'THE OUTCASTE' BY SHARANKUMAR LIMBALE AND 'BLACK BOY' BY RICHARD WRIGHT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY (Pages 18-29) by Mr. Shivanand Sahadu Duthade in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

The Dalit and African American autobiographers write their autobiographies not only to sketch the image of their ‘self’ but also to make the readers aware of the disgusting and distressful conditions of their lives. These writers intend to tell the readers how the cruel and inhuman social order crushed them and made their lives sorrowful and unbearable under the false of social and religious customs. So, naturally, in Dalit and African American autobiography, the ‘self’ of the author reflects both his individual self and the social self. The narrator, while presenting a portrayal of his own ‘self’, narrates certain experiences, which are common in the lives of all the members of his community. The ‘self’ is depicted not only as an individual with a private career but also as a member of his community with ties and responsibilities to the other members of his community. The ‘self’ is not isolated from its social group because as a member of that social group he, too, has received similar inhuman and humiliating treatment by the established social structure. His personal experiences and the experiences of any other member of his community are usually the same. Therefore, by considering all these aspects in mind the researcher has planned do study The Outcaste (2003) by Sharan Kumar Limbale and Black Boy (1945) by Richard Right these autobiographies which are based on extreme human suffering and racial discrimination. Attempt would be made compare and contrast the life and experiences of Dalits in India and Blacks in America and its consequences on their lives. Both the writers and their autobiographies are considered to be influential and powerful, which talks about social discrimination, man-made suffering of a particular social groups in India. Keywords: distressful, crushed, unbearable, humiliating