Richard Wright’s, Black Boy, is an autobiography about his life and personal struggles. The book focuses on Richard’s life in the South, to going to Chicago for a better life in his young adult years and eventually joining a communist party, Richard uses a lot of fictional situations to incorporate in his life, which to me is very fascinating, Black Boy became a best seller and became a black literature classic, Richard Wright is an author, which some of his novels were not only controversial but his philosophy has been questioned by critics. There are a lot of themes that Richard Wright presented in Black Boy, but one, in particular, I want to go over is Black Men in America. As a black man in America, Richard Wright was a prime example, Richard struggled and searched for an identity for himself. Richard also endured a lot of bumps in his life, and lastly Richard searched for a place in his life, where he can be happy and free.
As I began reading the book Black Boy Richard Says, I said to myself, “This man has really been through a lot in his life” because what Richard went though, is which for an average person, it would take a lifetime, Richard wanted to find an identity for himself, in order to move forward with his life. In the book he stated “I had no hope whatever of being a professional man”, I believe what Richard meant by that is he didn’t want to be in a professional job place because he would feel out of the order, Being a black man and having a professional career in was hard and of course racism will occur. Richard wanted to go north for a better opportunity. When the white men at his job told him that the north isn’t any different than the south, Richard felt discourage by their words, but at the same time he was wondering.
When Richard arrived in Chicago, (The North), he got a job at a delicatessen and he began to point out the differences between the north and the south and Richard begins to realize that the north is different, but racism has never left, Richard also Reading was one of the factors of Richard’s identity, Richard began reading more than ever when he moved to Chicago. He began to build a stronger vocabulary and he began to write a lot, Writing was Richard’s escape on life, Richard began to breath and relax once he put the ink on paper. To me, Richard was changing into an intelligent young man and he was realizing the good vs, the evil in people and society. Richard had has hardships in his life In black boy he stated “My mother‘s suffering grew into a symbol in my mind, gathering to itself all the poverty, the ignorance, the helplessness, the painful, baffling.”
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Growing up in the conditions Richard face, stuck a nerve, I know it changed him, once it all the events came to his mind, but I believed Richard took the symbol he had and used it in his own life. When his father left the family, it affected Richard as a little boy, but when begins to grow up, Richard seemed to forget about having a father and continued his life, I think Richard was glad that his father wasn’t around, but his father was the breadwinner in the house and him not being there, the family would street. That’s how hunger came into his life, Richard was always hungry for food. To Richard, he felt that hunger would never leave him, His mother worked, but came home with little money. They were so broke, that Richard’s mother ended up putting Richard and his brother into an orphanage Richard became an alcoholic by the age six and to me that was the lowest point in his life. some people may say he didn’t know better because of his age, but trust me Richard should know how to say no to strange men who would give him some liquor.
Yes, Richard mother did work long hours, but she could’ve asked a neighbor to look over her two boys, Richard became rebellious at the age of six and at that age, a father figure needed to take place, Another bump in Richard’s life that became significant in his life is when two white men tried to put him and another place man in differences, so that they can kill each other, Richard never experienced such misdemeanor in his life and that was an eye opener for him that not all people, especially white are to ever be trusted, At the end, they were in a boxing ring fighting each other for the liking of the white men. Richard wanted to be free and to just be happy and I think he found a place in his life, where he was happy for once. When Richard came to Chicago, he sense that it will be better than the north, and he was right One thing that Richard was passionate about was his writing and once Richard joined leftist publications in Harlem, New York, he felt confident that maybe this was the thing that was calling him all his life, this was his calling.
In the book, Black Boy, Richard says “She whispered to me the story of Bluebeard and His Seven Wives and I ceased to ee the porch, the sunshine, her face, everything. As her words fell upon my new ears, I endowed them with a reality that welled up from somewhere within me’fl When Richard read words from books he never read, he becomes inspired to write them better than the author previously did, When Richard wrote for the Leftist Publications, [think he felt as important as he never felt before, Richard had a better opportunity to make it as a writer in the north, than in the south. That’s one of the many reasons why Richard was able to succeed his dream and become satisfied by his choices Some people may say that the communist party was using his writing and ignored his eloquence.
While this is true, Richard was living his dream Richard wrote how he felt about black people and the communist party wasn’t having its Richard knew that his short stories was a limitation to the communist party, which led Richard to leaving the party I think Richard felt confident with his decision. Not a lot of southern black men can say that came up north and started their profession Richard took his time to start his profession in writing and all at the end, he became successful Richard was able to write freelyi. As a high school student, reading Black Boy has really shaped me into believing that all things are possible, Whatever you faced in your life, don’t let that stop you from achieving your goals. Richard Wright has seen, lived, and endure it all.
From hunger to racism, he experienced a wide load of stuff in his life, The end of Black Boy was a little fuzzy to me because at the end of black boy, I know he succeeded, but he doesn‘t mention it. All Richard mention was he was going to make writing a figure of where America has yet to see, I don’t know if he was tired of writing, but we will never know. Richard has lived his dream and he wanted black people to do the same, My generation (especially the males) is all about getting money, becoming famous on a social network, and becoming a famous rapper/singer. If they read Black Boy, not only their perspective will change, but they would appreciate the things black people have to deal with to reach success in their lives. For that Richard Wright I say thank you for achieving the dream a black man like myself can ever dream.
