Discipline And Resistance

Richard Wright(1908—1960),a widely recognized black writer,has a great influence on the development of African American literature.Later generations describe his writing characteristic as “urban realism” or “protest realism” or simply “protest novel.” His novels,poems,and political essays contribute greatly to the development of African American literature and the Black movement.As Wright's first collection of novels,Uncle Tom's Children focuses on depicting the miserable life of the black people in the south who suffer from discrimination and oppression.It portrays a series of black images with a rebellious spirit.They prefer to die heroically rather than to live in humiliation.In these “protest” novels,Wright repeats a theme: in America,there is an insurmountable gap between blacks and whites,which is not only the direct result of racial prejudice in American society at that time but also hinders the dialogue and communication between blacks and whites.According to Foucault's point of view,discipline is a technical means of micro-power operation,and its purpose is to achieve one party's control over the other through a series of disciplinary means.This thesis explores the following questions: Firstly,how disciplinary power operates in a society reflected in Uncle Tom's Children.Second,what oppressions the blacks suffer under the disciplinary power.Finally,how the black people in the novel resist the disciplinary power that oppresses them and how to realize the emancipation of their body and spirit.This thesis begins with the way in which disciplinary power operates.Foucault points out that the success of disciplinary power should be attributed to three simple technical means: hierarchical observation,normalizing judgment,and examination.In light of these three disciplinary means,this thesis analyzes the mechanism of disciplinary power,thereby clarifying the status quo of black people under the control of the disciplinary power.It also analyzes the influence of disciplinary power on black people in the American society at that time and reveals that under the discipline and observation of power,black people's body is gradually becoming docile and their discourses are ignored and the knowledge/truth they know is distorted.In addition,this thesis also discusses the resistance of black people to power by their own strength and efforts to achieve physical and mental liberation.By using Foucault's power theory to interpret Uncle Tom's Children,this thesis reveals the real living state and predicament of black people in the American society at that time and explains the means and methods by which black people cast off the shackles of power.This thesis not merely tries to help readers better understand Uncle Tom's Children from the perspective of power theory but to arouse people's attention towards the disciplinary power employed in modern society.This thesis is comprised of three significant parts,including the introduction,principle body,and the conclusion.It gives a short introduction to Richard Wright and Uncle Tom's Children in the beginning and then goes on with literature reviews and remarks on this book from international and domestic scholastic circles,and finally the theoretical framework.The main body falls into three chapters.In the first chapter,the author pays attention to analyzing the operation of disciplinary power from hierarchical observation,normalizing judgment and examination in order to discuss how disciplinary power operates in this society.At the bottom of power pyramid,black people are one of the most vulnerable groups,who are observed,oppressed and tortured by the whites.During their life time,living under strict surveillance,they are severely punished and disciplined by the white people and endure perpetual inspection.The second chapter is about the effects of the disciplinary power on the black females.These effects can be divided into three categories: docile bodies,missing discourse and loss of knowledge.In Uncle Tom's Children,black people lose freedom because most time they stay at home except working.At the same time,black people can't speak as they wish so that they have to hide their thoughts and feelings in the heart,which leads to the loss of their discourse.In addition,black people also lose their knowledge,which causes their ignorance.Black people have few chances to study,which makes them passive in knowledge acquisition.The third chapter mainly discusses the black people's resistance to disciplinary power.On the basis of discussion,this thesis tries to reveal that living under the control of disciplinary power,the black people have inevitably lost their bodies,discourse,and knowledge.The conclusion part gives a summary of the whole thesis.By applying Foucault's power theory,this thesis reflects the survival predicament of the black people and effects of disciplinary power,as well as interprets how black people find a way out of this dilemma.This thesis not only provides a better understanding of Uncle Tom's Children from the perspective of power theory but also arouses people's attention and reflection on the disciplinary mechanism in the current society.