Richard Wright's 1993 short story "Rite of Passage" tells the story of a 15-year-old boy who learns his family is not his real family. When he is told he must go to another foster home, he decides to run away. He ends up on the streets, experiencing difficult situations and criminal activity. The story follows his journey through chapters with headings, anecdotes, and a montage style as he discovers the truth about his family and struggles to survive on his own.

1. “Rite of Passage”
By Richard Wrights

2. Richard Wright
• Born in September 4, 1908
• Poor childhood
• Moved from Menthis to
Chicago in 1927
• His literary career began with
his short story collection,
Uncle Tom's Children (1938)
• Racial themes
• Died of heart attack in 1960

3. “Rite of Passage” (1993)
A story about a 15 year-old boy
who learns that his family is
not his real family. When he is
told that he must go to another
foster family he decides to flee
his home. He takes to the
streets where he experiences
difficult situations and
eventually ends in the life of
crime.

4. 1

5. Structure
• Chapter Headings
• Chronology
• Inset narratives
• Plot
• Revelations
• Montage
• Prolepsis

6. Detail
• Facts
• Location

7. Morningside Park

8. Detail…
• Setting
• Weather
• Meals

9. Style
• Parataxis and
Paragraphs
• Amplification
• Parenthesis
• Hyperbole
• Heteroglossia
• Stream of
consciousness

10. References
MULLAN, John. How Novels Work. Oxford:
Oxford UP, 2006. pp. 155-250.
WRIGHT, Richard. Rite of Passage. New York:
Harper Trophy, 1994.

11. Images References
Photograph of Richard Wright. Available at
<http://www.bccc.edu/cms/lib05/MD11000285/Centricity/Domain/99//Authors/Richard_Wright
.html> Access on July 7, 2013.
“Rite of Passage” cover. Available at <http://www.tower.com/rite-passage-richard-wright-
paperback/wapi/100162196> Access on July 7, 2013.
Map of Harlem. Available at <https://maps.google.com.br/maps?hl=en> Access on July 7, 2013.
Picture of a black pregnant woman. Available at <http://socialistworker.org/2013/02/04/the-
new-jane-crow> Access on July 7, 2013.
Picture of Times Square. Available at <http://www.panoramio.com/photo/65719362> Access on
July 7, 2013.
Old picture of Harlem. Available at
<http://literature.wikispaces.com/Affiliation+Between+The+Harlem+Renaissance+and+Their+Eye
s+Were+Watching+God> Access on July 7, 2013.
Picture of Morningside Park. Available at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Morningside_Park.jpg> Access on July 7, 2013.
Picture of a beef stew. Available at
<http://commercialgymtrainer.blogspot.com.br/2013/05/alpha-meals.html
Picture of a cold night. Available at
<http://pinpause.blogspot.com.br/2011_01_01_archive.html> Access on July 7, 2013.
Picture of a bold man. Available at <http://www.photos.com/royalty-free-images/back-view-
head-shot-of-bald-man/87540109> Access on July 7, 2013.