Down by the Riverside and Segregation
“Down By The Riverside” by Richard Wright is a short story that contains themes of resistance to racial segregation. The story follows Brother Mann as he tries to survive in the hostile environment created by a massive flooding of the Mississippi combined with the already hostile environment of the South. The first issue that Brother Mann is shown to be dealing with is the economic aspect of evacuation from the flood region. Mann is said to have “figured that the water would soon go down. He had thought if he stayed he would be the first to get back to the fields and start spring plowing”(Wright 55). This passage contains both the socialist ideas of Wright, and the racial caste system of the south. The passage is indirectly showing the audience the cruelty of the economic system as it is, that a man might risk his life just to be able to make the money he needs to survive instead of taking the opportunity to save his life. However, it is also notable that we don’t se...
