortable, was an good way to show their intrusion upon Bigger and his community and lack of self awareness.
ReplyDeleteI think that the evening with Jan and Mary is one of the main reasons why Bigger accidentally kills Mary. They keep saying things to Bigger about their lives and how much they have struggled, and they keep putting him in impossible situations unknowing, on of which being bringing Mary Dalton upstairs while she is drunk, leading to Bigger killing her.
ReplyDeleteI like the connection you make about how Jan and Mary have benefitted off of capitalism their whole lives. Through capitalism, they've benefitted off the oppression of black people. As you said, even though they have communist ideologies, they show no signs of wanting to take real action, with Mary still living in her father's house, which was paid for by overcharging black tenants.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that Mary and Jan have a really distorted view of communism/capitalism and race relations. The complexity of this distortion also impacts Bigger on the night where he drives them around since he realizes they're trying to help him but in a way that's ignorant to how privileged they already are, which leaves Bigger angry and confused. Maybe Mary and Jan were just trying to be relatable by explaining how they've struggled and how they understand Bigger, but you can never really understand such struggles unless you've actually experienced racism as an African-American.
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