The Immaginative Escape In Richard Wright's Black Boy

In Black Boy, Richard Wright outlines his own suffering through cruel and abusive treatment by his family and others. He faces physical and emotional hunger which motivates him to make a better life for himself. The novel becomes an examination of the idea of an imaginative escape and how that idea can keep a person practical. Richard Wright’s Black Boy illustrates that using literature as an imaginative escape, even if it’s a false reality, allows Richard to deal with his emotions and make rational decisions to feed his emotional hunger.
Richard deals with many instances of poor treatment in his life. However, the most damaging to Richard was the way his family interacted with him. At a young age, Richard receives mental issues by ways of physical and verbal abuse from his family. Richard cries, “But, mama, she’ll beat me, beat me for nothing, I’m not going to let her beat me; I don’t care what happens!" (Wright 208). Richard refers to his aunt who physically abuses him for no reason. …show more content…
Literature gave Richard a different perspective on life due to the intelligence attained. Richard asserts that the most important discoveries of literature came when he veered from fiction proper into the field of psychology and sociology, all of which revealed new realms of feeling (520). This new information helps Richard the rest of his life in his development as a writer and a person. He uses this evidence to comprehend why his life is so difficult. Dykema-VanderArk comments, "Richard 's reading opens his eyes to ‘new ways of looking and seeing’ that ‘made the appearance of the world different’ and let him imagine his life under different circumstances” (n.pag.). Richard realizes his own personal interest that generates a vital sense of imagination and comprehension. He applies his dreams and intelligence to his life to recognize his