ノアと三太

概要

（概要作成中）

本文（作業中）

第八章●リチャード・ライトとアフリカ
玉田吉行

『箱船、２１世紀に向けて』　門土社 (1987) 147-170ペイジ。

（１）抗議を超えて
一九四〇年代の後半から五〇年代にかけてパリに住み、ヨーロッパ各地を回りながら、アフリカはアフリカ人自身のものであり、理不尽な富の強奪によって繁栄を続けてきた西洋杜会は今こそその責任を負うべきであると声高に叫んだアメリカ人がいる。ミシシッピー出身の黒人作家リチャード・ライト（一九〇八～一九六〇年)である。
ライトは『アメリカの息子』(一九四〇年)で一躍、国際的にも知られるようになった。シカゴのゲットーに住む黒人青年ビガー・トーマスによる白人娘メアリーの殺害事件を通して人種の問題をはらむアメリカ社会の矛盾をみごとに描き出し、「アメリカの息子」ビガーを生み出した白人社会の責任を鋭く問いただしたからである。ライトはすでに、アメリカ南部を舞台に、もはやアンクル・トムではない新しい世代を描いた短篇集『アンクル・トムの子どもたち』(一九三八年)によって新進作家として注目されていたが、『アメリカの息子』で人種の問題に対する抗議派を代表する作家としての評価を強めた。
以来、現在もなお、その評価が大勢である。
しかし、ライトとアフリカを語るとき、一つの事実を見逃すわけにはいかない。それは『アメリカ

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の息子』を出版したあたりから、ライトがすでに人種の問題を一歩踏み越えたテーマの広がりを意識し始めていた事実である。例えば、写真家エドウィン・ロスカムとの共作、黒人民衆史『千二百万の黒人の声』（一九四一年)の中では、アフリカから無理やり連れて来られて、苦難の歴史を強いられはしたが、それでもなお生き永らえてきた同胞への愛着を示しながら、ライトは次のように述べている。

私たち黒人は、生まれ故郷のアフリカから、かつてなかったほど最も複雑に、高度に工業化された文明の真只中にほうり出されはしたが、今までほとんど何びとも持ち得なかったような記憶や意識をもって、今日しっかりと立っている。

そこには三百年以上のあいだ抑圧され、虐げられ続けてきた過去の黒人体験を逆手にとって、むしろ有利な地点として捉えようとする姿勢がうかがえる。
一九四一年の暮れには、のちに「地下にひそむ男」のタイトルで公にした作品の草稿を書き上げたあと、出版代理人ポール・レノルヅに「自分がまともに黒人・白人の問題を越えて、一歩踏み出したのは初めてのことです」と言明する手紙を送っている。事実、加筆して一九四四年に発表した作品では、人間の盲目性を突いた鋭い視点から、人間の本質的な問題に迫ることに成功している。
その視点から、ライトは自伝を書いた。その中に、一九四一年、メキシコ旅行の帰途、故郷に立ち寄り、幼い頃に自分と家族を捨てた父親との再会を果たすくだりがある。年老いた無学の父親を前にして、再会までの四半世紀の歳月によって二人があまりにも隔てられてしまった現実をかみしめなが

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ら、ライトは次のように語る。

自分を操る白人地主達から、父は忠節とか情操とか伝統とかいったものの意味合いを知る機会を一度だって与えられることはなかった。父には諦めと同様に喜びもまったく無縁のものであった。
父は土に這う生物として、恨みとか望みもなく、ただ元気に、体ごと、見かけは決して壊れることがない様子で、生き永らえてきただけなのである。……私は父を許し、哀れに思った。

そう語ることのできたライトには、ジム・クロウ体制下で苦難を強いた時代と社会に対する憤りや、家族を捨てた父親への恨みはない。むしろ、社会と個人の関係を正当に把握し、過去の体験を未来の糧に転じようとする姿勢がある。一九四七年にライトは家族とともにパリに移り住んだが、その時点ですでに、抑圧の問題を、人種の問題という枠を越えたもっと大きな視点から捉えようとしていたのである。インドの首相パンディット・ネルーに送った一九五〇年十月九日付けの次の書簡の中にも、その姿勢をかいま見ることができる。

現代社会の歴史的な発達のみならず、世界の変容する物質的な構造によって、世界のあらゆる民族は、主体性や利益についての共通の意識を持つことを迫られています。世界中の抑圧された情況は普遍的に同じであり、その連帯は、抑圧に反対するときだけではなく、人類の発展のために闘う際にも重要なのです。

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それらの視点や姿勢を持ち合わせていたライトは、舞台をフランスに移したとき、当然のごとく、抑圧に苦しむ「アフリカ」に急速に近づいていくことになる.

（２）アフリ力意識
パリに移り住むまでアフリ力との直接の接触はなかったが、当初からライトがアフリカに対して正当な理解を示していた事実は注目に値しよう。西洋諸国は、西洋人が行く以前のアフリカは、文化も持たない野蛮な〈暗黒の大陸〉だったというイメージを捏造して自らの正当性を王張するのに余念がなかったが、ライトは決してそのような〈負〉のイメージに惑わされてはいなかった。むしろ、ヨーロッパ人が踏み入を以前から、アフリ力にはすでに固有のすぐれた文化や伝統が存在していたことを再三指摘している。例えば、ある論文では「黒入は(今日ちょうどメキシコインディアンがそうであるように)この異郷の岸辺に連れてこられたときには、豊かで複雑な文化を所有していた」と記している。あるいは、新大陸に連れてこられたアフリカ人について、前述の『千二百万の黒人の声』の中では次のように述べている。

捕えられ、この地に送り込まれる前から、アフリカにはアフリカ人自身の文明があった。私たちがアフリカで暮らしていた生活の様式を文明と呼べば、きっと微笑まれてしまうだろうが、いろんな点で大勢のアフリカ人を捕えた人達がやって来た国の文化と同等であった。私たちは鉄を製錬し、踊り、音楽を作り、民族の歌を唄った……私たちは交易の手段を発明し、金や銀を掘り、陶器や刃

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物を造った……私たちには文学も、独特の法のしくみも、宗教も、医術も、科学も、教育もあった……牛や羊や山羊を飼い、穀物を植えて取り入れを行なったーつまり、ローマ人が君臨するようになる何世紀も前から、私たちは人間として暮らしていたのである。

しかし、子孫のアフロ・アメリカ人の文化の中に、祖先のアフリカ人の文化のなごりを認めはするものの、歳月によって両者があまりにも隔てられてしまった現実をライトは明確に認識している。例えば、『アメリカの飢え』の中で示された、一九三〇年代にシカゴで接触のあったマーカス・ガーヴーイを信奉する運動家たちに対する反応は、そのあたりの事情を端的に物語っている。

このように模索を続ける日々の中で出合い、その生活に魅せられた一つのグループはガーヴーイ主義者たちで、寄るべくもなくアフリカに帰りたがっていた黒人男女の組織だった……私にはその人たちの気持ちが理解できた、というのも、感じ方が一部同じだったからである……私が好感を持ちながら、その運動に加わらない理由がその人たちには分からないのを私は充分承知していたから、あまりにも哀れに思えて、決して目標が達成できはしないこと、アフリカがヨーロッパの帝国主義列強の手になっていること、その人たちの生活がアフリカ人の生活とまったく違っていること、さらにその人たちはあくまで西洋人なのであり、西洋に溶け込むか、滅びてしまうかするまでは永遠に西洋人であり続けることを、とても口に出して言う気にはなれなかった。

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もっとも、ライト自身、のちにアフリカの地に立ったとき、アフリカ人たちの烈しい拒絶反応に合い、膚のの色が同じことや、アフリカが祖国であることが、自分とアフリカ人をつなぐ何の手立てにもならない現実を思い知らされて、戸惑うはめに陥いるのではあるが。

（３）アフリカヘ
パリでライトが最初に接したアフリカ人は、一九四六年の渡仏に協力をしてくれたセネガル人レオポルド・サンゴールである。すぐあとには、ザンゴールを通じてマルティニックの黒人詩人エメ・セゼールに紹介されるが、ネグリチュード運動の唱道者である二人とは、当初からそりが合わなかった。幼少時に厳しい宗教教育を強いた祖母への反発から、宗教によって個人の自由を奪われることを忌み嫌ったライトは、カトリックの見地に立つサンゴールと相容れなかった。また、アメリカですでに脱党の経験を持つライトは、当時自分や交友のあった実存主義者たちを烈しく批難していたフランス共産党に所属するセゼールを信用してはいなかった。しかし、なにより二人に反発したのは、「見失われたアフリカの再発見」というスローガンを掲げたネグリチュードの運動が、現実には親西欧的で、植民地主義に極めて妥協的であったからである。したがってライトは、ネグリチュード運動に批判的だった、英語を媒体として活動する作家たちとの交わりを通じてアフリカを考え、アフリカに接近していった。
親交のあった一人に、南アフリカの作家ピーター・エイブラハムズがいる。「西洋と接するようになってから、西洋で通り抜けてきたあらゆる思考過程の中によりも、私がともに育ったアフリカ人たち

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の中に、何かもっと力強く、精力的で、創造的なものが存在すると、改めて確信するようになりました」と語るエイブラハムズにライトは共感するところが多く、作品の原稿を読む労を取ったり、アメリカの出版社にいる友人に草稿を送って出版の便宜をはかったりして、アパルトヘイトと闘う若きアフリカ作家への援助を惜しまなかった。
なかでも、最も親交が深く、多大の感化を受けたのは、トリニダード出身のパン・アフリカニスト、ジョージ・パドモア(一九〇二～一九五九年)である。パドモアは、サンゴールなどのネグリチュード運動家たちを「西洋人以上に西洋人になりさがってしまった黒人知識人ども」と酷評し、「腐った政策しか持たないカフェに入りびたりのインテリたちから決して何も期待できはしない」と決めつけた。早くからパドモアは、アフリカはアフリカ人自身のものであり、アフリカの統一こそが真の解放の道だと説いていたが、ガーナの独立に際しては、エンクルマに闘争の戦略を授け、独立後もよき協力者としてエンクルマを助け続けた。
ライトの永年のアフリカへの夢が実現したのは、このパドモアの勧めと尽力による。一九五三年の復活祭の夜にライト夫妻を訪れたパドモアの妻ドロシィーの強い勧めと、ライトの企画に暖かい助言を与え、ハーバー社からの資金援助をとりつけてくれた友人レノルヅの協力によって、ライトは初めてアフリカの地を踏むことになる。

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（４）『ブラック・パワー』
（イ）イギリス領ゴールド・コースト
一九五三年六月四日の朝、ライトはアフリカに向けてリバプールを発った。目的地は一九五七年三月六日に独立を果たしたイギリス連邦ガーナ(現ガーナ共和国)、当時のイギリス領ゴールド・コーストである.結果的には、これがライトにとっての最初で最後のアフリカ紀行となるのだが、約三か月にわたる紀行は、翌一九五四年九月二十二日にハーバー社から『ブラック・パワi』と題して出版された。
自ら植民地問題調査委員会のメンバーであったフランス人作家アンドレ・ジイド(一八六九～一九五一年)は、かつて旧フランス領コンゴを訪れたあと『コンゴ紀行』(一九二七年)を書いた。当初の旅行の主要な動機は自然科学的好奇心であったが、植民地政策の犠牲となって苦しむ黒人たちの惨状と、官吏、商人、宣教師たちの横暴と腐敗ぶりを目の当たりにして「私は語らねばならぬ」と決意し、同書を世に問うている。
ライトの場合は、しかし、出版の意図や動機が違う。ブラック・アフリカ最初の黒人主権国として独立への胎動を始めたイギリス領ゴールド・コーストの地に自らが立ち、自らの目で確めた「人々の日常」を西洋世界に紹介するのだという意図を最初から持っていた。
タコラディ港で黒人労働者たちがクレーンなどを操縦している姿を見て歓喜し、南アフリカのマラン博士が黒人にはクレーンなどは操れないと記していたことを思い出してひとり苦笑している。アフリカに対する正しい視点と姿勢を備えていると信じてはいたものの、知らず知らずの間に、自分が西

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洋文明によって作り上げられたアフリカへのく負＞のイメージに毒されていたことに気付いたからである。しかし、それらのイメージをかなぐり捨てて、ありのままの真実の姿を見、理解しようとする姿勢がライトにはあった。同じ黒い皮膚の色が何の助けにもならず、自分がアフリカ人から西洋人だと見なされていることを思い知らされたときにば、さすがに困惑の色は隠せなかったが、それでも膚の色の幻想を直ちに捨てて、むしろ用意された宿舎を出てまで、意欲的に危険を覚悟の行動を取ることができたのは、そうした姿勢をライトが持ちあわせていたからに他ならない。そこには、この旅行に賭けるライトの並々ならぬ決意とペンで闘う作家としての厳しさが感じられる。
印象記の羅列にしかすぎず、提示された問題に対しての論理的な追求への努力のあとが見られないと評する人もいるが、仔細に本文を読めば、決してそうではないことが分かる。アフリカに渡る前に、パドモアからあらかじめ読むべき本のリストをもらい、それに従って準備をしたが、本文中のエンクルマとの会話の中で洩らしたように、会うべき人々についてのリストも手に入れていた。つまり、ライトは決して行きあたりばったりではなく、最初から見るべきもの、会うべき人々にねらいを定めて行動したのである。さらに、表面的には主観的な感想記の様式を取ってはいるが、注意してみれば、明らかに焦点が絞られていることに気づく。その手掛りを独立後に出版されたエンクルマの『わが祖国への自伝』(筑摩書房、野間寛二郎訳)の一節が与えてくれる。一九四七年に故国に戻り、統一ゴールド・コースト会議の書記として精力的に活動をしていたエンクルマが、その微温性にあきたらず、大衆に促されてその職を辞し、会議人民党を指導していくことを決意した直後の次のくだりである。

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私を支持してくれる人々の前に立ちながら、ガーナのために、もし必要なら、私の生きた血をささげようと私は誓った。
これが黄金海岸の民族運動の進路を定める分岐点となったのだ。イギリス帝国主義の敷た間接統治の制度から、民衆の新たな政治覚醒へと───。この時から闘いは、反動的な知識人と族長、イギリス政府、「今すぐ自治を」のスローガンをかかげた目覚めた大衆の三つどもえで行なわれることになったのだった。

ライトの訪れた一九五三年は、まさにその「三つどもえ」の闘いの真最中で、「人々の日常」と来たるべき独立国「ガーナ」の真の姿を描こうとするライトには、その「三つどもえ」をいかに正しく捉えるかが最大の課題であった。したがって、ライトは印象記を単に羅列したのではなく「三つどもえ」に焦点を置き、様々な例証をあげ、分析を加えながら最後のエンクルマへの手紙にまとめあげた───言い換えれば、エンクルマへの手紙に集約する意図を持って、見聞した具体的な実例をあげ、それらに分析を加えていったということになる。以下、その「三つどもえ」を手掛かりに、ライトがどのように現状を捉え、エンクルマへの手紙にまとめていったかを考えてみたいと思う。

（ロ）イギリス政府
ライトは、エンクルマへの手紙の冒頭で、西洋ではアフリカを従属の状態に留めておきたいために、アフリカには文化も歴史もないかのごとき〈負〉のイメージをさかんに与えているが、なによりもま

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ず、アフリカ人自身が自信を持たない限り二十世紀への前進はないと心理面を強調する忠告を与えた。そして結びの部分で、アフリカのために事を成し遂げられるのはアフリカ人自身以外にはいないことを繰り返して述べている。それは、国際人として同胞の真の解放を願う誠実なライトの「精神のアフリカ化」の勧めに他ならないが、その点をまず強調したのは、滞在中に首相からマーケット・マミーに至るまでのあらゆるアフリカ人が話の肝心な所へ来ると必ず示すあの微妙な〈不信感〉をライトが敏感に肌で感じ取ったからである。なによりも感性を大切にする文学者ならではの分析が見られる。政治上の最初の敵は宣教師達だったと、感情を抑えながら言ったエンクルマの発言を思い出したあとの本書に見られる次の分析である。

金（ゴールド）は他のものでも替えがきく。木は再び育ちもしよう。しかし、どのような力をもってしても、精神的な習性を再構築し、かつては人々の生活に意義を与えていた視点を取り戻すことは不可能である。何ものも、あの自らの誇りを、物事を決断するあの能力を(中略)人々に取り戻すことはできない。今日、それがわれわれにどれほど残酷に、また野蛮に映ろうとも、以前の文化の形骸が、はにかんだり、ためらったり、狼狽したりする人々の動作の中に見え隠れする。相手の様子をうかがってやろうとする心理的な目を持つ人間に対して、その蝕まれた性格がぬーっと顔を現わすのである。

植民地政策のもたらした最大の罪の一つは、宣教師たちが一方的に、アフリカ人の日常に踏み込み、

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代替物を与えることなく人々の精神構造を破壊したことだと言いたかったのであろう。最初に、ライトは心理面を強調はしたが、それらは自らの目で実際に確かめた〈アフリカ〉の厳しい現実から感得したものである……歩道もなく、側溝にたれ流された小便の臭いのふんぷんとする街路、所かまわずつばを吐き捨てる老人、商売用の重い荷物を頭に乗せて運ぶ年端もいかぬ少年、水汲み場で子どもを洗う母親、水浴みをする少女、物乞いをする正視に絶えない乞食たち、文字が読めないために配達されない郵便物、たちまちにびっしりとつく赤さび、悪臭を放つ沼、ツェツェばえ、まだ存在すると言われる生贅（いけにえ）、病院に行きたがらずに村の祈濤（きとう）師をせがむ出稼ぎ労働者、まともな教育を受けられない人々、頭のただれた村の子どもたち、道路のひどさ、炎天下に安賃金でロボットのように働かされる沖仲士たち……。それらの「現実」は、当時の実状を回想して綴られたエンクルマの『アフリカは統一する』(理論社、野間訳)の中に記された次の一節にも符合する。

イギリスの植民地政庁がわが国を統治していた全期間に、農村の水の開発がまともに行なわれたことはほとんどなかった。これが何を意味するかを、栓をひねるだけで良質の飲料水が得られるのを当然とみなしている読者に伝えるのは、容易ではない。私たちの農村社会に、もしそんなことが起こっていたら、人々はまさしくそれを天国だと思っただろう。村に一つの井戸か配水塔でもあれば、彼らはどんなにか感謝したであろう。
事実はそうでなかったので、暑い湿気のある畑でつらい一日の仕事を終えると、男や女は村に帰り、それから、手桶か水がめを持って二時間ものあいだ、とぼとぼと歩いていかなければならなか

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った。行きついたところで、沼とほとんど変わらないような所からでも、塩気のある、ばい菌だらけの水を、その桶やかめにくめたら、幸運なのだ。それから長い道のりを戻る。洗ったり飲んだりする水、たいていは病気のもとになる水の、取るに足りないほどの量を得るのに、一日に四時間!
国中のほとんどが、ほんとうにこのような状態だったのだ。

予想以上の惨状に、驚きの念を禁じ得なかったが、イギリスのもたらした＜現実＞から、ライトは決して目をそらさず、物事の本質を見極めようとしている。
特有の＜不信感＞や悲惨な＜現実＞は、あくまで表面に現われた現象にすぎず、それらの現象は、富の強奪にしか関心のない植民地政策によってもたらされたことをライトは充分に承知していた。同時に、イギリス政府が村落共同体という伝統的機構を利用せざるを得なかった植民地支配の限界にも気づいていた。抑圧された境遇に一種の連帯の意識すら覚えながら、エンクルマへの＜手紙＞の中で、ライトはその限界をむしろ喜ぶべき特徴であると指摘したのち、次のように続けている。

民族の文化的な伝統は、西洋諸国の事業や宗教の利害関係によって毀されてはきたが、西洋人たちのその毀し方がそれほど積極的なものではなかったので、ひとつの＜世界像＞を創造したいという渇望が無垢（むく）のまま、損なわれないで、人々の間に依然として存在しているのである。
元来、厳しい自然の中で農民が生き延びるために自然発生的に生まれた村落共同体は、植民地化

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以前には当然、自立のための発展性を秘めていた。その発展の可能性は、最初、奴隷貿易によって奪われた。のちに土地収奪や強制労働、あるいは税金賦課などの植民地政策によって奪われ続けた。ライトが見たアクラ海岸の沖仲士たちやビビアニの金鉱やサンレボイの木材会社で働く人々の大半は、強制労働や税金賦課などの政策により村を離れることを余儀なくされた出稼ぎ労働者たちだった。驚くほどの安賃金に危険を伴う重労働にも、決して働き手が不足することはなかった。アクラの海岸では、仕事の順番を待つ上半身裸の若い黒人たちが、炎天下、事務所の前に群がっていた。奴隷売買あるいは税金賦課などの植民地政策によって、村落共同体が働き盛りの人間を奪われることは、その支柱をなくすこと、その内在する発展性を失うことを意味していた。内在する発展性を奪われた共同体は弱体化して後進的状態にとどまる方向に進んだが、残された者は、なお、より強固な団結と労働で厳しい収奪に耐えた。弱体化しながらも、かろうじて崩壊の危機を免れ、じっと耐える共同体の姿の中に、ライトはおそらく人々の＜渇望＞を見い出したのだろう。
ともあれ、本来自立のために生まれた共同体は、支配のために利用される機構へと変容させられていった。イギリス政府は人々の心に不信感を、人々の日常に惨状をもたらした。そして、本来の機能を充分果たしていない形骸化した、いわゆる＜トライバリズム＞なるものを残した。トライブあるいはトライバリズムという言葉自体が、西洋諸国の一方的な押しつけであるように、その実体もまた、アフリカに内在した歴史的な発展過程を辿ったものではなく、あくまで外部因子である植民地支配によって無理やり押しつけられたものであることを忘れてはならない。ライトは＜手紙＞の中で、沈滞する＜トライバリズム＞を打破する必要性をしきりに提言しているが、それはライト

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自身が人々の＜渇望＞を感じながらも、本来機能すべきものが充分に機能せず、伝統的文化の形骸だけが残されている実情を見てとったからに他ならない。
ライトはまた、＜手紙＞の中で、独立に際して、過去そうであったように未来も決してイギリス政府から真の援助は望めないばかりか、スキあらばいつ何時たりとも襲いかかってくると予言し、西洋に頼るな、少なくとも西洋のみせかけの援助の受け入れは最小限にとどめよと忠告した、数回にわたる暗殺未遂事件、そして軍事クーデターによる失脚、ギニアへの亡命、さらには親友であったコンゴ共和国首相バトリス・ルムンバの虐殺と国連軍の背信行為など、のちの歴史的な経過を考慮すれば、それらの予告が決して大げさなものではなかったことが知られよう。しかし、そのことを一番よく知っていたのは、他ならぬエンクルマ本人ではなかったか。そのあたりの事情については、エンクルマ自らが独立時回想して書き残した『アフリカは統一する』(野間訳)の中の次の象徴的な一節を掲げるにとどめよう。

遺産としては厳しく、意気沮喪させるものであったが、それは、私と私の同僚が、もとのイギリス総督の官邸であったクリスチャンボルグ城に正式に移ったときに遭遇した象徴的な荒涼さに集約されているように思われた。室から室へと見まわった私たちは、全体の空虚さにおどろいた。特別の家具が一つあったほかは、わずか数日前まで、人々がここに住み、仕事をしていたことを示すものは、まったく何一つなかった。ぼろ布一枚、本一冊も、発見できなかった。紙一枚も、なかった。非常に長い年月、植民地行政の中心がここにあったことを思いおこさせるものは、ただ一つもなか

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った。
この完全な剥奪は、私たちの連続性を横切る一本の線のように思えた。私たちが支えを見い出すのを助ける、過去と現在のあいだのあらゆる絆を断ち切る、という明確な意図があったかのようであった。

（ハ）首長と反動的知識人
イギリス政府が植民地政策を取らざるを得なかったのは、限られた人員で＜完全占領＞するにはアフリカが広大すぎたからであり、伝統的機構を利用したのは、それが支配するのに好都合だったからである。植民地政策により共同体の支柱を奪い、人々の教育の機会をそぎ、首長を傀儡（かいらい）に仕立ててその形骸のみを温存させ続けた。
ライトはアクラで運転手を雇い多額の出費と危険を覚悟の上でクマシ方面へ出向いたが、その目的は首長に会ってみることだった。現に数人の首長と会見したが、そのうちの一人は、蜜蜂が自分の護衛兵だと信じて疑わなかった。その人は実際に二万五千人の長でありながら、人口はどれくらいいるのかの質問に対して「たくさん、たくさん」としか答えられなかった。かつて、一本のジンとひき換えに同胞を奴隷として商人に譲り渡した首長。そんな人たちをライトは＜手紙＞の中で「純朴な人々を長い間食いものにし、欺し続けてきた寄生虫のような首長たち」と書いた。しかし、エンクルマが自分たちの権力を弱めたと批難はしながらも、多くの首長たちがご機嫌うかがいに党本部に出入りしていたことや、強力な首長アサンテヘネが中央集権化を恐れるイギリス政府に利用

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されかけたにもかかわらず、結果的にはエンクルマに譲歩した事実などを考え合わせると、首長たちは時代の流れに敢えて強くは抗えなかった人たちだったと言える。
むしろ、エンクルマに強力に敵対したのは、かつてはともに闘った統一ゴールド・コースト会議の中心であった、西洋で教育を受けた黒人知識人達だった。ライトはその中の中心人物、ダンクァとブシア(のちに首相となる)にも会っている。「なるべく早い自治を」と主張する反対派は、エンクルマがイギリスと組んで自分個人のために大衆を煽動（せんどう）していると批判した。そして独立はいまだ時機尚早だと言い、伝統の大切さを説いた。
一方、エンクルマは反対派について『アフリカは統一する』(野間訳)の中で次のように回想している。

今日まで、反対派はほとんどいつも破壊的だった。(中略)”今すぐ自治を”の私たちの政策の正しさが一九五一年の選挙の結果で証拠だてられたことに対して、統一黄金海岸会議の指導者たちは、私と私の仲間を決して許さなかった。その後、彼らの敵対は、独立を事実上否定し、イギリスの退去を不本意とするところまで達した。もし私と私の仲間を政権からしりぞけておけるならば、わが国の民族解放を犠牲にするつもりでいたのだ。

数人の黒人知識人との会見や「金持ちの奴らは、イギリス人たちよりたちが悪い」と嘆く黒人青年の声などから、私欲にかられた反対派が大衆からすでに遊離してしまっていることを察知していたラ

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ライトは＜手紙＞の中で西洋で教育を受けたアフリカ人たちはあてにするなとエンクルマに書いた。

（ニ）大衆
自分たちのために何もしてくれないイギリス政府、何もしてくれなかった首長や金持ち黒人達、大衆は、すでに誰も何も信じ守なっていた.大衆は長年の抑圧の状況の中で、「自分たちの生活を制御する力を取り戻し、新しい意味での自らの運命を創り出したい」と渇望していた。大衆は「目に見えない神々への誓い」に倦み、もはや「自分たちの日々の福利に直接かかわりのある誓い」しか唱えられなくなっていた。驚くほど短期間の間に、エンクルマはその大衆の心を捕えた。ライトはそんな情況を「エンクルマはイギリス人や宣教師達が民族の伝統的な文化を打ち壊した際に残していった真空をすでに塞いでいた」と分析した。大衆の心を捕えたエンクルマの勢いには目をみはるものがあった。沿道で、あるいは集会で歓呼する大衆。主に統一ゴールド・コースト会議の人達に見捨てられていた労働者・学生、マーケット・マミーたちだったが、なかでも、植民地政策の下で低い地位に甘んじることを強いられ続けていた女性たちの熱狂ぶりは凄まじかった。一九四九年に、エンクルマが官吏侮辱罪で三百ポンドの罰金を科せられたとき、即座に保釈金を掻き集めたのも、主としてマーケット・マミーたちだった。大衆の大多数は文字すら読めず、自分たちが一体何をやり、全体がどういう方向に進んでいるのかを正確に把握してはいなかったが、それだけに、ライトはく手紙Vの中で、エンクルマに、大衆に約束したあなたがそれらの約束を果たすためには、行動の論理を人々の生活の状況に応じて決定すべきであり、自らの歩むべき道を、自らの価値を発見すべきであると、まず語りか

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けたかったのであろう。そして「国を統一し、形骸化した統一のしがらみを一掃し、大衆の足を現実という基盤の上に据える」ためには「アフリカの生活に尚武の心を植え付けなければならない」と敢えて提言したのは、独立するに際して、これから歩む道があまりにも厳しく、険しいものであることを肌で感じ取ったライトの、精一杯の暖かい助言ではなかっただろうか。

（ホ）『ブラック・パワー』
ヨーロッパでは、植民地大国イギリス、フランスで一部出版拒否にあっているが、各国で翻訳され全般的には受け入れられた。殊にドイツでは熱烈な歓迎を受けている。
アメリカでは「レポートとしては一級品」という評も含め、おおむね評判は悪くなかったが、辛辣（しんらつ）な批判も多く、ライト自身少なからず傷ついている。
それらの反応は、植民地に対する各国の政策や直接の利害関係と無縁ではない。宗主王国イギリスで、当初激しい出版拒否にあったのも、植民地への依存度の高い国の事情と深いかかわりがあろう。
ここに、ライトにアフリカ行きを勧めたドロシィー・パドモアが本書の真価について語った一節がある。ドロシィーがガーナに住み、エンクルマを助けて働いていただけに注目に値する。ライト研究の第一人者ミシェール・ファーブル氏の要請に応えて送った一九六年三月十三日の付けの手紙の中の次の一節である。

『ブラック・パワi』がついに出て、リチャードが夫と私に本を一冊送ってくれたとき、その本が

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夢中にさせて-れるほど素敵なものだと分かりました。そして、その頃までにすでに私はゴールド・コーストに行った経験がありましたから、そこには私の考えや反応と響きあつ個所がたくさんあるのを知りました。その点では、夫も大体同じでした。二人とも、その本ではゴールド・コーストの社会が、熱望や過去.未来の展望などが織り交ってかなりうまくまとめ上げられていると考えました。ゴールド・コーストでは、その本で述べられていることが、多くは時代にあっていない発言であるとか評論であるなどと言われていましたが、問題はそれがどのように受け入れられたかどうかではないのです……。
アフリカ人以外の批評家の間では、本書の巻末に載せられたエンクルマへの手紙について、リチャードが出しゃばりすぎていると考えられていました.しかし、私と夫の意見では、その手紙が建設的な意味合いで、最も貢献度が高いということだったのです。私は、書かれた当時だけでなく今でもそれが正当性を失ってはいないと思っています。もし、手紙が意図されたように、暖かい助言として受け入れられていたとしたら、多くの落とし穴にはまらなくて済んでいたのに……と、私は思うのです。

西洋諸国はアフリカに対して理不尽の限りを辱してきた。そしてその情況は今もなお、続いている。三世紀半にわたる奴隷貿易に続嵜酷な植民地支配下で、そして「近代的な文明も科学的技術の恩恵も断たれた、世界で最低の条件下で」人的資源を増大させ、伝統的文化と教育を温存し、人間として威厳を守り続けてきたアフリカから、われわれが学ぶべきこと、教えられる点は実に多い。それ

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ばかりか、現在もなお、植民地主義、新植民地主義と闘い続けるアフリカの姿は、現代われわれに真の生き方、真のあり方を問いかけている。
先般来日したセネガル人作家センベーヌ・ウスマン氏は、日本で繰り広げられた飢餓救援活動に対して「援助は要りません。それより、暖かい目で見守って下さい」と語ったが、それは見せかけの援助より正当な理解をという生き方を問う鋭い発言であろう。援助と称しながら、その実、アフリカを食いものにしてきた西洋諸国ばかりか、アメリカの政策を強力に支援する日本もまた、過去から積み重ねてきた罪の責任を取るべきことを、今、迫られている。ライトも、本書の中でその点について次のような指摘をしている。

人はその人となりや、その暮らしぶりに応じてアフリカに反応する。人のアフリカに対する反応は、その人の生活であり、その人の物事についての基本的な感覚である。アフリカは大きな煤けた鏡であり、現代人はその鏡の中で見るものを憎み、壊したいと考える。その鏡をのぞき込んでいるとき、自分では劣っている黒人の姿を見ているつもりでも、本当は自分自身の姿を見ているのだ。（中略）アフリカは危険をはらんでおり、人の心に人生に対する総体的な態度を呼び覚まし、存在についての基本的な異議をさしはさむ。

出版代理人や出版社の入れこみようとは裏腹に売れ行きは芳しくなく、その意味では出版が成功したとは言えないかもしれないが、独立への胎動をいち早く察知してアフリカに駆けつけ「人々の日常」

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を、あるいは独立への歩みを西洋世界に紹介することによって、アフリカを正当に理解しようとした功績は少なくない。西洋の援助を受ければ新しい形の帝国主義搾取を招くという新植民地主義への予言は、現在、アフリカの多くの国が支払えないほど莫大な対外債務を抱え、新植民地主義政策の犠牲を強いられている情況を思えば、いかに的を得たものであったかが分かる。また、内部からの腐敗に留意せよ、それらに対しては厳しい態度で臨めという警告も、エンクルマ失脚の一因が内部者の目にあまる腐敗ぶりにあったことなどを考慮すれば、その適切さがうかがえよう。
ライトは旅の終わりに、船上でレノルヅ宛てに「私はこの地で見たものに衝撃を受けた。しかも、ゴールド・コーストはアフリカでも一番良い所だと聞く。もしそれが本当なら、一番ひどい所を私は見たくない」という手紙を書いた。しかし、すぐあとには仏領西アフリカへの長期にわたる紀行を企画している。ドロシィーの手紙が明らかにしているが、「アフリカの独立国について諸外国で広がっている誤った情報に対抗するために、その紀行を利用してより本当の姿を世界に紹介したい」と願ったからである。残念ながら、ライトは病にたおれ、夢半ば、異郷の地に果ててしまった。しかしながら、病床にあってもなお、つむぎ続けたアフリカへの夢から、東西の力関係ではもうどうしようもない世界の現状を憂うるライトの真情が、確かに伝わってくる。

（５）『白人よ、聞け!』
主として一九五〇年代に、ライトは要請に応えて、ヨーロッパ各地で数々の講演を行ない、西洋の犯した罪をあがなうべき道を力説した。「今日の世界における白人と有色人、東洋と西洋に関する相互

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に関連した、首尾一貫した」四編が『白人よ、聞け!』として出版されたが、なかでも「抑圧された人々の心理的反応」と「伝統と工業化」の中の次の一節は、ライトの西洋とアフリカへの姿勢を浮き彫りにしている。

あなた方西洋の白人に言おう。あのアジアやアフリカの人たちをどれほど簡単に征服し、略奪したかを自慢しすぎるなと……法律においてと同様に、歴史においても、人間は、そのような結果を意図していたかどうかにかかわらず、歴史的行為の結果に対して厳しく責任を負わなければならない……西洋がその責任を取ることこそ、白人が不安や恐慌や恐怖から自分を解放する手だてを作り出すことになるのだ……。
あなた方は、いかに見当違いであったとはいえ、アフリカやアジアのエリートを訓練し、教育をした。そして、心に自由と合理性に対する渇望を植えつけた。いま、あなた方のこのエリートたちは……飢えや病いや貧困……などによって、ひどく追いつめられている……今、私はあなた方に言いたい、ヨーロッパの人々よ、あのエリートたちに道具を与え、この事業を成し遂げさせてやれ!と。

もっとも、一般的に、アフリカ人作家たちは、ライトからある程度感化を受けたことは認めても、ライトをあくまでアメリカ人、西洋知識人とみなしており、ライトの"西洋的"見方に反発もしている。例えば、ギニア出身のカマラ・レイは「アフリカと世界中の黒人が思想的に協調すべきである」

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というライトの信念に共感は寄せながらも、次のように反論している。

アフリカでは、問題は私たちが平等や公民権を達成するということではない。私たちはいかなる種類のものであれ白人社会との統合には関心がない。近代的なものを切望はしても、決してヨーロッパ化されたい、つまり白人化されたいとか、危険を冒してもアフリカ特有のものを失いたいとか、望んでいるわけではない。

独立後のガーナの首相エンクルマの相談役をしようというライトの書簡に、エンクルマがなんら反応を示さなかったのも、おそらくそのあたりに原因が潜んでいよう。その意味では、フランス人学者ミシェール・ファーブル氏が指摘するように「ライトは、ときおり、二つの違ったグループの願望の間の調整役をつとめながら、せいぜい、統合とネグリチュードのまんなかあたりに立っていた」と言えそうである。
しかしながら、新植民地主義への鋭い洞察や、ピーター・エイブラハムズやフランツ・ファノンらのアフリカ人作家への影響なども含めて、「白い仮面と黒い膚との間で」、自由を求めて、闘う黒人西洋知識人として苦悩し続けたライトの足跡から、学ぶべき点、教えられることは、今もなお、多い。

執筆年

1987年

収録・公開

『箱舟、21世紀に向けて』（共著、門土社）、147-170ペイジ

ダウンロード

リチャード・ライトとアフリカ（本文は作業中）

概要

高校を辞め、大学を探し始めて４年目、私立の短大とか大学とか話はあるものの決まらず、結局大阪工業大学の嘱託講師（見かけは常勤、実際は非常勤）と他の非常勤をかけもちし、週に16コマの授業を持っていた頃です。

修士論文で取り上げた作品の中でも、ライトの出世作『ネイティヴ・サン』（Native Son, 1940）を、特に擬声語を手がかりに、テーマに表現をからめて考えてみました。「Richard Wright, “The Man Who Lived Underground” の擬声語表現」（1984）を書いた時に、他の作品でもテーマにからむ重要な場面で擬声語の表現が意図的に用いられていると予測し、『ネイティヴ・サン』や『ブラック・ボーイ』（1945）のような主要な作品で同じように書けないかと考えるようになっていました。

『ネイティヴ・サン』を最初に読んだ時は、その展開の早さや勢いを感じながら、２日か３日で一気に読んだ記憶があります。その印象は、やっぱり使われている言葉遣いとも密接に関係があったのだと、この小論を書きながら思いました。英語を母国語としている人たちが、この文章で分析しようとしているように感じて、意識的に擬声語を用いたのかどうか自信はありませんが、今までにない視点だと思います。

『ネイティヴ・サン』

1981年と86年にシカゴに行きましたが、この小説の舞台になったサウス・サイドには行きませんでした。81年は初めてのアメリカ行きで余裕がなかったうえ、ミシガン通りでパレードを眺め、この小説の初版本を手に入れようと古本屋をまわるだけで精一杯でした。86年は、シアーズタワーに登り、前年にミシシッピ大学であったシンポジウムでの発表者シカゴ大学のSterling Plumpp さんに会うだけで終わってしまいました。英語もあまり聞けないのに、電話をかけて自宅のマンションに会いに行きました。

日本語版は→「Native Sonの冒頭部の表現における象徴と隠喩」「言語表現研究」第4号29-45頁（1986）。

This paper aims to give an estimation of some symbolical and metaphorical expressions in the opening scene in Native Son (1940) by Richard Wright (1908-1960).

He chose the rat’s scene to open the story because he wanted to lay down some impressive event that would sound and resound in varied form throughout its length.

The story begins in a little room in Chicago’s South Side where the hero and his family live together. Wright succeeds in giving us symbolical and metaphorical meaning by making the best use of the hero, the rat, and the little room, focusing on noisiness. filthiness, and closeness.

In this paper efforts are made to show hove ~’4’right succeeds in making each of them play their part in the schemed opening scene, by making the skillful use of symbolical and metaphorical expressions.

本文

1. The opening scene

Quite a few readers were shocked when they read through Native Son (1940) by Richard Wright (1908-1960). We can imagine how great its impact was even from the fact that the book was taken away from the shelves in public libraries. It was not simply because the book presented a vital problem to society’s racial crisis, but because the book was supported by its devised plot, schemes and expressions.Richard Wright（小島けい画）

  He seems to have been at great pains to think of its opening scene when he sat down to type. The next passage tells us vividly of the difficulty :

…, when I sat down to the typewriter, I could not work ; I could not think of a good opening scene for the book. I had definitely in mind the kind of emotion I wanted to evoke in the reader in that first scene, but I could not think of the type of concrete event that would convey the motif of the entire scheme of the book, that would convey the motif of the note that was to be resounded throughout its length, that would introduce to the reader just what kind of an organism Bigger’s was and the environment that was bearing hourly upon it. Twenty or thirty times I tried and failed ; then…(1)

The text shows us his desire of setting the event in the opening scene that would sound and resound in varied form throughout its length. After many trials and errors, he finally chose the scene in which Bigger Thomas kills a rat. We see how worried he was about this “rat" by reading this section of his essay :

I went back to worry about the beginning…, one night, in desperation…I sneaked out and got a bottle. With the help of it, I began to remember before. One of them was that Chicago was overrun with rats. I recalled that I’d seen many rats on the streets, that I’d heard and read of Negro children being bitten by rats in their beds. At first I rejected the idea of Bigger battling a rat in his room ; I was afraid that the rat would “hog" the scene. But the rat would not leave me; he presented himself in many attractive guises. So. cautioning myself to allow the rat scene to disclose only Bigger, his family, their little room, and their relationships, I let the rat walk in, and he did his stuff.(2) (Emphases mine.)

It could be said that he wished to allow the opening scene to disclose the hero, his family and their relationships by making impressive use of the rat and their room where they spent their daily lives.

Now let us see how symbolically and metaphorically he devised the opening scene in this work, with emphasis on some of the key words.

II . i ) “their little room" The story begins in a tiny room in the South Side of Chicago. Wright chose the room as a familiar scene to the inhabitants of the South Side, not as a special one. The passage we now quote from 12 Million Black Voices (1941) reveals the background and the conditions of the district at the time :

12 Million Black Voices

When the white folks move, the Bosses of the Buildings let the property to us at rentals higher than those the whites paid.

And the Bosses of the Buildings take these old houses and convert them into "kitchenettes", and then rent them to us at rates so high that they make fabulous fortunes before the houses are too old for habitation…They take, say; a seven-room apartment, which rents for $50 a month to whites, and cut it up into seven small apartments, of one room each ; they install one small gas stove and one small sink in each room…because there are not enough houses for us to live in,…we rent these kitchenettes and are glad to get them,…Sometimes five or six of us live in a one-room kitchenette,…(3)

The room, in which on one bed sat three naked children looking at the other bed on which lay a man and a woman, both naked and black, and which the fugitive Bigger saw from the roof through a window and turned away, thinking it was a disgusting familiar sight, the unventilated and rat-infested one-room his lawyer Max questioned about to Mr. Dalton, the owner of the building who had exacted an exhorbitant rent from the Thomas family, and “their little room" are nothing but the “kitchenette" just quoted.

“their little room" – "kitchenettes"

  On this “little room" some images are thrown, focusing especially on (1) noisiness, (2) filthiness, and (3) closeness. Now we will begin to attempt some analysis of the scene, laying emphasis on these three points.

(1) “noisiness"……In order to appeal to our ears directly, Wright uses many onomatopoeic words in this scene. Although Wright often made good use of such words in his other works, the reader is always surprised at the beginning of the story, Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng! Here is the opening scene :

Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng!

An alarm clack clanged in the dark and silent room. A bed spring creaked. A woman’s voice sang out patiently

'Bigger, shut that thing off?’

A surly grunt sounded above the tinny ring of metal. Naked feet swished dryly across the planks in the wooden floor and the clang ceased abruptly.

'Turn on the light, Bigger.’

'Awright,’ came a sleepy mumble.(4)

The second line tells us that the unfamiliar word is the sound of an alarm clock. Both the verb “clang," imitative of that sound, and the noun “clang" in the sixth line hint that the metallic sound resonates loudly in the little room.(5) The spelling of Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng! makes us feel something extraordinary. It reminds us of the following scene in The Long Dream, where he uses the same pattern. In this scene the six-year-old protagonist is asked to look after his father’s funeral parlor at midnight and begins to feel worried when he discovers the mischief he has done with his friends to a white lady passing by frightens himself as well :

They entered the office and stood in the dark.

Brriiiinnnnnnnnnnng!

The phone’s metallic ringing shattered the dark and the boy’s muscles grew stiff. They could hear one another’s breathing.

Brrriiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnng.

“Oh Lawd. I got to answer." Fishbelly whispered stickily….

Brriiiiiiiinnnnnnnng.~ Brrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnng.“(6)

We find that Wright spells thus to imitate the sound of the phone, but also notice that the words are spelled differently from the sound of the clock. He uses more “n"s, particularly suitable for expressing grumbling reverberation.(7) He must have given weight to a lingering echo of the sound. It is no wonder that the bell rings furiously with a lingering echo as it is midnight and in the wide concrete basement of the undertaking establishment. But also, we can not miss his elaborate contrivance for each spelling of the bell. The contrived expressions bring forth the sensitive feelings of a boy in the South who can never forget the uncertainties contained in cz-ord~ such as “a white woman" and “the lynching."(8)

If we can say he emphasizes a lingering echo by the expressions of the bell, it might be also said he emphasizes clamorousness and restlessness by those of the clock. “Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng!" includes the vowel “i" to symbolize swiftness and abrupt-ness,(9) while the two “clang"s of the clock characterize loudness. Taking into consideration the restless development of the story which moves swiftly with two murders, a flight scene, and an arrest, this noisy sound of the clock, which symbolizes clamorousness and restlessness, is to be the fittest bell tolling at the opening of this story. With this in mind, the next comment is to the point : Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng! is the shrieking sound of the clock in the first line which is the signal bell of the opening. This grating metallic sound rings in succession throughout the length of the story. Every incident of the story moves swiftly together with the clamorous sound of this alarm clock.(10)

The sound of the clock plays the leading part, while various other sounds fill the supporting roles of the opening scene. Strictly speaking, it is the clock, the bed spring, Bigger’s feet and the floor, his mother, and Bigger that virtually give forth sounds or voices. Apart from the clock sound and their conversations, the sentences can be put in the simplified Subject+Verb form : clock+clang./spring+creak/voice+sing/grunt+sound/feet+swish/clang+cease/mumble+come. (The underlined parts are onomatopoeic words.) “Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng!" is the sound itself. Its movement is expressed by the verb “clang" and the sound by both “the tinny ring of metal" and “the clang." A woman’s voice is “Bigger, shut that thing off!" which is expressed by “A surly grunt." “Awright" in the last line is nothing but “a sleepy mumble." Now we see that the sentences which include the clock sound and their conversations in the first 9 lines are sounds or voices themselves or expressions connected with the sound. It is remarkable that six out of seven sentences include echo words (clang, creak, grunt, swish, clang, mumble), which are the imitative words of natural sounds and signified as [Imitative. in O. E. D. In this case we can not forget that they are all grating and noisy sounds to the ear.

The first loud sound “clang" and the grating sound “creak" bring out the word “impatiently" expressive of the mother’s irritation and the words “A surly grunt" expressive of her complaint. It follows that Bigger’s pace quickened by the loud sound, the grating sound, and her irritation produced the fricative word “swish" which includes the vowel [i] to symbolize swiftness and abruptness. In that situation the word “mumble" is effective enough to express his dissatisfaction with his mother who urges him to “shut the clock" when he is heavy with sleep. The word “mumble" including two nasal [m] and a voiced plosive [b] (11) is just the word to express the dissatisfaction the boy feels as he rubs his drowsy eyes in the silent room after the clamorous clock has been stopped.

However, there is a shade of difference in meaning between “grunt" and “mumble," although they both express complaint. The nasals are fit for the muffled sound of “mumble" with a lingering echo, while the ending plosive [t] expresses well the passing sound of “grunt" drowned by the clamorous metallic ringing sound in the tiny room.(12)

Furthermore, the effect of the clamorousness of the clock sound is heightened by the striking contrast between the short vowel [i] of the sharp “swish" and the “super" long vowel of the clock expressed by 19 “i"s.

Now we also find the effective use of both “creak" of the bed spring and “swish" between the feet and the floor, for they are suggestive of bad household equipment. The bed on which Bigger is sleeping is cheap, hard, and made of iron, not gorgeous or soft. The rusty spring may have creaked. The floor Bigger walks across is not a soft thick-carpeted one, but the hard “planks" horribly stained and smelled. It can surely be said that in order to show us the bad conditions of the room, Wright designedly sets the scene where the bed spring creaks and the boy swishes across the floor. Later in the text, we learn about the same poor household equipment when to his friends Bigger voices his dissatisfaction with his white landlord who is reluctant to have the “radiators" repaired. His following complaint for “a small stove" is too heart-breaking to us readers when we consider the fact that in Chicago some were frozen to death in the severe winters.

'Kinda warm today.’

'Yeah’, Gus said.

'You get more heat from this sun than from them old radiators at home.’

'Yeah, them old white landlords sure don’t give much heat.’

'And they always knocking at your door for money.’

'I’ll be glad when summer comes.’

'Me too,’ Bigger said. (13-14)

In part two “FLIGHT," we come across a scene where Bigger remembers the time when the police has driven his family out of the flat. The building collapses two days after they move out. Once again we seem to hear these “creak"ing and “swish"ing sounds.

Now let us go on to the next scene. The boy switches on the light. In the room their brief conversation is heard for a while. Suddenly, a complete change in their mood is caused by “a light tapping" slightly audible to their ears. It is “the rat." “He" is to leave the “scene" after being killed by the skillet Bigger throws and is put into a garbage can by Bigger’s own hand. The following is the text of that scene :

…Abruptly, they all paused,…, their attention caught by a light tapping…. Bigger looked round the room,…and grabbed two heavy iron skillets…Buddy ran to a wooden box and shoved it quickly in front of a gaping hole…A huge black rat squealed and leaped at Bigger’s trouser-leg…Bigger held his skillet ;…The rat squeaked…Bigger swung the skillet ; it clattered to a stop against a wall… The rat…let out a furious screak… The rat…bared long yellow fangs, piping shrilly,…Bigger…let the skillet fly with a heavy grunt… “I got 'im," he muttered,…(4-6, emphases mine.)

In contrast to the clamorous scene of the clock, the rat’s scene begins calmly with a light sound expressed by an imitative word “tap." In the scene we can find six onomatopoeic words other than in their conversations ; “squeal," “squeak," “streak," and “pipe" of the rat and “clatter" and “grunt" of the skillet. (Of these “squeal," “squeak." and “grunt" are given the sign of [Imitative.] by O. E. D.) Even if “shrilly" is not inserted after “piping," “pipe," as well as “squeal," “squeak," and “streak" carries an implication of “shrill" (=piercing & high-pitched in sound), which is usually uttered in the state of fear or pain. In [ski : l] , [ski : k] and [skri : k] we find the same sounds in common – [sk] (a voiceless fricative [s] plus a voiceless plosive [k] ) and [i : ] (a long vowel [i : ] ). The former is imitative of the hoarse voice the rat strains in a frenzy of flight when he recognizes that the way of retreat is completely blocked. The latter is suggestive of the sharpness and high-pitchedness of the sound. And two liquids [r] and [1] express well the changing motion of the rat ; “squeal" hints at the rat’s leaping at Bigger with a wild shriek after crouching ; “streak" is suggestive of the motion of the rat which is now looking around restlessly just after running around, while “squeak" is of the motionless state of the rat which holds the crouching position. Of all these words, “streak" is most worthy of our notice. We can not find it either in P. O. D. or C. O. D. In O. E. D. it is signified as “Now chiefly dial.," from which we recognize the writer’s device of expression. He must have wanted to impress on us the delicate differences of each situation or each sound of the rat dodging in flight even by making the best use of the word unfamiliar to our ears.

Next is “clatter," which is imitative of the sound of the skillet Bigger throws. It symbolizes loudness by cl-, the metallic sound produced between the skillet and the wall by the voiceless [k] , and its movement by the liquid [l].

In contrast to “clatter," “grunt," imitative of the sound of Bigger’s second pitch of the skillet, shows the disagreeable dull sound produced when the skillet hits the rat’s soft body. It symbolizes the dull sound by the voiced [g] , its movement by the liquid [r] , and the passing sound with no lingering echo by the plosive [t] . Above all, the ending [t] is effective enough to help us get a feeling of “I got 'im."

In this scene we find 12 predicate verbs after the quotations (for example, “muttered" of “`I got 'im,’ he muttered.") although most of the story is composed of dialogues. They are “wail" and “whimper" of his sister, “shout" of his brother, 5 “scream"s of Mother, and “call," “whisper," “ask," and “mutter" of Bigger. Of those, “scream" is very similar both in meaning and in pronunciation to the previous [ski : l], and [skri : k]. His “wail"ing and “whimper"ing sister, “scream"ing Mother, and the “squeal"ing, “squeak"ing, and “streak"ing rat…… The word “mutter" contrasts well with them. The short complaint at the end of this scene is the fittest word to complete this bustling and noisy rat scene.

(2) “filthiness"…… The rat plays a more important role as a symbol of “filthiness" rather than “noisiness." Now let us quote from the same rat scene in a different way apart from the phonetic side :

…Abruptly, they all paused,…, their attention caught by a light tapping in the thinly plastered walls of the room…their eyes strayed apprehensively over the floor.

“There he is again, Bigger!" the woman screamed, and the tiny, one-room apartment galvanized into violent action. A chair toppled… (4, emphases mine.)

The word “tapping" is the sound slightly audible to their ears as is suggested by the signification of “tap" in O. E. D. ="strike a light but audible blow," but their reaction to that sound is surprisingly quick and “the tiny, one-room apartment galvanized into violent action." It might be pointed out here that the rat is called “he", and not “it." “He" is one of the “staff," and they are familiar with “him" for years -Mother screams ; his sister climbs onto the bed, whimpering ; the brothers pose with the skillet in hand ; their eight eyes roam after “him." To his family, however, it is nothing but a commonplace event. And “he" is extremely big. The next dialogue teaches us how huge “he" is :

The two brothers stood over the dead rat and spoke in tones of awed admiration.

'Gee, but he’s a big bastard.’

'That sonofabitch could cut your throat.’

'He’s over a foot long.’

'How in hell do they get so big?’

'Eating garbage and anything else they can get.’

'Look, Bigger, there’s a three-inch rip in your pant-leg.’ (6)

In the segregated, slummed areas too many blacks are forced to live their miserable lives together in unventilated old buildings. They naturally supply too much “food" for those rats. This is why the rats grow huge enough to hurt the inhabitants. It is not an exaggeration to say that the enormous size of the rats is equal to the poor housing conditions. Various extraordinary social phenomena are caused by these devastating conditions :

The kitchenette is the seed bed for scarlet fever, dysentery typhoid, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, pneumonia, and mulnutrition.

The kitchenette scatters death so widely among us that our death rate exceeds out birth rate and…(13)

The devastating reality of their condition lends realism to his mother’s curse on Bigger – “We wouldn’t have to live in this garbage dump if you had any manhood in you" (7, emphsis mine.).

This rat’s scene clearly reminds us of the underground sewer scene in “The Man Who Lived Underground," the manuscript of which had been completed by the end of 1941, the year following the publication of Bigger’s story, and published after revision in 1944 ：

He…jerked his head away as a whisper of scurrying life whisked past and was still. He held the match close and saw huge rat, wet with slime, blinking beady eyes and baring tiny fangs. The light blinded the rat and the frizzled head moved aimlessly. He grabbed the pole and let it fly against the rat’s soft body ; there was a shrill piping and grizzly body splashed into the dun-colored water and was snatched out of sight, spinning in the scuttling stream.(14)

The huge rat is symbolic of filthiness or a nauseating bad odor of the underground sewer world, along with the dead body of a baby floating on the sewer water. In this work Wright suggests that the world above ground might be compared to the world of the Whites, and the underground world to that of the Blacks. And he at last begins to view life from a new angle, the so-called “underground viewpoint." He then begins to regard the segregated condition of the oppressed blacks rather as the vantage point. In this scene, the rat in Native Son, prototype of the rat in the “underground" story, plays a large role.

(3) “closeness"…… The sound of the clock stops ; the light is switched on and his mother and sister begin to change their clothes :

'Turn your heads so I can dress,’ she said.

The two boys averted their eyes and gazed into far corner of the room….

A brown-skinned girl…fumbled with her stockings. The two boys kept their faces averted while their mother and sister put on enough clothes to keep them from feeling ashamed ;…Abruptly, they all paused,…, their attention caught by a light tapping… They forgot their conspiracy against shame….(3-4)

In the story, we read of a scene after Mary’s murder where Bigger sits in his room at a breakfast table. He is then blamed by his sister who thinks he is looking at her altough he is merely staring vacantly in her direction. In the tiny room even privacy is impossible. “Closeness" produces unnecessary friction among the occupants and their personalities are gradually warped :

The kitchennete throws desperate and unhappy people into an unbearable closeness of association, thereby increasing latant friction, giving birth to never-ending quarrels of recrimination, accusation, and vindictiveness, producting warped personalities.(15)

The rat’s scene relates a daily occurrence, but the emotions of “noisiness," “filthiness," and “closeness" are doubtlessly conveyed to the readers by “their little room" in which the alarm clock clings and the rat is killed.

kitchennete

ii ) “Bigger, his family," and “their relationships"

“Noisiness" irritates the mind of the occupants and “filthiness" causes various kinds of disease. “Closeness" brings out unnecessary quarrels among the families – `Day in and day out there was nothing but shouts and bickering." (11) In “their little room," Mother directs her bitter complaints against Bigger, saying “We wouldn’t have to live in this garbage dump if you had any manhood in you." (7, emphsis mine.) She earnestly begs him to have “manhood" in place of her husband who has been killed by a mob down in the South. He hates his family because he is powerless to help them though he understands their sufferings all too well. In such a life he has already decided what attitude to take :

…So he held toward them an attitude of iron reverse ; he lived with them, but behind a wall, a curtain. And toward himself he was even more exacting. He knew that the moment he allowed what his life meant to enter fully into his consciousness, he would either kill himself or someone else. So he denied himself and acted tough. (9)

The rat’s scene presents Bigger’s attitude toward his family and their relationships, especially toward his screaming mother and whimpering sister (women). His attitude contrasts in a striking way with theirs. The contrast is also suggested by the predicate verbs which show their actions. (It is also suggested by some nouns.) As I briefly mentioned earlier, in the opening scene (pp. 3-11) the frequency of each word is as follows ; “scream"-6, “sob"-3, “cry"-1 (about Mother) “whimper"-2, “wail," “cry," and “scream"-1 (about his sister). The contrast between Bigger with his forced calmness and the screaming, whimpering women is shown again in parts two and three. In part two, we find it in the scene where Bigger has killed Bessie after taking her out of her apartment (pp. 190-201). In this scene, the frequency of predicate verbs about Bessie is as follows ; “cry"- 8, “whimper," “moan," and “sigh"-5, “sob" (including “sobs")-4. “wail" and “scream"-1. And in part three, we also find it in Bigger’s cell scene where a district attorney, his family, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, and the others are all together (pp. 251-257). As for the predicate verbs, the frequency is 7-“sob" including “sobs"), 5-“cry," 2-“wail," 1-“mumble" and “whimper" (about Mother) and 1-“sob" (about his sister who says nothing in the scene although Bigger once speaks to her.)

Contrary to the woman’s case, we notice that in Bigger’s, the predicate verb after his conversation sentence is only “shout" in the opening scene of part one and in the cell scene of part three ; the scene in PART ONE where Mother earnestly begs him to get the job offered by Mr. Dalton ; and in PART THREE where his mother pleads on her knees with Mrs. Dalton for Bigger’s life.

“Sob," “cry," “wail," “whimper," etc…, commonly used for women, play a role as key words which give readers some symbolical meaning. What Wright likes to emphasize by these key words is how hopelessly most blacks accept their misery and try to find some escape from their everyday sufferings by praying or drinking as Mother and Bessie do. Through the symbolical descriptions he shows his resentment against the present condition of black people and extends passive warnings towards such blacks. The resentment and warnings are among the main themes of this story along with his protest towards the white world which has produced such miserable conditions for the blacks. In this scene, it might be said that one of the motives for “the entire scheme of the book" is suggested by “the rat scene to disclose only Bigger, his family, their little room, and their relationships."

III. Native Son and Chicago’s South Side

Chicago, the setting of this story, was one of the Promised Lands for black people living in the South. We see this even from a song often sung down in the South ; 'Lawd, I’d ruther be a lamppost in Chicago than the President in Miss’ipp…"(16)Unfortunately, however, Chicago was not the Promised Land for many blacks who had left their native South. Naturally, Wright was no exception to that rule. In the North they were segregated in one corner of the town, the so-called black ghetto. In the ghetto they were forced to earn precarious livelihood – “Last hired, first fired." The “color" line was strictly drawn between the white world and the black one. The blacks could never cross the “line." As the slaves in the South had been exploited by the plantation owners, many blacks were severely exploited by the capitalists in the urban North. In the story we discover the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed when the text tells us that Mr. Dalton is the owner of Bigger’s room who is falsely kind and philanthropic enough to give him a job. By borrowing the historical, economical, and social analyses of the Marxists, he was able to point out American racial dilemma and make it clear that Bigger was a native son America had produced, and that it was not on Bigger but on Mr. Dalton and white America that Bigger’s crime should have been blamed rationally. Chicago’s South Side was the best place by which he could show us the segregated and exploited situation of the blacks.

1. Symbol and Metaphor

The Thomas family and their relationships were not extraordinary in Chicago’s South Side. Such families could easily be seen in the district. 12 Million Black Voices gives some clue to that matter. Now let us go back to his history book ：

The kitchenette injects pressure and tension into our individual personalities, making many of us give up the struggle, walk off and leave wives, husbands, and even children behind to shift as best they can…

The kitchenette blights the personalities of our growing children, disorganizes them, blinds them to hope, treats problems whose effects can be traced in the characters of its child victims for years afterward.(17)

Bigger’s family is typical of the ghetto-a family of mother and children. The father has been killed in the South ; the mother manages to support her family by toiling for bread in a white family ; the family has a bad boy who is busy making trouble in one corner of the town. “Their little room" in which this typical family is living is to be an exact miniature of the South Side of Chicago.

Chicago

Along with “their little room," the rat overrunning in the South Side is a symbol of their poor living environment. The rat is to be chased down, cornered, killed, and finally thrown into a garbage can, after running around the tiny room. Bigger is to be cornered, arrested, and then executed in the electric chair, after running around the South Side. They both meet the same end, indeed. The South Side has produced the “rat" and America has produced “Bigger," a native son. And they both are to be eliminated as social diseases.

Wright often said, “The Negro is the metaphor of America." Now if we borrow his phrase, we may well say that “their little room’ is the metaphor of the South Side" and “the 'rat’ is the metaphor of 'Bigger.'"

Bigger, the rat, and “their little room." By making skillful use of their symbolical and metaphorical expressions, Wright succeeds well in letting each of them play their part in the schemed opening scene.

Note

(1) Richard Wright, “How 'Bigger’ Was Born," Saturday Review, No. 22 (June 1, 1940), rpt. in Native Son (New York : Harper & Row, 1969), p. xxix.

(2) Wright, “How 'Bigger’ Was Born," p. xxxiii.

(3) Wright, 12 Million Black Voices: A Folk History of the Negro in the United States (New York : The Viking Press, 1941), pp. 104-105.

(4) Wright, Native Son (New York : Harper & Brothers, 1940), p. 3 ; all subsequent page references to this work will appear in parentheses in this paper.

(5) In O. E. D. we can find clang signified as “1. A loud resonant ringing sound ; …"

(6) Wright, The Long Dream (1958 ; rpt. Chatham : The Chatham Bookseller, 1969), p. 54.

(7) Cf, INUI Ryoichi, “Giseigo Zakki" (“Miscellaneous Notes on Onomatopoeia"), in Ichikawa Hakase Kanreki Shukuga Ronshu (A Collection of Papers in Celebration of the 60th Birthday of Dr. Sanki Ichikawa), 2nd ser. (Tokyo : Kenkyusha, 1947), p. 3.

(8) The text reminds us of Big Boy and his friends in “Big Boy Leaves Home," who suffered unexpected misery because a white young woman happened to appear in the spot where they were swimming. Furthermore shortly after this event in The Long Dream, we find the scene in which a friend of the hero’s who got in touch with a white woman was cruelly murdered by a white mob. Here the reader notices that this scene is a kind of prelude of the cruel murder, finding the anxiety has come true.

(9) INUI, p. 6.

(10) SAEKI Shoichi, Bungakuteki America (Literal America)(Tokyo : Chuokoronsha, 1967), p. 193.

(11) Cf. INUI, pp. 2-3 ; “A nasal [m] has some connection with a continuous lingering echo of the sound and a voiced plosive [b] gives a blunt noisy impression of the sound."

(12) Cf. INUI, p. 3 ; “A plosive [t] is appropriate to express the sudden, abrupt movement without a lingering echo."

(13) Wright, 12 Million Black Voices, pp. 106-107.

(14) Wright, “The Man Who Lived Underground," in Cross-Section, ed. Edwin Seaver (New York : L. B. Fisher, 1944), p. 60.

(15) Wright, 12 Million Black Voices, p. 108.

(16) Cf. Wright, Lawd Today (New York : Walker, 1963), p. 154.

(17) Wright, 12 Million Black Voices, pp. 109-111.

執筆年

1986年

収録・公開

Chuken Shoho, Vol. 19, No. 3: 293-306

ダウンロード

Symbolical and Metaphorical Expressions in the Opening Scene in Native Son(138KB)

解説

修士論文「リチャード・ライトの世界」では小説を中心に書いたのですがイギリス植民地ゴールド・コーストを訪れて書いた『ブラック・パワー』に続いて、１９５５年のインドネシアのバンドンでのアジア・アフリカ会議に出かけて書いた『カラー・カーテン』を黒人研究の会の例会で発表しました。

背景のアフリカ系アメリカの歴史やアフリカの歴史についても考え始めた頃なので、全体像もつかめないままの発表だったと思います。しかしライトの描こうとした世界の全体像をつかむためには避けられない作品だと考えて、例会を利用させてもらいました。

大抵例会で発表したものについてはその後活字にしましたが、『カラー・カーテン』については書いていません。

ナタラジャン著『広島からバンドンへ』は、ペンタゴン（米国攻防総省）の環太平洋構想を知るうえで極めて示唆的な新書でした。インド人が書いたのも印象に残っています。

アフリカ系アメリカ人の背景を知るなかで、奴隷貿易→産業革命による産業化→市場・原材料を求めての植民地争奪戦→植民地分割・植民地化→第二次世界大戦後の資本投資・多国籍企業の貿易による新しい形の搾取構造の構築というアフリカ史を辿るきっかけにもなりました。

フィリピンからスペインを駆逐して居座った米西戦争→第二次大戦・沖縄→朝鮮戦争・ソウル→ベトナム戦争・ハノイ→ソマリア内戦・モガディシオ→アフガニスタン→イラン・イラクと、今も続くペンタゴンの環太平洋構想から見る見方はこの『カラー・カーテン』を発表する準備の段階で得た貴重な視点だったように思います。

会報写真

「黒人研究の会会報」 第24号 (1986) 9ペイジ。

本文

7月例会:神戸外大(7月12日〉

リチャード・ライトと『カラー・カーテン』

ライト写真

『ブラック・パワー』に引き続いて、今回は、『カラー・カーテン』を取り上げました。フランスに移住してからのライトは、抑圧の問題を、より広い視野からとらえようと努力していました。１９５０年には、インドの首相パンディット・ネルーにあてて「抑圧に反対するだけではなく、人類の発展のために闘うには、世界の人々の団結が必要であります」という旨の書簡を送っています。したがって、アジア・アフリカ諸国の初めての大規模な会議に、ライトが駆けつけたのは、自然のなりゆきであったと言えます。ライトは、ゴールド・コーストへ出かけた場合と同様に、数冊の本を読んでから現地に乗り込んでいます。

今回の発表は、次の順序で行ないました。

１．　バンドン会議について（朝日新聞１９５５年、１９６５年、１９８５年の記事を参照にして）

２．　バンドン会議と日本（ナタラジャン著『広島からバンドンへ』岩波書店に触れて）

３．ライトとバンドン会議（ネルーへの手紙と『ブラック・パワー』に関連して）

４．『カラー・カーテン』に対する評価

５．私の評価

前回の『ブラック・パワー』の場合もそうでしたが・政治・経済・歴史などに疎い私には、ずいぶんと荷の重すぎる作品でした。しかし、何とかライトを正当に評価したいと願う現在、「ライトを評価する場合、作品だけではなく、闘争的知識人としての業績をも同様に評価すべきである」というファーブルさんの指摘がどうしても耳から離れません。当分は、少なくとも当分は、「苦難」の道は避けられないようです。

発表をひとつのきっかけにしたいと思います。

カラーカーテン写真

執筆年

1986年

収録・公開

「黒人研究の会会報」24号9ペイジ

会報写真

ダウンロード

リチャード・ライトと『カラー・カーテン』(口頭発表報告)(103KB)

概要

1985年の「リチャード・ライトと『ブラック・パワー』」の英語訳です。

 

写真Memoirs of the Osaka Institute of Technology, Series B, Vol. 31, No. 1: 37-48

85年にライトのシンポジウムに参加して以来、英語を使う人との遣り取りも増えたうえ、伯谷さんからは87年の年末にサンフランシスコで開かれるMLA (Modern Language Association of America) に誘われていました。書いたものを読んでもらうのに英語訳の必要性を感じていたのだと思います。

伯谷さん写真

結果的には、この作品がアフリカへのきっかけになりました。当初、ライトについての発表でお誘いを受けたMLAでは、English Literature Other than British and American の部会で、アレックス・ラ・グーマについて発表することになりました。

 

ＭＬＡ写真

最初の誘いの言葉は、玉田さん、サンフランシスコは日本から一番近いし、ご家族一緒に来られませんか、でした。そうですね、とは答えたものの、よく考えてみましたら、発表する相手はすべて英語を話す人たちで、それからえらいこっちゃ、となりました。

サンフランシスコへは家族で行きましたが、長男は５歳、乗ってみて初めてわかったのですが、飛行機に大層弱く、行き帰りハワイを経由しても、難行苦行の空の上でした。

真冬に大阪を発ち、翌朝のハワイは常夏、しばらく夏を過ごして着いたサンフランシスコは秋の気候、帰りもその逆を経験し、体がびっくりしたと思います。

 

ハワイ写真

 

サンフランシスコ写真

４歳上の長女はその時のことを覚えているようですが、長男は何も覚えていないそうです。

92年には、今度は４人で、ジンバブエのハラレに行きました。ソウル経由でロンドンへ、そこで10日間過ごしてハラレに、帰りはパリに１週間滞在してから直通で日本に帰って来ました。長い長い空の旅でした。

ハラレ写真

Black Power写真

本文

Abstract

 

ライト写真

This paper aims to give an evaluation of Richard Wright and Black Power and to include his sharp observations and useful commentaries about Africa which now even in this modern age are still relevant.

In 1953 he made a visit to the Gold Coast, then a British colony on its way as the first black African nation towards independence from Britain. At that time a “three-sided" struggle was being fought there, made up of reactionary intellectuals and chiefs, the British Government and the politically awakened masses. As Wright was anxious to present a truer picture of the coming independent nation “Ghana" and the people’s daily lives to the world, it was essential for him to grasp how the “three-sided" struggle was being fought. He succeeded in arranging the materials he had collected and inserted his commentaries in a letter to Nkrumah that appeared at the end of the book.

In this paper efforts are made to attempt an analysis of how Wright grasped the reality of the Gold Coast, focusing on the “three-sided" struggle.

1. For Africa

Richard Wright (1908-1960) left Liverpool for Africa on the morning of June 4th, 1953. His destination was the Gold Coast, then a British colony, which was to become an independent nation under the new name of Ghana on March 6th, 1957. His “long dream" of traveling to Africa was realized with the aid of George Padmore (1902-1959), a Jamaican Pan-Africanist, with whom he had been close friends since 1946. The three-month journey was to be his first and last travel in Africa. His book about this trip was published by Harper & Brothers under the title of Black Power on September 22nd, 1954.

In Europe the book was generally accepted equanimously in most countries and especially warmly in Germany, and translated into many languages. But in England and France, however, a few publishers rejected to accept his manuscript.¹

In the United States the majority of reviewers were complimentary as was shown in the case of a review which stated, “As it is a first class job and gives the best picture I’ve seen of an extraordinary situation…,"² but there were some critical and hostile attacks which hurt his feelings bitterly.

These reactions were closely related to the various countries’ policies or interests towards the colonies. It is not difficult to conclude that the rejection of its publication in England was inextricably bound to the situation of her economy, at that time highly dependent on her colonies.

Contrary to his agent’s and publisher’s enthusiasm for publication, the book did not sell well. Although from this point of view it might be concluded that the publication was not successful, it must be remembered that some vital points, summed up in his letter to Kwame Nkrumah, are discussed in Black Power. In the letter his penetrating observations and commentaries on the coming neo-colonialism by imperialist powers are revealed to us. Undoubtedly some grave and controversial problems are posed in Black Power. But in Japan however, very few fair estimations have been made on this work so far. This paper therefore, is aimed at giving a fair assessment of Richard Wright and Black Power, including his useful foresight and warnings about Africa, which still even in this modern age, have relevance.

2. Black Power

Andre Gide (1869-1951), a member of the Investigation Committee of Colonial Problems, once made a visit to the French Congo and after the journey published Voyage au Congo, 1927. His trip was at first motivated by his curiosity for natural science, but the sight of the miserable native Africans oppressed by colonial policies and corrupt public officials, traders, and missionaries urged him to say, “I have to make a public disclosure of the real conditions" and led him to write the book.

Wright’s visit to Africa, however, was motivated in a different way. From the start he wanted to stand on African soil and introduce the daily lives of people living on the Gold Coast to the world. The Gold Coast was at that time making its way towards independence from Britain, the first black African nation to do so.

On his first day in the Gold Coast, Wright saw black men operating cranes and other machines. He remembered Dr. Malan of South Africa “had sworn that black men were incapable of doing these things."³ Thus the negative views held by Westerners confronted him as soon as he landed on African soil. It is remarkable indeed that he was unaffected by these negative views and could strive to grasp the reality of Africa itself. During his stay he undertook ventures of great risk, although he felt discouraged when he found himself regarded by the Africans as a Westerner, rather than as a descendent of a common ancestor. By his positiveness he shows us his fixed determination to make this meaningful and his determined attitude to answer oppressors through his writings.

One reviewer says, “….Simply stated, more than 300 pages are devoted to a plain narrative of Wright’s several months’ wanderings through the Gold Coast. This is no academic treatise; no effort is made to give a logical pattern to the material presented. Rather these are just a multitude of impressions…,"⁴ but careful reading of the text shows this to be untrue. He was prudent enough to make preparations for the journey. He had read several books on the Gold Coast and Africa listed by Padmore. Furthermore Padmore had given him another list with the names of the proper people to talk to in the Gold Coast. Consequently he was able to meet many influential people. We discover that he possessed a definite aim from the beginning of his trip when we read The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah. In his book Nkrumah wrote about the birth of the Convention People’s Party. Since his returning to the Gold Coast in 1947, he had been making every effort for his native land as a secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention. He finally made up his mind to resign from the post when he was called by active supporters to lead the Convention People’s Party. The passage says:

Standing before my supporters I pledged myself, my very life blood, if need be, to the cause of Ghana.

This marked the final parting of the ways to right and left of Gold Coast nationalism; from the system of indirect rule promulgated by British imperialism to the new political awareness of the people. From now on the struggle was to be three-sided, made up by the reactionary intellectuals and chiefs, the British Government and the politically awakened masses with their slogan of “Self- Government Now."⁵ (Emphases mine.)

When Wright set foot on the Gold Coast in 1953, they had already started fighting this fierce “three-sided" struggle for independence. As he was anxious to present a truer picture of the coming independent nation “Ghana" and their daily lives to the world, especially to the Western world, it was indispensable for Wright to grasp how the “three-sided" struggle was being fought there. He certainly did not devote “more than 300 pages" to “a plain narrative of Wright’s several months’ wanderings through the Gold Coast." He made an effort “to give a logical pattern" by putting into collected form the notes he had acquired and declaring opinions in his letter to Nkrumah. In other words, he arranged the materials and made observations with the intention of condensing his commentaries in his letter to Nkrumah which was inserted at the end of the book. Now, let us read the text and see how Wright grasped the reality of the Gold Coast, focusing on the “three-sided" struggle.

The “British Government"

In the beginning of the letter, Wright wrote to Nkrumah, with an emphasis laid upon the psychological aspect, that confidence should be established at the center of the African personality although Westerners were intent on criticizing Africa in defense of their subjugation of Africa. And at the end of the letter he repeated that none but Africans could perform the “job" for Africa. First of all, he laid greater stress on mental “Africanization" than on anything else. It was mainly because he keenly felt distrust which was shown by every African, from the Prime Minister down to the humblest “mammy." Here is his sharp observation, an observation which can be made only by a man of great sensitivity. Putting great value on emotion and recalling Nkrumah’s having told him that missionaries had been his first political adversaries, Wright continues in the text as follows:

The gold can be replaced; the timber can grow again, but there is no power on earth that can rebuild the mental habits and restore that former vision that once gave significance to the lives of these people. Nothing can give back to them that pride in themselves, that capacity to make decisions, that organic view of existence that made them want to live on this earth and derive from that living a sweet even if sad meaning. Today the ruins of their former culture, no matter how cruel and barbarous it may seem to us, are reflected in timidity, hesitancy, and bewilderment. Eroded personalities loom here for those who have psychological eyes to see. (153)

He must have wanted to emphasize that the work of the missionaries was the greatest crime that had been committed against the African people, for they had “waded in and wrecked an entire philosophy of existence of a people without replacing it, without even knowing really what they had been doing." He laid an emphasis on the psychological problem of the African people because he actually felt its necessity when he saw with his own eyes the African reality – streets without sidewalks, a drainage ditch in which urine ran, most people spitting all the time, a girl squatting over a drainage and urinating, a crowd of men, women, and children bathing themselves around an outdoor hydrant, deformed beggars with monstrously swollen legs, running sores, limbs broken, blind men whose empty eye-sockets yawned wetly, children whose entire heads were gripped with sores, mails which were not delivered because of illiteracy, a soft mound of wet rust seen here and there, lagoons with awful stench and stagnant water, causing typhoid and yellow fever and malaria, the tsetse fly, tiny mud villages filled with leprosy, still-existing human sacrifices, African workers preferring their native witch doctors to modern medical treatment, dirt highways whose accident rate was appalling, stevedores toiling with low wages like machines in inhuman conditions, poor educational systems.Those miserable conditions remind us of the following passage of Nrumah’s Africa Must Unite, in which he depicted the misery of African village life in his youth:

In all the years that the British colonial office administered this country, hardly any serious rural water development was carried out. What this means is not easy to convey to readers who take for granted that they have only to turn on a tap to get an immediate supply of good drinking water. This, if it had occurred to our rural communities, would have been their idea of heaven. They would have been grateful for a single village well or standpipe.

As it was, after a hard day’s work in the hot and humid fields, men and women would return to their village and then have to tramp for as long as two hours with a pail or pot in which, at the end of their outward journey, they would be lucky to collect some brackish germ-filled water from what may perhaps have been little more than a swamp. Then there was the long journey back. Four hours a day for an inadequate supply of water for washing and drinking, water for the most part disease-ridden!

This picture was true for almost the whole country….⁶

He felt stunned by what he found, but formed a clear view of the situation, and never averted his eyes from the reality wrought by the British Government. He knew well enough that both distrust peculiar to Africans and their devastating reality were only the product of colonialism which enabled colonialists to defend their financial interests. He also noticed the limitations of colonial powers which had to make the best use of traditional rural communities to rule over Africans. In his letter to Nkrumah, Wright advised him to take advantage of these limitations and said:

…And, though the cultural traditions of the people have been shattered by European business and religious interests, they were so negatively shattered that the hunger to create a Weltanshauung is still there, virginal and unimpaired. (344)

Native Africans had established their rural communities of their own accord to survive in harsh living conditions. Therefore the communities had naturally possessed the possibilities of development before the Europeans arrived. The possibilities were prevented first by the slave trade and then by such colonial policies as land exploitation, compulsory labor, taxes and so forth. During his trip Wright had a chance to see the stevedores in Accra, the miners in Bibiani and the workers of timber plants in Samreboi. They were all seasonal laborers who were forced to leave their native villages by heavy taxes and severe compulsory labor. In spite of the very low wages and dangerous work, there were enough workers. In Accra harbor, in fact, a crowd of half-nude men huddled before a wooden stairway leading up to an office, looking for a job.

Because of the slave trade and the colonial policies, the rural communities were deprived of their supporters. This deprivation prevented the possibility of development of the communities and forced them to remain weaken and undeveloped. Even in such bad conditions the African people held out against imperialist exploitation and kept up their communities with stronger solidarity and unwearying labor. Wright must have felt their “hunger to create a Weltanschauung" while he was visiting the rural communities and communicating with native Africans.

The communities were forced to change so that the British Government could rule over them advantageously. The British then gradually created distrust in the hearts of the people and brought misery to their daily lives. There was “tribalism," the communities stripped of all their supporters. We must remember that both “tribe" and “tribalism" are words of Western origin, not African. It must be also remembered that the traditional communities were reduced to mere shells by an external factor – colonial policies, and that the historical development had nothing to do with it. This is the reason why Wright advised Nkrumah to overcome “the stagnancy of tribalism" time and again in his letter to him. He knew well that the communities did not properly fulfill their functions.

In the letter to Nkrumah, Wright also advised him not to rely on the help of Western powers. He foretold that the Westerners would “pounce at any time upon Africa," given the opportunity, just as they had done in the past. History tells us that his prophecy was true. Several times Nkrumah narrowly escaped being assassinated and his Government was, in fact, overthrown by a coup d’etat. Nkrumah must have grasped the situation more clearly than any one else. It is shown in the next symbolical passage in his autobiography, in which he wrote about the time of the birth of the new nation:

 

As a heritage, it was stark and daunting, and seemed to be summed up in the symbolic bareness which met me and my colleagues when we officially moved into Christianborg Castle, formerly the official residence of the British governor. Making our tour through room after room, we were struck by the general emptiness. Except for an occasional piece of furniture, there was absolutely nothing to indicate that only a few days before people had lived and worked there. Not a rag, not a book was to be found; not a piece of paper; not a single reminder that for very many years the colonial administration had had its center there.

That complete denudation seemed like a line drawn across our continuity. It was as though there had been a definite intention to cut off all links between the past and present which could help us in finding our bearings. It was a covert reminder that, having ourselves rejected that past, it was for us to make our future alone.⁷

The “reactionary intellectuals and chiefs"

The African continent was too large and wide to be occupied completely by Westerners, therefore colonial policies were necessary. The colonial policies deprived the communities of their supporters and gave no opportunities of education to native Africans. The Westerners made the best use of the traditional rural communities to make up for their lack of people, by making a puppet of the chiefs who were still powerful over their people.

In Accra, Wright went as far as renting a car and hiring an African chauffeur, and set out undauntedly on a tour to Kumasi. His first aim was to meet and communicate with chiefs. Fortunately he was able to encounter some of them. One of them was simple-minded enough to say with deep conviction that he had an army of bees in a boy to protect him. He was also ignorant enough to intone, “We are many, many, many, " when asked how many people were in his town. These were the chiefs who were once shameless enough to sell their people to the white men in return for a bottle of gin! In the letter Wright called them “those parasitic chiefs who have too long bled and misled a naive people."

Most of the chiefs, however, were sensible enough to adjust themselves to the new situation after the Party had clipped their political wings. They were willing to pay a visit to the headquarters of the Party, to seek help in their party work, and to offer themselves to be assigned to duties. At one time the Asantehene, the most powerful chief, was about to be taken advantage of by the British Government which feared that the Gold Coast might become stronger by the centralization of administrative power. However the Asantehene eventually gave way to Nkrumah, as did the rest of the chiefs.

The bitterest political opponents to Nkrumah were the Western-educated black intellectuals, the leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention, with whom he had struggled jointly for the independence. Wright met the two important leaders of the opposition, Drs. Busia and Danquah. They were actually against Nkrumah and criticized that Nkrumah stole power and “made a filthy deal with the British." With the slogan of “full Self-Government within the shortest possible time," they had raised the nostalgic but futile cry: 'Preserve our tradition!"' On the contrary Nkrumah wrote about the opponents as follows:

The opposition in Ghana cannot boast this same sense of responsibility and maturity. So far it has been mostly destructive. We have seen the historic reasons for this in the revolution of the United Gold Coast Convention leaders from the mass movement I had achieved as their secretary, and the subsequent formation of the Convention People’s Party to embrace that mass movement as the instrument for the achievement of freedom. The U. G. C. C. leaders never forgave me and my associates for proving the rightness of our policy of 'Self-Government Now’ in the results of the 1951 election. Thereafter their opposition amounted to a virtual denial of independence and a reluctance for the British to leave. They were prepared to sacrifice our national liberation if that would keep me and my colleagues out of government.⁸

During his stay in Africa, Wright heard a black young man complain that he could not ask the rich Africans for help because they were worse than the British. The interviews with some black intellectuals made him realize that they could not understand the real situation of the masses at all. So in his letter to Nkrumah he concluded that Nkrumah should not have the Western-educated Africans with him in his struggle for liberating the Gold Coast.

The “politically awakened masses"

The British brought about nothing but misery to their lives. The chiefs misled their people. Some of the black intellectuals were worse than the British. The masses trusted nothing and nobody. There burned in their hearts “a hunger to regain control over their lives and create a new sense of their destinies." (91) They could swear “oaths to invisible gods no longer and now at last, they were swearing an oath that related directly to their daily welfare." (60) Within a short period Nkrumah was able to hold such masses in the palm of his hand. On the situation Wright made the following remark:

…Nkrumah had moved in and filled the vacuum which the British and the missionaries had left when they had smashed the tribal culture of the people! It was so simple it was dazzling….Of course, before Nkrumah could do this, he would first have to have the intellectual daring to know that the British had created a vacuum in these people’s hearts. It was not until one could think of the imperialist actions of the British as being crimes of the highest order, that they had slain something that they could never rekindle, that one could project a new structure for the lives of these people. (60)

They hailed Nkrumah with hearty cheers on the roadsides and at the political mass meetings. Wright was thunderstruck when he saw the crowds shouting and calling: “Free―doom! Free―dooooom!" They were trade-unionists, students, “mammy" traders of the streets, and the nationalist elements who were completely ignored by the United Gold Coast Convention. The women were most enthusiastic of all, for they had put up with the coldest treatment under the colonial policies. In 1949, when Nkrumah was charged with contempt of court and fined three hundred pounds, the sum was quickly raised by the voluntary efforts of the street “mammy." Most of the masses were illiterate and did not clearly know where they were going with Nkrumah. Wright knew the situation well, so in the letter he wrote that Nkrumah should determine “the logic of his actions by the conditions of the lives of the people," and that the temporary discipline should place “the feet of the masses upon a basis of reality." And he finally drew a conclusion:

AFRICAN LIFE MUST BE MILITARIZED!

…not for war, but for peace; not for destruction, but for service; not for aggression, but for production; not for despotism, but to free minds from mumbo-jumbo. (346)

It must have been his friendliest advice to Nkrumah, for he keenly felt that the path to independence would be rough and rugged beyond imagination.

III. What Africa means in this modern age

The Western powers have done a lot of injustice to Africa and the situation is as bad as it was. Dr. Du Bois, one of the Pan-Africanists, once pointed out: “The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line."⁹ His prophecy turned out to be true. Now under the nuclear threat, the Third World has become a significant bridge between the existing two Worlds. Undoubtedly Africa holds the key to the present situation.

A lot of things can be learned if we look at the history of Africa. The Africans lived as human beings even under the severest exploitation of the slave trade and the colonial policies. They have kept their tradition, culture, education, and so on under the worst conditions in the world, never having received the benefit of modern civilization, science and technology. Now most of the independent nations in Africa are struggling against neo-colonialism. We can not avert our eyes from their sincere struggle.

Sembene Ousmane (1923- ), a Senegalese writer, came to Japan in 1984 and said, “We need no help. We’d like you to have a fair understanding of the situation" on the hunger aid campaign, then active in Japan.¹⁰ His sharp commentary urged us to reconsider what we should do.

On the African problem Wright also made the following commentary in the text:

One does not react to Africa as Africa is, and this is because so few can react to life as life is. One reacts to Africa as one is, as one lives; one’s reaction to Africa is a vast, dingy mirror and what modern man sees in that mirror he hates and wants to destroy. He thinks, when looking into that mirror, that he is looking at black people who are inferior, but, really he is looking at himself and, unless he possesses a superb knowledge of himself, his first impulse to vindicate himself is to smash this horrible image of himself which his own soul projects out upon this Africa….

Africa is dangerous, evoking in one a total attitude toward life, calling into question the basic assumptions of existence. Africa is the world of man; if you are wild, Africa’s wild; if you are empty, so’s Africa…. (158-159)

With the friendly help of Padmore, Wright was able to visit the Gold Coast, then making its way towards independence. Consequently, he succeeded in presenting the struggle for independence of the Gold Coast and the daily lives of the Africans to the world. He deserves praise for presenting a truer picture to the world earlier than any one else. In the letter to Nkrumah, Wright wrote to him on neo-colonialism:

…You might, by borrowing money from the West, industrialize your people in a cash-and-carry system, but, in doing so, you will be but lifting them from tribal to industrial slavery, for tied to Western money is Western control, Western ideas…. Kwame, there is nothing on earth more afraid than a million dollars; and, if a million dollars means fear, a billion dollars is the quintessence of panic…. (346)

In the letter Wright also said to him on corruption:

Regarding corruption; use fire and acid and cauterize the ranks of your party of all opportunists! Now! Corruption is the one single fact that strikes dismay in the hearts of the friends of African freedom…. (349-350)

If we take into account what Ghana has become, we discover that his warnings and advice are still vital indeed.

4. Richard Wright and Black Power

In Native Son (1940) Wright depicted the black-white problem vividly through the story of Bigger Thomas who was finally driven to murder a white girl and a black girl. In the story, Wright both directed active protests against the whites and extended passive warnings towards the blacks. At the same time he portrayed his dissatisfaction with the Communist Party which could see the racial situation in general, but could not see the individual in the mass. We notice that he already started to step beyond the racial problem. By the end of 1941 when he wrote the manuscript of “The Man Who Lived Underground," he was clearly determined to step beyond the straight black-white problem. In the revised version of “The Man Who Lived Underground" (1944), he was able to handle a wider and deeper theme from a new viewpoint.

He left the Communist Party in 1944, for he had begun to reconsider the relationship between the society and the individual. By reexamining the history of the oppressed blacks in the United States, he was able to write 12 Million Black Voices (1941). Recollecting his early days, he set out to write his autobiography. It appeared as articles in “I Tried to Be a Communist" (1944), “Early Days in Chicago" (1945) and “American Hunger" (1945), and as a book in Black Boy (1945). He confessed how difficult it had been to wrestle with himself:

…I found that to tell the truth is the hardest thing on earth, harder than fighting in a war, harder than taking part in a revolution. If you try it, you will find that at times sweat will break upon you. You will find that even if you succeed in discounting the attitudes of others to you and your life, you must wrestle with yourself most of all, fight with yourself; for there will surge up in you a strong desire to alter facts, to dress up your feelings. You’ll find that there are many things that you don’t want to admit about yourself and others. As your record shapes itself an awed wonder haunts you.¹¹

In 1946 he visited Paris and enjoyed the mood of freedom after the Second World War. In 1947 he moved to Paris with his family to start a new life. He had left his private troubles behind in the United States. In Paris he was able to see America and racial problems objectively. The viewpoint of “The Man Who Lived Underground" deepened and widened in The Outsider (1953) and Savage Holiday (1954). In the former he severely criticized Western civilization from the ideological aspect and in the latter from the psychological. In The Outsider, Cross Damon, protagonist of the story, whispers before his death to Houston, the New York District Attorney:

'I wish I had some way to give the meaning of my life to others….To make a bridge from man to man…Starting from scratch every time is…is no good. Tell them not to come down this road….Men hates themselves and it makes them hate others….We must find some way of being good to ourselves….Man is all we’ve got….I wish I could ask men to meet themselves….We’re different from what we seem….Maybe worse, maybe better…But certainly different…We’re strangers to ourselves’.¹²

Wright’s way of life was symbolically shown by the confession. At that time he could not anchor any hope either in America or in European countries. He was anxiously awaiting another new hope to liberate the oppressed black people and himself. In that context, the following commentary is to the point:

Actually, what Mr. Wright says is a re-statement in terms of Gold Coast problems of the fundamental argument in The Outsider: that the confusion and terror which stalk the world are in very fact a mirror reflecting the basically bestial motive in Western culture.¹³

It can be said that the same problems are discussed both in The Outsider and Black Power, and that “finally, in a profound way, it is a book about Wright himself."¹⁴

At the end of his trip he wrote a letter to Paul Reynolds:

I was shocked at what I found here, and yet I’m told that the Gold Coast is by far the best part of Africa. If that is so, then, I don’t want to see the worst.¹⁵

In spite of this declaration, he planned to visit some French speaking West African nations. His sudden death prevented it. However, he made desperate attempts for he regarded Africa as the important bridge between two Worlds.

We can not form a true estimation of Richard Wright and his works unless we give a fair evaluation to Black Power.

Notes

¹ Michel Fabre, The Unfinished Quest of Richard Wright, tra. Isabel Barzun (New York: William Morrow, 1973), p. xx.

² Ed. John M. Reilly, Richard Wright; The Critical Reception (N.P.: Burt Franklin, 1978), p. 254.

³ Richard Wright, Black Power (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), p. 33; All subsequent page references to this work will appear in parentheses in this paper.

⁴ Reilly, p. 265.

⁵ Kwame Nkrumah, The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (London: Cox & Wyman, 1957), p. 89.

⁶ Nkrumah, Africa Must Unite (London: Panaf, 1963), p. 34.

⁷ Nkrumah, Africa Must Unite, p. xiv.

⁸ Nkrumah, Africa Must Unite, p. 69.

⁹ W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folks (1903; rpt. New York: Kraus-Thomson Organization, 1973), p. 40.

¹⁰ He made this commentary at the meeting held by Black Studies Association in co-operation with Black Studies Association of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, on March 3rd, 1984.

¹¹ Richard Wright, “Richard Wright Describes the Birth of Black Boy," New York Post, November 20, 1944, p. B6.

¹² Richard Wright, The Outsider (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1953), p. 405.

¹³ Reilly, p. 268.

¹⁴ Edward Margolies, The Art of Richard Wright (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1969), p. 27.

¹⁵ Fabre, pp. 399-400.

元→「リチャード・ライトと『ブラック・パワー』」

執筆年

1986年

収録・公開

Memoirs of the Osaka Institute of Technology, Series B, Vol. 31, No. 1: 37-48

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Richard Wright and Black Power(119KB)