child with a Christian mother, spends much of the novel escaping or preventing coercion against him by others. In essence, Wright describes the African American struggle as one inherently in opposition to society's constructs and violence and anger as a direct result of an upbringing rooted in racial oppression. The majority of early criticism aimed at The Outsider falsely regarded it as a form of existential propaganda and failed to effectively analyze the connection between Wright's life and experiences before the train accident and his subsequent violence. See also African American literature Black Boy - 1945 autobiography by Richard Wright Native Son - 1940 novel by Richard Wright Black Marxism - 1983 book by Cedric Robinson Existentialism Nihilism References External links The Outsider at HarperCollins Richard Wright's Biography at HarperCollins Excerpt from The Outsider Online text of The Outsider at Google 1953 American novels African-American novels Harlem in fiction Harper & Brothers books Novels by Richard Wright (author) Novels set in Chicago Novels set in Manhattan