Autobiographical Incident Elements in the Novel Black Boy

Black Boy was an autobiographical piece written from the perspective of an ordinary African- American living from the era of the Jim Crow South. The book gave the readers a glance at the harsh realities of life that Richard Wright, the author, been through. During the time in which Richard lived in, the blacks were often faced with poverty and hunger. Most of all, they were segregated from the whites in the south. They were excluded from the white community. Richard knew that, so he turned to his black community such as his family and relatives. Unfortunately, they too treated him as an outcast. They treated him terribly. He was frequently abused by his grandma and his aunt for no particular reason. I felt this is unjustified, just like a time when I was blamed for something I didnt do. Throughout the book, the things he experienced in his young adult life were similar to the experienced I went through. Since we both faced somewhat the same situations, I know what this must have changed his life. This is one of the reasons that I absolutely liked the book. I felt like there are many connections Richard Wright and I made based on what we been through.

One connection Richard and I both have in common is that weve faced poverty. Of course we had different needs. Richard wanted food to feed himself and his family. Sadly, he wasnt able to achieve the amount of food he wanted. Often, he was starving for food. It would last for several days or weeks. I am so hungry! said to himself. Chapter 2. Unable to find food, from time to time, he would steal from others, and sell his dignity for it. In chapter 12, there was a similar situation that dealt with hunger. This time another person was involved, his name is Shorty, the elevator operator, Richard witnessed Shorty allowing a white man to kick him for a quarter so he could buy food. In this case, I was more fortunate than Richard Wright. I had all the basics that I needed to go through life such as food and clothing. Thats about it. I wasnt lucky enough to have any types of toys like other kids my age. I was stuck with the same selection of foods for meals after meals. With other kids, they had choices to pick what they wanted. Growing up, I didnt have any toys. Because of the common experiences we faced, now I know how Richard must felt when he was on a shortage of his life.

Not only we faced shortage in life, we were also in some form of isolation with the outside world. Richard was isolated, simply because he was black. He wasnt accepted to the white community. He tried looking for jobs that he would enjoy. Often, he would ended up with ones that doesnt involved with his acknowledge. The white employers were prejudice toward Richard for the fact that he has black skins. As a result, the employer assumed everything that went wrong with the story would be Richards fault. He would end up quitting the jobs because of that. His black friends wouldnt accept him either, because his family was poor. He didnt have any money or any new clothes. In addition, he wasnt welcomed by his family and relatives.

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Most of them thought he was a rebel. Repeatedly, he would get beaten. I faced isolation six years ago when my family and I came to America. Again, the situation I was in was not as extreme as Richards. We were poor, because weve just had spent all the money getting here. There was no money for unnecessary items. I was only provided with a pair of clothes and nothing more. Of course, that was the only thing I wore to school. After few weeks, they tried to stay apart from me, leaving me alone by myself, isolated. They way those boys were treated me; I could also call it racist. Except, they looked at my clothes instead of my skin color.

Richard faced abusive parents and relatives. So did I. This time, it was the teachers in the school that took the abusive action. It began when I was in China. There was no law against beatings in schools. As a child, I was very playful like everybody else. I talked to classmates during a lecture which the teacher was giving. Unluckily, I was the one that got caught. Obviously, that was a sign of disrespect. The teacher didnt like it and she did something about it. She literally picked me up from my seat by my ears and twisted it 360 degrees. I felt like if my ear was falling off from my flesh. My God! That was the worst form of torturing. After what I been through, I didnt do it again. Sadly, I would always find other ways to piss of the teacher. The result: I get hit. I went home with all the bumps and bruises and complained this to my mom. She always thinks the teachers are always right. Mom didnt take any actions upon this. For Richard, it was the parents that beat him. He would too get hit for being himself. One incident was that, he didnt want to go to church with his grandma. So his grandma beat him till he literally passes out.

Richard Wright grew up without any support from anyone for anything he wanted to do. He didnt care about anyone who doubted him. He didnt accept any negativity from anyone whether theyre white or black. Richard was a brave man. He showed us the difficulties that came with trying to go against what was set for him, and the things he accomplished. Although Richard Wright was discouraged by people telling him a black man could never be successful as an author, he uses this as motivation to pursue a career in writing. He was being interviewed for a job; the white lady asked how old and what grade he was in. He responded with seventh grade.

Since that was far along in school for the time, especially for a black child, she questioned why he was still going to school. Well, I want to be a writer, [he] mumbled, unsure of myself. p.147. She quickly tells him Youll never be a writer, who on earth put such ideas into your nigger head? P.147. Immediately he leaves the job interview, and decides to never return to that job, because the lady assaulted his ego. He said: she had assumed that she knew my place in life, what I felt, what I ought to be, and I resented it all with my heart p.147.

Richard Wright grew up with negative comments being thrown at him all his life. If it was me, all that would get to me, and I would soon become depressed. Richard took it all and kept it, and used this for his stories, and is what made Black Boy so successful. When he would write stories as a teenager, he was first looked upon as a silly boy for thinking that a black man could ever make it in the arts. Although he was looked down upon by his peers for still trying to make a name for himself, he didnt let that ever stop him, and he continued to pursue his career in writing. Eventually, he became a successful author.

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