One of the most noteworthy examples of sociology transformed into art is Ann Petry's story, "In Darkness and Confusion" (1947), which recreates the Harlem riot of 1943…. What is most striking about the story, however, is that within the narrative itself a similar transformation occurs. What begins as a riot ends as a traumatic experience which transmutes the inarticulate and patient protagonist into an enraged and aggressive one. The transformation thus moves beyond the levels of sociological awareness and psychological response to the level of archetypal participation, in which, through rites of passage, an innocent is initiated into the communal experience of the culture.

In accord with the implicit theme of riot as ritual initiation into the mysteries of the community, the transformation in the Black protagonist, William Jones, is presented in terms of darkness and confusion. Before the riot, "darkness" refers to the sociological fact of William's skin color...