Throughout life, there will always be obstacles standing in the way of your dreams. People will try to push you down, and prevent you from succeeding. Whenever you are facing struggles in life, remember to always look for the light in the darkness. Black Boy, written by Richard Wright, follows Richard through his life, as he tries to overcome the daily struggles of racism. As Richard grows up, he must face the difficulties of not only growing up, but growing up as a Black boy. With the determination to reach his dreams, Richard will not allow anyone to get in his way of reaching his goals in life. In his novel, Wright show how American society seeks to limit the opportunities of African Americans in the early 20th century by highlighting their
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Wright is able to portray the negative attitudes of white people not wanting African Americans to have any success. Richard, after telling his employer his dream of becoming a writer, was told “[he’ll] never be a writer(147). She could not comprehend the thought of why anyone would “put such thoughts into [his] nigger head”(147). Wright includes this to show how African Americans were made to feel worthless by whites. When someone is constantly being surrounded by negative thoughts, they may start to believe them. African Americans constantly faced negativity by whites on a daily basis. How could they receive any opportunities if no one believed in them? Like white people, Wright negatively presents the attitudes of the black people he encountered that accepted the Jim Crow life. As Richard encountered Shorty in the elevator after leaving to tell his boss that he was finally leaving the south, Shorty was bitter that Richard would “never have any problems as hard as the ones [he] had here”(257). Richard told shorty that there was a possibility the he too could leave, but Shorty claimed “[he’ll] never leave this goddamn South” because he was too “lazy” and he’d “die here. Or maybe they’d kill [him]”(257). Black people were accepting that they were “inferio:r to white people, only further limits the opportunities of their own. If Black people are not getting support from others they must provide support for themselves. Wright wants readers to understand how it felt to have your own people not striving for change but instead putting themselves down, while there is already an entire race also pinning you down. Wright also expresses the negative attitudes of black people when talking about racism. When Richard was young, he had many questions and had yet to comprehend the concept of racism. when white man beats a black boy, Richard had assumes that it was
Wright is able to portray the negative attitudes of white people not wanting African Americans to have any success. Richard, after telling his employer his dream of becoming a writer, was told “[he’ll] never be a writer(147). She could not comprehend the thought of why anyone would “put such thoughts into [his] nigger head”(147). Wright includes this to show how African Americans were made to feel worthless by whites. When someone is constantly being surrounded by negative thoughts, they may start to believe them. African Americans constantly faced negativity by whites on a daily basis. How could they receive any opportunities if no one believed in them? Like white people, Wright negatively presents the attitudes of the black people he encountered that accepted the Jim Crow life. As Richard encountered Shorty in the elevator after leaving to tell his boss that he was finally leaving the south, Shorty was bitter that Richard would “never have any problems as hard as the ones [he] had here”(257). Richard told shorty that there was a possibility the he too could leave, but Shorty claimed “[he’ll] never leave this goddamn South” because he was too “lazy” and he’d “die here. Or maybe they’d kill [him]”(257). Black people were accepting that they were “inferio:r to white people, only further limits the opportunities of their own. If Black people are not getting support from others they must provide support for themselves. Wright wants readers to understand how it felt to have your own people not striving for change but instead putting themselves down, while there is already an entire race also pinning you down. Wright also expresses the negative attitudes of black people when talking about racism. When Richard was young, he had many questions and had yet to comprehend the concept of racism. when white man beats a black boy, Richard had assumes that it was