The role of religion in African
American culture has been substantial. Some
black authors have been ardent supporters, while still many others have taken a
decidedly negative stance on the subject.
Beginning with the slave trade, Africans were taken from their homes and
villages, and forced to adapt in a new environment. It was only natural that many slaves adopted the
religion of their master, usually one of Christianity’s many denominations. It has been used as a coping mechanism and
helped bring about a sense of community, but has been criticized throughout
black literature as a source of escapism.
Through the novels Native Son and
Brown Girl, Brownstones the authors
present similar ideas regarding Christianity.
While not taking a strictly negative stance, the characters of these
novels gain no benefit whatsoever from religion. Both Richard Wright and Paule
Marshall offer cautionary warnings about the practice of religion within the
African American community.
From
the perspective of Wright, the most powerful aspect of religion in black
culture has
been in its ability to help its adherents to rationalize their situation
without giving any actual positive effects. Wright’s novels serve to
“…emphasize the declining efficacy of black Christian theism in modern times of
crisis” (Whitted 13-30). This can be
seen in Native Son
through Bigger’s interactions with
other major characters. Richard Wright’s
opinion of religion, as a result of his upbringing, is evident in a great many
passages of Native Son, especially
those involving Bigger’s mother, the Reverend Hammond, and Bigger’s
conversations with Boris Max.
Wright’s
own opinion of religion can be traced back to his childhood. His grandmother, a Seventh Day Adventist, was
seen by Wright as an oppressor determined to stifle his intellectual and
artistic pursuits. Robert Butler,
speaking of Wright’s childhood in his autobiography, Black Boy, states that "He deeply resented his grandmother's
reducing his reading and writing to ‘devil's work’ (41) and her forbidding him
to listen to music, dance, and play sports with his friends" (46-60). Wright’s views on religion, however,
encompassed his view on the entire black community. Butler continues, “…he was repelled by his
grandmother's conception of an Old Testament God who ruled by fear and violence
since such a deity resembled too closely the white authority figures who ruled
the segregated South" (46-60). Such
opinions are prevalent in the narrative of Native
Son.
Throughout
Native Son, perhaps the most dominant
religious force of Bigger’s life is that of his mother. She can often be heard singing religious
hymns and attending religious services.
Her life is likely wrought with depression as she struggles with the
problem child of Bigger, and the stress of keeping her family together under
such poor conditions. Her need for
escape seems obvious, and allows Wright to draw a parallel between Bigger’s
mother and his lover, Bessie. The pain
of Bessie’s life is covered by her frequent binge drinking, while Mrs. Thomas
uses her religion to get by. Wright
reveals Bigger’s opinion as the narrator articulates his thoughts: “He hated
his mother for that way of hers which was like Bessie’s. What his mother had
was Bessie’s whiskey, and Bessie’s whiskey was his mother’s religion” (240).
While
his mother was a representation of the escapism that religion represented, the
reverend of her church, Hammond, can be seen as representative of the futility
of religious practice. Right from his
introduction we hear Hammond’s broken language, which we can assume to be a symbol
of ignorance. His words drone on as
Bigger remembers the meaning of the words, “…it was the old voice of his mother
telling of suffering, of hope, of love beyond this world” (283). Hammond’s words serve no purpose for Bigger,
as he gives advice such as, “Fergit ever’thing but yo’ soul, son. Take yo’ mind
off ever’thing but eternal life” (283).
Hammond represents a clear statement of religious practice; its only
purpose is to take one’s mind and worries off of this world and to place it
into the next.
Bigger’s
personal opinion of religion is touched upon only briefly in several scenes,
the most telling of these being gleaned through Bigger’s conversations with
Max. Through their discussions the
character of Max allows Bigger to be himself, to articulate his true
feelings. When asked about religion,
Bigger responds, “There was nothing in it.
Aw, all they did was sing and shout and pray all the time. And it didn’t get ‘em nothing. All the colored folks do that, but it don’t
get ‘em nothing” (355). The idea of
which world is more important becomes evident as he goes on to tell Max that “I
wanted to be happy in this world, not out of it… The white folks like for us to
be religious, then they can do what they want to with us” (356).
Wright’s
and Marshall’s novels also effectively intertwine the ideas of gender and
religious belief, most notably the assertion of gender through rejection of
religion. A rather important cornerstone
of Wright’s fiction is his depiction of masculinity. Bigger’s masculinity is displayed and
exaggerated in a myriad of ways, from public masturbation to rape. Among these is also religious skepticism,
which serves to become “gestures of masculine assertiveness”
within Wright’s work (Whitted
13-30). On the other hand, Marshall, who
is largely associated with being a feminist writer, makes a feminine assertion
of strength and religious rejection in the character of Silla Boyce. Her strong femininity and rejection of
religion can be likened to Deighton’s weakness and eventual blind acceptance of
the teachings of Father Peace. This
serves to outline Marshall’s similar point about religion, while, like Wright, framing
it within the context of gender.
Silla’s
ideas of religion contribute to the idea that Christianity is a means of
escaping the woes of life; they reinforce the futility of the practice. Although Selina rejects her mother’s ideology,
her mother’s strength still plays an important role in her life and
development. Her contribution to the family is an important one, as she seems
to be the only parent grounded in a solid reality. Silla’s comments on religion hold contempt
from a worldly standpoint. Her comment,
“the rum shop and the church join together to keep we pacify and in ignorance”
(70), is indicative of the fact that she values a real worldly progress over
that of the unseen and unknown spiritual.
Paule
Marshall’s Brown Girl, Brownstones
shows escapism in another, more severe way with the character of Deighton
Boyce. Just as African Americans using
religion as escapism have done so because of hard living, so too does Deighton
turn to the cult-like church of Father Peace.
He’s been beaten mentally into a state of hopelessness. The loss of his land and the more extreme
loss of his arm leave him a broken man with a broken spirit that makes it easy
to recruit him into the “Kingdom”.
Deighton’s
cult-like belief in Father Peace strongly contrasts that of Silla, as his
situation causes him to lose sight of the present world and seek comfort in the
afterlife with Father Peace. His
personality begins to show weakness, as compared to the resolve shown by Silla. After telling her there is “Life in Father!”
she chastises him, “Life? Lemme tell you, life ain up in no Father Peace
kingdom. It out here scuffling to get
by” (172). He follows a “…doctrine that
cannot adequately address the real problems circling him…” (Cobb 631). It is
for this reason that we can glean some insight into Deighton’s probable suicide;
he was likely hoping for a better life in a world beyond this one.
His
weakness in religion is also shown by the loss of his individuality. He exemplifies this weakness in front of
Selina during their visit to the Kingdom with his exclamation of “I am
nothing!” (169). According to Cobb, “…his
faith must be placed in how 'God is everything' and in how Deighton is
nothing" (631). His frequent mutterings of phrases of praise for Father
Peace show how his faith intrudes upon every facet of his life. Mindless and repetitive uttering like,
“Peace, it’s wonderful,” and, “Thank you Father,” illuminate his devotion but
disconnect him from the real world, especially from his family.
Father
Peace is analogous to the real figure of Father Divine. The real Father Divine was a man who claimed
to be the living incarnate of God, and began a following which eventually
settled in Harlem. According to
Professor Harvard Sitkoff, he was a man who possessed “…strange powers over his
fanatical yet gullible cult followers,” and, “robbed the innocent of their money
and chastity” (659). Just like many cult
leaders have been, he was known for his lavish lifestyle. He was a figure of controversy; often the
press speculated upon accusations of sex with followers and his materialistic
ways. It is easy to see the similarities
between Deighton and Father Divine.
Divine was characterized by a materialistic view that Deighton shared,
evident in his overt appetite for fancy clothes and a good time.
As Marshall and Wright display their
opinions through narrative, a number of similarities arise. Most telling of their similar opinions are
their metaphors relating alcoholism to religion. Silla’s comment of the rum shop’s harboring
of passivity is parallel to the link between Bessie’s whiskey and the religion
of Bigger’s mother. Loss of
individuality becomes apparent in scenes with Deighton and even with Bigger as
Hammond’s exclamation to Bigger that the only thing giving his life meaning is
the cross he holds before him. In
addition, both Bigger and Silla affirm their gender identity by rejecting
conventional notions of religion.
Wright’s
and Marshall’s commentary serve to produce a warning against complacency. Without a blind devotion to religion, it
seems, African Americans could be more difficult for society to put down. They could play a more vital role in their
surroundings instead of discarding their current lives in favor of a proposed
afterlife free of all the toils of the one that they live daily. Instead they discard their individuality and
take part in an opiate-like practice that shields their hearts from the harsh
realities of life. As we see from Silla
and Deighton, their opposing ideologies lead to drastically different outcomes. Deighton denies his identity and finds
himself at the bottom of the ocean, while Silla finds herself in good financial
standing at the association. Although
not without struggles, she still achieves the goals she had set for
herself. The novels present black culture
and society as imperfect and flawed, with religion as a corner pillar in its
erroneous ideology.
Works
Cited
Butler, Robert. "Seeking Salvation
in a Naturalistic Universe: Richard Wright's Use of His Southern Religious
Background in Black Boy (American
Hunger)." Southern Quarterly. 46.2 (2009): 46-60. Print.
Cobb, Michael L. "Irreverent Authority:
Religious Apostrophe and the Fiction of Blackness in Paule Marshall's Brown Girl, Brownstones." University of Toronto Quarterly 72.2 (2003): 631. Print.
Marshall, Paule. Brown Girl, Brownstones. New York: The Feminist
Press at CUNY, 2006. Print.
Sitkoff, Harvard. "Review: A Father
Divine for the New Age." American Quarterly. 45.4 (1993): 659-663. Print.
Whitted, Quina. ""Using My
Grandmother's Life as a Model": Richard Wright and the Gendered Politics
of Religious Representation." Southern
Literary Journal. 36.2 (2004): 13-30. Print.
Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Harper Perennial
Modern Classics, 1940. Print.
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