How "Down by the Riverside" Shows the Struggle Against Racism

“Down by the Riverside'' by Richard Wright shows how the experience of black people in racist america is a constant struggle. Considering Mann’s name, I’m assuming that he’s being used as a stand-in for black people in general, though I think Wright is also implying that racism is bad for everyone as well. One way he shows this is when Mann gets to the hospital after rowing through the flood and getting in a gunfight, only to learn that his wife is dead, and his only consolation for coming that far is a sandwich and more work. Another thing that shows this is how this all seems to be hurting his mental state as he has to go longer and longer without water and rest, and is continually forced to work. And finally his death is interesting as even in his final moments Mann is struggling against the racist system constantly trying to push him down and kill him.

The first scene I want to look at is when he finally arrives at the hospital only to find out his wife is dead. There are a few things in this scene that are interesting here: one is that even in a crisis where the hospital is presumably being overwhelmed with injured and sick people, the same segregation as normal still applies, which seems ridiculous at this point. Another interesting thing about this is how little the doctor and nurses seem to care or respect Lulu. I imagine they’ve probably seen a lot of this by now, but the doctor seems pretty unapologetic, and they just take her away at the end of it without any kind of consolation. It seems like a pretty ruthless example of the systemic racism and lack of respect black people received, especially during times of crisis, which is how Wright is showing that there is need for change.

Something else I want to look at is how it seems like Mann’s mental state deteriorates over the course of the story. I don’t think he ever gets any water or any rest and is almost constantly enduring some kind of physical exertion, so it would make sense for Mann to find it hard to think straight. One example is when he finds the Heartfields and rescues them while contemplating killing them, seeming like his consciousness is almost disconnected from his actions. He just describes what he wants to do and then gets dragged back to reality, where he realizes he doesn’t have it in him to kill someone. Mann basically lives in a world where everything, even his own mind, is working against him. It could be some kind of reference to double consciousness, but I think it’s probably just trying to show the toll that the racist system takes on his mind.

The last passage I want to look at is Mann’s death. This is the final depiction of Mann struggling against the world and white supremacy. His attempt to kill himself is his last act of defiance, and since this entire story has been a struggle for him, it makes sense that his death would be too. I think that the way the scene is drawn out at the end where he’s constantly in motion away from the soldiers, even after he dies, is Wright showing how even when putting his entire existence into trying to escape white supremacy, he fails. Another thing I find interesting about this is how he’s trying to move in the direction of the water, and it’s almost representing freedom here. It’s like he would rather drown in the flood and let nature take him then be killed by the white supremacists, but he doesn’t even get that consolation since he dies and rolls down the hill stopping just before the water. What all this is showing is that a racist society drives people to take any measure to escape it, even death, and that it’s a system where with any amount of running such a death can be unavoidable.