The Power Of Imagery In Richard Wright's The Library Card

In life, there are many things that can be taken away such as one’s rights, but there is one thing that can never be taken away: the power of knowledge. Richard Wright writes the piece titled, “The Library Card,” in which he explains his experience of being an African American male whose desires for reading and knowledge grew all due to coming across a man named, H.L. Mencken. His curiosity leads him to want to acquire a library card. However, this privilege is illegal due to the time period. Yet his first encounter with books inspires him to continue his path of acquiring an education. Wright takes this risk of getting a library card because he knows that the tool of reading is worth the outcome; this can be seen by his use of imagery that

I doffed my hat, stood a respectful distance from the desk, looked as unbookish as possible and waited for the white people, I still waited. The librarian looked at me (37).
Wright makes sure he describes every detail of how he stood and carried himself. He does it in a manner to make it very clear that he is not able to read. He purposefully uses phrases such as, “I doffed my hat” to illustrate how he appears and tries to stand in a respectable manner. Therefore, the audience is able to visualize the various measures Wright had to take in order to stimulate his desire for

He repeats this several times to emphasize the strength of his desire . He states, “Now it surged up again and I hungered for books, new ways of looking and seeing. It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of a feeling something new, of being affected by something that made the look of the world different.” (38). Wright is not satisfied after reading one book. He becomes attached to each new book he reads because it sheds a new outlook on life for him. Reading enlightens him to see the world in a different angle and it helps him to relate to others. He later claims, “But a vague hunger would come over me for books, books that opened up new avenues of feeling and seeing, and again I would forge another note to the white librarian” (39). Wright’s “hunger” becomes so repetitive, that he can emphasize how reading has deeply impacted his life. At the same time, this continuous hunger feeds into his motivation to keep forging notes and taking risky trips to the library. Repetition in Wright 's narrative helps to explain how his desires for reading does not stop after reading one book. He never is content, yet always wants