Oneirocriticism of Richard Wright’s The Long Dream

Abstract

The This study offers an exploration into the issues of race, fam-ily, and national belonging in Richard Wright’s novel The Long Dream and seeks to address the contentious topics of lynch cul-ture, miscegenation, race/ethnicity oriented national discourse, and the formation of sexual identities in light of the sociopolitical and sociocultural milieus of the United States, specifically, the watershed moments of slavery, Jim Crow, Fourth of July, and American Dream in the United States history. Furthermore, along the axis of dream analyses, which are purported to be idi-osyncratic manifestations, a discussion on race/racism, citizen-ship and their literary representations, and public demonstra-tions is offered.

Özet

The This study offers an exploration into the issues of race, family, and national belonging in Richard Wright’s novel The Long Dream and seeks to address the contentious topics of lynch culture, miscegenation, race/ethnicity oriented national discourse, and the formation of sexual identities in light of the sociopolitical and sociocultural milieus of the United States, specifically, the watershed moments of slavery, Jim Crow, Fourth of July, and American Dream in the United States history. Furthermore, along the axis of dream analyses, which are purported to be idiosyncratic manifestations, a discussion on race/racism, citizenship and their literary representations, and public demonstrations is offered.

Keywords: African American Literature, Racism, Sexuality, Citizenship, Psy-choanalytic Literary Criticism