Preview

The Turning Point In Richard Wright's Black Boy

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
782 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Turning Point In Richard Wright's Black Boy
Less than a century years ago, books were the only source of information, and a person had to search for the books they wanted to read. That is exactly how Richard, the narrator, grew up. Black Boy, an autobiography written by Richard Wright shows the readers the time of life where not a spec of technology existed. He did not fully complete his early school years because he was a luckless fellow, possibly cursed. He could turn anyone into his enemies with his stubbornness, and his family was one of his victims. Still, how did such a child, like Richard, who had grown up in poverty, write such an autobiography? A turning point in Richard’s life was when he was awed by the words in the book that a teacher living with his grandmother was reading …show more content…
He may have reached the north, but poverty was still on his tail. He looked for job interviews, and with dedication, he was hired at the postal office. As if poverty had not had enough, the Great Depression affected the whole country, and ultimately the postal service ran out of business. An illness swept through Richards family, which only brought more hardship to Richard. He had to work in shady businesses to earn money for his family, but then again, it went out of business. Wandering around, he met a group of communists introduced by a friend, and they let Richard write what he wanted to write for their group, John Reed Club, and Richard resisted to join but joined anyway. He met weird people, very different and very simple-minded people. It was as if Richard was a genius and all the others were normal. After leaving the group, he grew up some more. In the end, money was not a problem. Richard worked, for himself, for his family, and for his dream. Richard, while working, also wrote the things he had done during his life as a hobby. He had done well leaving the communist group, because he began to see the world in an adult’s perspective, the depth of the world, and who he is as a person. He begun to write, from the knowledge he has received from the books and the people he met, he wanted to change his feelings into

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Imagine the feeling of living in a Jim Crow south after the Civil War. In Richard Wright’s autobiography “Black Boy”, he illustrates his life as he tries to understand the segregated and white dictated world he lives in. Throughout the story he asks questions to others and himself to attempt at understanding the world. Since the book is an autobiography it allows the reader to take a front row seat with the story. “Black Boy” is one of the many books that were challenged for a myriad of reasons. Those reasons ranging from political to religious. Although the book was accused for multiple offenses some teachers and students think the book still holds value.…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Book of Negroes is a six-part drama relating an African woman's pursuit for freedom after years of enslavement. It views historical events and the sins of slavery through a representative and often sobering lens but have a habit of focusing on the main character's strength and resilience rather than on the terrors of her fights. You'll see fierce performances such as assaults, murders, and thumping with some bloodshed, along with pretend sex (including implicit rapes). You also hear the use of "N" word throughout the series I give it an 8/10. My ranking would have been higher if season 1 was a bit longer.…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginning of Mathabane’s literary career sparked a hunger when he came across a book titled “Black Boy, Richard Wright’s searing autobiography” in the Quincy College library. (Mathabane 3-78) This led him to read just about all the books written by black authors. In turn, this spark stood dimly lit until he arrived at Dowling College. He “volunteered to become the first black editor of the college newspaper, The Lion’s Voice.” (Mathabane 3-103)He started out alone, writing the whole paper himself though he had people help with the printing. Eventually a couple of students joined with him in writing the paper. Still toiling with what he wanted to do after graduation, he came upon a man named John Rather, who suggested attending the newspaper recruitment fair in…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Black Boy by Richard Wright is a novel and autobiography all in one. Black boy takes us thought the young life of Richard Wright, who is both the author and the main character. Richard goes though many hardships growing up. The book is set in the early 1900's in the American south. Richards mother raises Richard in the harsh environment after Richard's father abandons them. Richards's main goal is to make it to the north.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Richard Wright, “All literature is protest. You cannot name a single literary work that is not protest.” This means that literature is usually based on a reflection on society which is protest. Literature exposes the dark side of society. I agree with this quote because literature is one of the protruding ways to understand how one thinks about an idea. The author’s opinion is a protest against what other may believe. Coherently, in the bildungsroman Black boy by Richard Wright portrays how literature is protest.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Then for God’s sake, learn how to live in the South” (pg 183). This shows that Richard struggled to live in the South as an African American in the early 1900’s.…

    • 222 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the autobiography, “Black Boy” by Richard Wright, describes the life of a poor, hungry young black boy who seeks for a better life. Wright was born after the Civil War but before the civil rights movement. If he were to write an autobiography today in 2017, about a black boy growing up in the United States, he would write about the negative effects of police brutality, how African Americans are still divided in education, and why African American unemployment is twice the rate of whites.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Richard Wright's book, "Black Boy," the main character who also narrates the story is Richard himself since the book is written from his point of view; we find out a lot about how Richard feels and get detailed accounts of how he reacts to the things that happen to him. Even though Richard tries hard to relate to all groups of people around him, he cannot because he is so different, so much more independent and strong willed than the masses around him, these and other forms of isolation help shape Richard Wright’s character throughout the novel.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Richard Rodriguez Thesis

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Didn’t i realize that reading would open up whole new worlds? A book could open doors for me. It could introduce me to people and show me places I never imagined existed. She gestured towards the bookshelves . (Bare-breasted African women danced, and the shiny hubcaps of automobiles on the back covers of the geographic gleamed in my mind.) I listened with respect. But her words were not very influential. I was thinking then of another consequence of literacy, one i was too shy to admit but nonetheless trusted. Books were going to make me “educated.” That confidence enabled me, several months later, to over come my fear of the silence.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    summary/narration essay

    • 1015 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the essay “The lonely, good company of books”, Rodriguez describes that as a little boy he had undergone a tough childhood, and had no friends or anybody he could find comfort from. He was from a poor Spanish speaking family, who resides in America. The family was barely able to put young Richard through school but the real story is how he developed a relationship with books. As quoted, “Don't write in your books” (Rodriguez 227), he heard it from his parents when they refer to it as viable income, or through the nuns at his school as they respected and cared for their literature. This he understood, but when it came to signs such as “Read to learn”, or “Consider books your best friends”, he found it difficult to cope with.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Richard Frethorne

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Richard Frethorne, an indentured servant, a young man forced to grow up in a challenging area known as Colonial Virginia. Becoming an indentured servant, one must sign a contract giving them a working environment hoping for some land in return once the contract has expired. Depending on age, one would typically work for around five years. Richard Frethorne wrote this letter to his parents back home describing his struggles, his thoughts and opinions, and work environment. Richard Frethorne was forced to work throughout the day’s and night’s with little to no water and perhaps a mouthful of bread to end his day. Death by starvation was just over the horizon, and for many, it killed them. Exhaustion, disease and even constant attacks from the natives killed many of the workers. Colonial Virginia is a newly formed colony, with majority of workers fighting their way to survive in their unpleasant work environment, trust was out the window. Many would steal food and clothing from others, mainly from people who have became sick and weak with distress. Coming from England, Richard had no idea on how much of a struggle he would have to go through in order just to survive the working conditions. In his letter Richard stated, “…that I have eaten more in a day at home than I have allowed me here for a weeke.” This quote had me thinking how hard it really must have been for Richard to even survive a month, I couldn’t’ even do that, but luckily he came across a couple who lends a helping hand. A sense of family is found in the new world due to this couple, though they too are struggling. The tone and desperation of this letter became clear once I read “But this is Certaine I never felt the want of ffather an mother till now,…” He is a child crying for his parents, wanting to go back home , “…I beg of you to helpe me.” These two quotes basically sums up the whole letter, his whole tone of the letter, and the way he feels about being an indentured servant. His cry for help to…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages

    John Steinbeck (born in 1902) was a talented Californian writer. Steinbeck spent much of his time in New York and the Salinas Valley. Although he spent a few years at Stanford University, he desperately wanted to be a writer, therefore he started writing. His work includes The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, The Red Pony, East of Eden and of course, Of Mice and Men. Hollywood loved Steinbeck and even made these very books in to film adaptations. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962 for his realistic but imaginative writings. In this essay I will be talking about one of John’s well known books, Of Mice and Men. This story is about two travelling ranch workers, George and Lennie, trying to earn enough money to get their own house and farm. The tale is based is 1930’s America during the Great Depression. This book encompasses themes of prejudice, racism and the fight for personal independence.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Times have changed since the Jim Crow Laws less than a century ago. In his autobiography, Black Boy, Richard Wright described his experience as a young black male living in the Jim Crow South from 1908 to 1927 . He explained how horribly people of African American descent were treated and his plans to escape as soon as possible. Many years have passed since then and the South is different now. If Wright was living as a young black boy in 2018, he would write about the election of Barack Obama, the failed education of African Americans, and racism in the police force.…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1900's many conflicts resulted between Caucasians and African Americans. Many of the conflicts were a result of racial tension between the two groups of people. Both the African Americans and the Caucasians attitudes towards each other caused tension between the two groups. Richard's attitude as well as the racial tension during the 1900's caused him many conflicts throughout his life…

    • 2301 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Richard Wright

    • 350 Words
    • 1 Page

    I was born in the segregated south, and I wanted to spread my knowledge through books. It was a big deal in the south for African Americans to read because well we weren’t allowed to enter the library. So how on earth do you think I checked out books from the library? There were many obstacles that I’ve went through just to read. It was hard because what white person would want to help a black boy such as me? Luckily, Mr. Faulk wasn’t against me. He was on my side. He saw where I was coming from and helped me out. After I read my first book, it had me in my own world. So I started to read more. The more I read the more I spread my knowledge through books; it was an amazing experience that I never thought I could feel. My love towards books spread.…

    • 350 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays