Title: The Writing of Double Games in “The Man Who Lived Underground”

Abstract: Richard Wright’s short story “The Man Who Lived Underground,” is full of the elements of game writing, which has yet received limited studies. The paper argues that Wright employs a “duable-game writing” strategy to deeply integrate the pleasure of gameplay with critical purpose. By constructing a parodic game based on the internal logic of colonialism and a mimic game with the order of racism, Wright establishes a progressive procedure of “spatial construction—the ironic rules and rule imitations —the judgment of the ending.” This approach not only metaphorically reflects the marginalized living conditions of Black communities and exposes the historical roots of American racial issues, but also transforms the theme of race into a perceptible bodily and psychological experience, as well as a literary act that compels readers to confront and reexamine their recognition of racial issues. Wright’s paradigm of game writing not only demonstrates his creative ingenuity, but also provides a new perspective for understanding how the innovation in form and political critique are profoundly integrated in African American literature.

Keywords: “The Man Who Lived Underground,” Richard Wright, the writing of double games, the parody of the logic of colonialism, the dilemma of racial ethics

Author: Yue Ma, Ph.D. Candidate, Institute of Foreign Literature and Culture, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2026.01.001