Black Boy essay
Cal Masler
P.3
Black Boy Essay
In the story “Black Boy,” Richard goes on a planned journey with a elder man that appears to be the devil. As he explores further on the journey, which later is known to be a dream, he picks up on the corruption of society and in himself. “I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the puritans; and that’s no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem; and it was that I brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philip's war.
They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight.”(Hawthorne 2-3) This quote expresses how
Richard is oblivious to the fact that all of his so called “puritan” ancestors are not pure and have been on the same journey with the devil that Richrd is soon to go on. This is similar to the story “The White Heron” in which Sylvia loses her purity when she becomes mesmerized by the Hunter and although knowing better, goes against all her passion for the wilderness and its creatures. The narrator goes on to say
“she had never seen anyone so charming and delightful; the womans heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love.” (Jewett 6). This quote shows her feelings towards the Hunter.
He tempts Sylvia by offering ten dollars for the location of the bird. Sylvia contemplates, “No amount of thought, that night, could decide how many wished-for treasures the ten dollars, so lightly spoken of, would buy. (Jewett 5) Sylvia becomes determined to climb the tallest oak tree in the forest to find the whereabouts of the
bird’s nest. This was a very brave, rewarding task for Sylvia to accomplish because she has been scared to climb this tree most of her life, but by doing this, Sylvia finds the location of the bird.
P.3
Black Boy Essay
In the story “Black Boy,” Richard goes on a planned journey with a elder man that appears to be the devil. As he explores further on the journey, which later is known to be a dream, he picks up on the corruption of society and in himself. “I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the puritans; and that’s no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem; and it was that I brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philip's war.
They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight.”(Hawthorne 2-3) This quote expresses how
Richard is oblivious to the fact that all of his so called “puritan” ancestors are not pure and have been on the same journey with the devil that Richrd is soon to go on. This is similar to the story “The White Heron” in which Sylvia loses her purity when she becomes mesmerized by the Hunter and although knowing better, goes against all her passion for the wilderness and its creatures. The narrator goes on to say
“she had never seen anyone so charming and delightful; the womans heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love.” (Jewett 6). This quote shows her feelings towards the Hunter.
He tempts Sylvia by offering ten dollars for the location of the bird. Sylvia contemplates, “No amount of thought, that night, could decide how many wished-for treasures the ten dollars, so lightly spoken of, would buy. (Jewett 5) Sylvia becomes determined to climb the tallest oak tree in the forest to find the whereabouts of the
bird’s nest. This was a very brave, rewarding task for Sylvia to accomplish because she has been scared to climb this tree most of her life, but by doing this, Sylvia finds the location of the bird.