Black Boy Lesson Plan

Why is Richard considered a threat to the mainstream Communist party?

Richard is recruited to the Communist cause because of his interest in writing and making the party more relatable for common people. Unfortunately, the qualities that at first made him desirable to the party, later make him seem like a threat to it. During Richard’s time as a comrade, the party grows increasingly suspicious of what they call “Trotskyite” elements and intellectuals, both of which they accuse Richard of being because of his writing and interest in literature. Furthermore, Richard’s mission of making lay people interested in the party earns him accusations of being “bourgeois,” another...