Hunger Is Not A Privilege In Richard Wright's Black Boy

Racism is an issue that is still face today in America by all races, especially by blacks. Blacks experience discrimination, hatred, and overpower from whites for centuries. Whites took advantage of blacks because of the color of their skin. Whites treated blacks with disrespect, blacks rarely stood up for themselves because they could have been sent to jail for standing up to whites. Black Boy is a biography written by Richard Wright in 1945. Wright writes about his experiences as a child and a young Black American growing up in the south. Richard grew up with his mother, grandmother, and brother. Richard moved in and out of homes, worked many jobs, and felt the experience of going through struggles and no family support. In his novel, Wright …show more content…
The ability to have food should be considered as a mandatory need not a privilege. Richard struggled to supply food for his family and barely for himself because of the lack of money. Richard really did not understand what hunger was at first but he realized what it was when, “hunger stole upon [him]… [he] began to wake up at night to find hunger standing at [his] bedside.” (14) The hunger made him scared, angry and insistent. He would beg for bread to shorten his hunger, but it would help for a moment or two. Knowledge should never be taken for granted because there are a lot of people today that wish that they received the opportunity to learn with no cost. Richard’s grandfather could not read, write nor pronounce words correctly, this is believed that the officer wrote it incorrectly because he is a foreigner. The white officer which turned in his grandfather’s pension possibly could have written it incorrectly. The white officer “had poor knowledge of English.” (139) This made it difficult for his grandfather to prove that he was in the Civil War. Having a supportive family can make a positive influence on a person’s life. If you have a supportive family they should encourage you …show more content…
The lacking of basic needs and social attitudes created the limitation of their opportunities. Wright overcomes this limitation by setting his standards and beliefs of how a black person should live. Wright was always discouraged to not follow is dreams, he proved everyone wrong. He did not let the attitudes of blacks and whites discourage him. Racism is a negative influence that affected a lot of black people, which resulted in a poor black