This excerpt tells the story of how Wright came to love knowledge as well as his struggles with poverty and starvation as child throughout his school life. We start off the story with Wright being bullied in school by two brothers who knock off his straw hat. He refuses to fight back at first but then re-thinks this later as the boys attack him with rocks forcing him to retaliate. Later, the teacher takes everyone back into the school where she then informs Wright that he was placed into sixth grade. He then goes on to skip another grade within the next week much to his pride. But he begins to become envious of his classmates who are allowed to work on Saturdays and asks his granny for permission. She denies him and begin quoting the bible.
