In Richard Wright's Black Boy, an overriding theme is assimilation gives others power and authority over you. When Richard faces a situation to steal, enabling him to escape to the North, or to stick to his humane behavior, he struggles to come to a conclusion. He understands that stealing “was futile, that it was not an effective way to alter one’s relationship to one’s environment.” (10.5) Yet, it is his only choice. There are many instances where “the idea of stealing floated tentatively in [him].“ like the delicious cans of preserved fruits in the college or the gun hidden in his neighbor’s house. Without stealing, there was no chance for Richard to escape to Memphis. Whites often “place a premium upon black deceit [and] encouraged irresponsibility
