Is Richard a bad boy?
I don't believe that Richard is a bad boy. While many may say that the four-letter words Richard wrote all over the windows of his neiborhood (25) is a bad act, Richard himself is not bad. He is simply easily impressionable. He is in essence, the product of his environment. Richard's ability to absorb his surroundings and accept them as ok is shown when he speaks about his father, "And did not all fathers, like my father, have the right to beat their children?" (23). Richard tells us he was led to believe that it was a paternal right to beat your child simply through his own family experience. Richard, once again with the four-letter words, found others saying those words and came to the conclusion that they were appropriate. He is only the product of his environment.
Another instance where Richard shows himself to be a result of his environment, rather than being bad, is when he gets drunk at the saloon. Once again, Richard has accepted that anyone older than him will never err. Having seen his father become terribly drunk (10) and watching the local saloons patrons at work, Richard is unable to understand why it is wrong. He describes is initial experience with alcohol, "As I would pass each man, I would take a sip from an offered glass. Soon I was drunk" (21). Richard is not a bad boy at all. He is simply the unlucky product of a poor environment.
Wright, Richard. Black Boy. New York: Perenniel Classics, 1998.
5 comments:
I disagree. Richard's drunkeness is not something that he was not warned against. After some people reported to his mother that Richard was peeking into the saloon, Richard gets yelled at and told not to ever go back. Even though he knows he shouldn't, Richard DOES go back (20). But I do agree that his father and other people in his family may have led to Richard not seeing the world as it really was.
And yet Richard gets at yelled at for just about everything he does. For example, if the cat doesn't stop making noise, he pays the price. How should he know if it is one of those really bad things, kinda bad things, or just not bad at all things? Is there really a wolf or does his mother just think there is?
Well, I basically wrote the exact same thing you did, except you sounded a ton smarter than I did. But yeah, with the whole thing about getting drunk when he really had no idea what was going on was a pretty good example of the environment affecting him. Also the thing about his father beating him, that he didn't understand how bad it really was. So yep, great minds think alike...
Ok fine you have better supported ideas though I still don't necessarily agree...nice points though.
I completely agree with your post, and I think you clarify and back up your points very eloquently. There is really no way that you could accuse Richard of being a "bad" boy given his situation, and you illustrate that very well. Also, thanks for doing such a great job citing your sources. Now I have a better feel of what I should do.
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