Richard Wright's Rebellion in Black Boy

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Discrimination still exists in our society today and we have an obligation to fight against it. In the past, the south was a place where horrible things such as discrimination and racism mostly took place. The problem was that African American did not have access to an education and they were badly mistreated by their owners. They were not permitted to touch books or look at white people in a mean way because they would get beaten. Richard Wright is a young man who grew up in the Deep South when the Jim Crow laws of the early twentieth century were in place. From an early age, Richard Wright was aware of the differences in two races: the black and the white. His rebelliousness against Jim Crow south made him successful in life. Although Richard wright lived in the Jim Crow south and struggled, he managed to become rebellious against his family, religion and authority. In the autobiography, Black Boy by Richard Wright the author shows the reader that he was very rebellious against his family at a young age. The point of view Wright takes is of the traditional roles and his rebellion against them. From an early age, he refused to submit to racial segregation in the South. For example, when he saw a chain gang of only black people using uniforms of prisoners he asked his mother, “Then why don’t all the black men fight the white men out there? There are more black men than white men…” (58). His mother had taught Wright at an early age to defend himself from the violence since there were gangs of boys who would steal his grocery money. However, she had never explained why black men couldn’t get revenge against whites, just as she never explained why she whipped Wright for certain actions. Another example of rebellion is when Richar... ... middle of paper ... ...eral. Richard was named as the high achiever of his class and assigned to write the speech of 9th grade graduation. One morning the principal of the school call him to his office to gave him his speech what he had to said on the graduation because there will be white people present in the audience. “ I know that I’m not educated, professor, I said; but the people are coming to hear the students, and I won’t make a speech that you’ve written.”( pg. 174) Richard refuses to read anything but his own speech, against everyone's advice. Richard's family, friends, and classmates tell him to stay clear of difficulties and just present the principal’s speech, but he persistently refuses. As a result, he is rejected more than ever. Ironically, he is now considered to be even more evil, although he has responded to the part of himself which refuses to accept that judgment.

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