The Fight, By Richard Wright And The Confrontation By Raymond Barrio

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Respect is a positive feeling shown towards someone or something considered important, or held in high esteem or regard as it conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. This debatable concept of whether respect must be earned or not is explored in “The Fight” by Richard Wright and in “The Confrontation” by Raymond Barrio. Even though some support exists for the struggle for respect being freely given, more evidence supports respect being earned by oneself because it gets one point across and respect cannot be given unless it is earned.
Respect must be earned as it gets one's point across. Manuel in “The Confrontation” realizes he must take action in order to gain respect from his oppressive chief. Barrio writes, “So. He knew …show more content…

The protagonist in “The Fight” realizes fighting may be necessary to be admired around the school. The protagonist states, “Listen, I ain't picking a fight,” I said, “But if you want to fight, I’ll fight” (Text 1, Line 26). This depicts the protagonist as he realizes that he will physically fight the person he is trying to gain the respect from because he knows if he does not, he will never earn respect in the school. Secondly, the protagonist in this short story figures out he must earn his respect of his acquaintances at his new school. Wright writes, “I went into the school grounds, and a group of boys sauntered up to me, looked from my head to my feet, whispering among themselves. I leaned against a wall, trying to conceal my uneasiness” (Text 1, Line 12). It is here where the main character figures out the respect he desires will not be handed to him freely but he will have to earn it one way or another whether it be physical fighting or verbally. Lastly, after the physical fight for respect is occurring, the main character knows he has won his new classmates respect. Wright writes, “Every blow elicited shouts of delight. Knowing that if I did not win or make a good showing, I would have to fight a new boy each day, I fought tigereshly, trying to leave a scar, seeking to draw blood as proof that I was not a coward, that I could take care of myself” (Text 1, Line 63).

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