Öz
Coming from different socio-economic backgrounds but sharing the experience of being black intellectuals in the US before the Civil Rights movement, Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison met in New York in 1937. Although they eventually grew distant, their friendship generated some of the most important political writings of African-American literature. They were interested in the ideas of Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx for possible solutions to the “Negro question.” They argued for a Freudo-Marxist synthesis as a remedy for the broken black psyche under white supremacist pressure. With its dimension on American racism, the synthesis they proposed offers a distinct and important contribution to the dominantly European canon of the theory. This article investigates the political psychoanalysis of Wright and Ellison as represented in their ideationally interlinked novels, Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) and Wright’s The Man Who Lived Underground (2021). It analyses how their novelistic writing emerges as a dynamic space to elaborate upon a political psychoanalysis through their own race-based version of a theoretical synthesis. Moreover, the study also offers a new approach to new material, as Richard Wright's The Man Who Lived Underground remained unpublished until it was recently rediscovered and printed for the first time in 2021.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Political psychoanalysis Freudo-Marxism Richard Wright Ralph Ellison The Man Who Lived Underground Invisible Man
Kaynakça
- Adorno, T. W. and Horkheimer, M. (2002). Dialectic of Enlightenment. Edmund Jephcott (Trans.). Stanford University Press.
- Ahad, B. S. (2010). Freud upside down: African American literature and psychoanalytic culture. University of Illinoi Press.
- Altman, N. (2000). “Black and white thinking: A psychoanalyst reconsiders race.” Psychoanalytic Dialogues 10.4: 589-605.
- Alway, J. (1995). Critical theory and political possibilities: Conceptions of emancipatory politics in the works of Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas. Greenwood Press.
- Bellow, S. (1974). “Man underground.” In John Hersey (Ed.), Ralph Ellison: A collection of critical essays. (pp. 27-30). Prentice Hall.
- Crable, B. (2012). Ralph Ellison and Kenneth Burke: At the roots of the racial divide. University of Virginia Press.
- “Declaration of Independence.” (1776). U.S. National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript (Access Date: 23.05.2023).
- Dietze, R. F. (1982). Ralph Ellison: The genesis of an artist. Verlag Hans Carl.
- Ellison, R. (1987). “Remembering Richard Wright.” In K. W. Benston (Ed.), Speaking for you: The vision of Ralph Ellison. (pp. 187-198). Howard University Press.
- Ellison, R. (1964). Shadow and act. Random House.
- Ellison, R. (1995a). Invisible man. Vintage.
- Ellison, R. (1995b). The collected essays of Ralph Ellison. Modern Library.
- Fanon, F. (2008). Black skin, white masks. C. L. Markmann (Trans.). Pluto Press.
- Foley, B. (2010). Wrestling with the left: The making of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Duke University Press.
- Freud, S. (2010). The interpretation of dreams. James Strachey (Trans.). Basic Books. Gounard, J. F. (1978). “Richard Wright’s ‘The Man Who Lived Underground’: A literary analysis.” Journal of Black Studies 8.3: 381-386.
- Jackson, L. P. (2000). The birth of the critic: The literary friendship of Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright. American Literature 72.2: 321-355.
- Jackson, L. (2007). Ralph Ellison: Emergence of genius. University of Georgia Press.
- Jones, D. A. jr. (2023). “Repetition and value in Richard Wright’s Man Who Lived Underground.” American Literature 95.1: 123-134.
- Jung, C. G. (2010). Four archetypes. Richard F. C. Hull. (Trans.). Princeton University Press.
- Lichtman, R. D. (1999). Marx and Freud: The search for a synthesis. Capitalism Nature Socialism 10.4: 77-96.
- Marx, K. (1859). “Preface.” A contribution to the critique of political economy. S.W. Ryazanskaya (Trans.). Marxists Internet Archive. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/ 1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm (Access Date: 23.05.2023)
- Mendes, G. N. (2015). Under the strain of color: Harlem’s Lafargue clinic and the promise of an antiracist psychiatry. Cornell University Press.
- Nielsen, K. (1988). “Marx and the Enlightenment.” Critical Review 2.4: 59-75.
- Preiss, R. E. (2022). “Subterranean sound, expatriation, and the metaphor of home: A fictional descent with Richard Wright.” Humanities 11.5.128: 1-13.
- Reich, W. (1972). Sex-Pol essays 1929-1934. Anna Bostock, Tom DuBose and Lee Baxandall (Trans.). Vintage.
- Ridenour, R. (1970). “The Man Who Lived Underground: A critique.” Phylon 31.1: 54-57.
- Scott, N. A. Jr. (2004). “Ellison’s vision of communitas.” In John F. Callahan (Ed.), Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man: A casebook. (pp. 109-124). Oxford University Press.
- Sherratt, Y. (1999). “The Dialectic of Enlightenment: A contemporary reading.” History of the Human Sciences 12.3: 35-54.
- Sunat, H. (2021). Birey sorunsalından solun melankolisine: Psikanalizin Marksizmle yoldaşlığı. Pinhan. “Unearthing The Man Who Lived Underground.” (2023). The Harvard Gazette. 19 April 2021 https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/04/unearthing-the-man-who-lived-underground-for-the-first-time/ (Access Date: 08.09.2023)
- Wallach, J. J. (2010). Richard Wright: From black boy to world citizen. Ivan R. Dee.
- Watkins, P. D. (1989). “The paradoxical structure of ‘The Man Who Lived Underground’.” Black American Literature Forum 23.4: 767-783.
- Watts, J. G. (1994). Heroism & the black intellectual: Ralph Ellison, politics, and Afro-American intellectual life. University of North Carolina Press.
- Whitebook, J. (2004). “The marriage of Marx and Freud: Critical theory and psychoanalysis.” In F. Rush (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to critical theory. (pp. 74-102). Cambridge University Press.
- Wright, R. (1944). “I tried to be a communist.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1944/08/richard-wright-communist/618821/ (Access Date: 23.05.2023)
- Wright, R. (1946). “Psychiatry comes to Harlem.” Free World (September): 49-51.
- Wright, R. (1965). Savage holiday. Award Books.
- Wright, R. (2021). The man who lived underground. Library of America.
Öz
Farklı sosyoekonomik kökenlerden gelen, fakat Sivil Haklar hareketi öncesi ABD’de siyah entelektüel olma deneyimini paylaşan Richard Wright ve Ralph Ellison 1937’de New York’ta tanıştı. Zamanla araları açılmış olsa da dostlukları Afro-Amerikan edebiyatın bazı çok önemli metinlerine ön ayak oldu. İki yazar da “Zenci meselesi”ne olası çözümler için Sigmund Freud ve Karl Marx’ın fikirleriyle ilgileniyorlardı. Freudo-Marksist bir sentezin beyaz üstünlükçü baskı altında hasar gören siyah ruhuna çare olma potansiyelini savunuyorlardı. Yazarların önerdikleri Freudo-Marksist sentez Amerikan ırkçılığına dair boyutuyla teorinin baskın Avrupa kanonuna da farklı bir katkı sunmaktadır. Bu makale düşünsel anlamda birbiriyle ilişkili olan Ralph Ellison’ın Invisible Man (Görünmez Adam, 1952) ve Richard Wright’ın The Man Who Lived Underground (Yeraltında Yaşayan Adam, 2021) romanlarındaki politik psikanaliz temsillerini incelemektedir. Yazarların bahsi geçen romanlar üzerinden nasıl kendilerine özgü ırk temelli bir teorik sentez sunduklarını tartışmaktadır. Ayrıca, Richard Wright’ın The Man Who Lived Underground romanı daha önceden basılmadığı ve yakın zamanda yeniden keşfedilerek ilk defa 2021’de yayımlandığı için çalışma yeni malzemelerle yeni bir yaklaşım da sunmaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Politik psikanaliz Freudo-Marksizm Richard Wright Ralph Ellison The Man Who Lived Underground Invisible Man
Kaynakça
- Adorno, T. W. and Horkheimer, M. (2002). Dialectic of Enlightenment. Edmund Jephcott (Trans.). Stanford University Press.
- Ahad, B. S. (2010). Freud upside down: African American literature and psychoanalytic culture. University of Illinoi Press.
- Altman, N. (2000). “Black and white thinking: A psychoanalyst reconsiders race.” Psychoanalytic Dialogues 10.4: 589-605.
- Alway, J. (1995). Critical theory and political possibilities: Conceptions of emancipatory politics in the works of Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas. Greenwood Press.
- Bellow, S. (1974). “Man underground.” In John Hersey (Ed.), Ralph Ellison: A collection of critical essays. (pp. 27-30). Prentice Hall.
- Crable, B. (2012). Ralph Ellison and Kenneth Burke: At the roots of the racial divide. University of Virginia Press.
- “Declaration of Independence.” (1776). U.S. National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript (Access Date: 23.05.2023).
- Dietze, R. F. (1982). Ralph Ellison: The genesis of an artist. Verlag Hans Carl.
- Ellison, R. (1987). “Remembering Richard Wright.” In K. W. Benston (Ed.), Speaking for you: The vision of Ralph Ellison. (pp. 187-198). Howard University Press.
- Ellison, R. (1964). Shadow and act. Random House.
- Ellison, R. (1995a). Invisible man. Vintage.
- Ellison, R. (1995b). The collected essays of Ralph Ellison. Modern Library.
- Fanon, F. (2008). Black skin, white masks. C. L. Markmann (Trans.). Pluto Press.
- Foley, B. (2010). Wrestling with the left: The making of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Duke University Press.
- Freud, S. (2010). The interpretation of dreams. James Strachey (Trans.). Basic Books. Gounard, J. F. (1978). “Richard Wright’s ‘The Man Who Lived Underground’: A literary analysis.” Journal of Black Studies 8.3: 381-386.
- Jackson, L. P. (2000). The birth of the critic: The literary friendship of Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright. American Literature 72.2: 321-355.
- Jackson, L. (2007). Ralph Ellison: Emergence of genius. University of Georgia Press.
- Jones, D. A. jr. (2023). “Repetition and value in Richard Wright’s Man Who Lived Underground.” American Literature 95.1: 123-134.
- Jung, C. G. (2010). Four archetypes. Richard F. C. Hull. (Trans.). Princeton University Press.
- Lichtman, R. D. (1999). Marx and Freud: The search for a synthesis. Capitalism Nature Socialism 10.4: 77-96.
- Marx, K. (1859). “Preface.” A contribution to the critique of political economy. S.W. Ryazanskaya (Trans.). Marxists Internet Archive. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/ 1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm (Access Date: 23.05.2023)
- Mendes, G. N. (2015). Under the strain of color: Harlem’s Lafargue clinic and the promise of an antiracist psychiatry. Cornell University Press.
- Nielsen, K. (1988). “Marx and the Enlightenment.” Critical Review 2.4: 59-75.
- Preiss, R. E. (2022). “Subterranean sound, expatriation, and the metaphor of home: A fictional descent with Richard Wright.” Humanities 11.5.128: 1-13.
- Reich, W. (1972). Sex-Pol essays 1929-1934. Anna Bostock, Tom DuBose and Lee Baxandall (Trans.). Vintage.
- Ridenour, R. (1970). “The Man Who Lived Underground: A critique.” Phylon 31.1: 54-57.
- Scott, N. A. Jr. (2004). “Ellison’s vision of communitas.” In John F. Callahan (Ed.), Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man: A casebook. (pp. 109-124). Oxford University Press.
- Sherratt, Y. (1999). “The Dialectic of Enlightenment: A contemporary reading.” History of the Human Sciences 12.3: 35-54.
- Sunat, H. (2021). Birey sorunsalından solun melankolisine: Psikanalizin Marksizmle yoldaşlığı. Pinhan. “Unearthing The Man Who Lived Underground.” (2023). The Harvard Gazette. 19 April 2021 https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/04/unearthing-the-man-who-lived-underground-for-the-first-time/ (Access Date: 08.09.2023)
- Wallach, J. J. (2010). Richard Wright: From black boy to world citizen. Ivan R. Dee.
- Watkins, P. D. (1989). “The paradoxical structure of ‘The Man Who Lived Underground’.” Black American Literature Forum 23.4: 767-783.
- Watts, J. G. (1994). Heroism & the black intellectual: Ralph Ellison, politics, and Afro-American intellectual life. University of North Carolina Press.
- Whitebook, J. (2004). “The marriage of Marx and Freud: Critical theory and psychoanalysis.” In F. Rush (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to critical theory. (pp. 74-102). Cambridge University Press.
- Wright, R. (1944). “I tried to be a communist.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1944/08/richard-wright-communist/618821/ (Access Date: 23.05.2023)
- Wright, R. (1946). “Psychiatry comes to Harlem.” Free World (September): 49-51.
- Wright, R. (1965). Savage holiday. Award Books.
- Wright, R. (2021). The man who lived underground. Library of America.
Ayrıntılar
| Birincil Dil | İngilizce |
|---|---|
| Konular | Edebi Çalışmalar (Diğer) |
| Bölüm | Makaleler |
| Yazarlar | |
| Erken Görünüm Tarihi | 14 Aralık 2023 |
| Yayımlanma Tarihi | 29 Aralık 2023 |
| Yayımlandığı Sayı | Yıl 2023 Cilt: 17 Sayı: 2 |
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