Black Boy ( pages 4O - 8O ]

Summary :
Ella, Richards mother, picks Richard and his brother Nathan from the orphanage. Richard was happy to be leaving the orphanage with his mother. On their way to Arkansas to Ella's sisters house, the stop at Granny's in Mississippi. Granny is renting a room out to a woman named Ella. Ella began to tell Richard about the book she is reading, Granny saw this and stopped it, she says its "the Devil's work." Granny slaps Richard in the face when he insists that Ella should continue to read to him. Richard sneaks and reads Ella's books. Richard's mother, Ella , gets sick so Granny bathes the boys. one evening while granny was bathing the boys Richard tells Granny, "when you get through, kiss back there." he is telling Granny to kiss his butt. Granny beats Richard, then when his mother finds out about it she goes after him also, but Richard runs under a bed where no one could reach him. Richard comes out when hunger is killing him that's when his mother beats him. Granny thinks Richard is getting this fresh talk from Ella's books so she confronts her then Ella moves out. On there way to their aunts house Richard noticed how the whites and the blacks have separate seats on the train. He begins to question his mother about color and why Granny skin was clear. when Richard goes to his aunts his uncle gets killed so they all flee back to Granny's.

Quote :
" I mean, do the white folks think she's white? "

Reaction:
This quote is important to the novel because it shows/proves that race is a conflict in this novel. It shows that Richard is realizing his whats going on in the real world. Granny is clear skinned which means her annsestors are white and black. Granny is a desendant of a master and a slave, but she was a slave. Richard asked his mother if white folks think that Granny is white and his mother doesn't really answer the question. This quote caught my attention because it shows that Richards family has a interesting history.