Black Boy ( pages 1 - 4O ]

Summary :
In this novel, Black Boy, by Richard Wright, explains the childhood of Richard growing up with his mother, his little brother, Nathan, and his father to a certain extent. One evening as Richard's grandmother is critically sick in bed and Richard's mother orders him to keep quiet. Richard begins to play with the fire in the fire place until he lights the house on fire. Another morning Richard and his brother were playing with a noisy kitten, while their father trying to sleep for work. Their Father told the to get rid of the kitten, he also said, " Kill that damn thing!" Richard took him literal and killed the cat so that his father would not be able to punish him for obeying his orders. Days go by and Richard complains to his mother that he is hungry, his mother explains to him that he no longer has a father to support the family and provide them with their everyday needs. Richard's mother sends him for groceries, but a gang of boys attack him for the groceries, his mother sends him again and they attack him again. his mother sends him one last time and tells him if he comes home without groceries again then she would also beat him when he got back. so Richard's mother sent him with the money for the groceries and a heavy stick. this time Richard arrives home with groceries for his mother and respect from the gang of boys. When Richard begins first grade a group of older boys taught him how to curse, his mother found out and was very upset. Richard hates his father for the fact that he left the family on their own to make ends meet. Richard's mother tries to but child support on his father but his father convinced the judge that he already suports the family with all that he could. this gives Richard more reasons to feel hatred towards his father.

Quote :
" Kill that damn thing!" my father exploded. "Do anything , but get it away from here!"( Wright 11).

Reaction :
This quote is line is important to the novel because it shows what type of person the father is. He spoke without thinking of how the children were going to interpret him. Richard knew what his father was tryinq to say. Nathan, his father, was trying to tell the boys to keep the kitten quite so he could go to sleep for work, he did not lierally mean kill the kitten. Richard already dislikes his father so he took this as an opportunity to twist up his fathers words. So he kills the kitten and says that his father told him to do it. Nathan keeps telling him that he didnt tell him to kill the kitten literal so Nathan does not punish Richard. Richards mother forces him to burry the kitten, Richard is terrified because he thinks some evil spirit will come after him for what he did to the kitten.