Response To Richard Wright's 'The Library Card'

Response 1: Richard Wright’s “The Library Card” is a narrative that illustrates how reading books and gaining knowledge about the world can change you. In the story, Wright describes a time in which he found himself curious about a particular writer name Mencken. This man was extremely hated by white southerners, and Wright wanted to know why. The only way for him to do get this information was by reading Mencken’s books. However, this proved to be difficult due to the fact that Wright lived in America during the Jim Crow Era; a time when there was huge tension between blacks and whites. Lynching were very prevalent, therefore the only way for Blacks to “feel safe” was for them to live below the radar. That means not giving white people any reason to believe that they are being challenge. This unfortunate reality, caused Wright to get the books illegally, and later hiding them behind a newspaper to avoid being questioned. Though what he was doing was dangerous and could have got him killed, Wright continued reading, and as result became more aware of his society. In addition, He discovered
The main character, Mrs. Mallard, is a wife who finds out that her husband “dies” in a train accident. Shocked by the news, she emotionally breaks down. To the people close to her as well as well as the community it seemed as if she was truly sad and heartbroken. However, her act was only façade, for inside Mrs. Mallard was beyond happy. This I found to be very ironic, because at first I couldn’t understand why a wife would celebrate her husband. It was only after it was revealed that she felt depressed and trapped in her marriage that I finally understood her reaction. Marrying a man that was years older than her, took away her youth. She wasn’t able to experience life they she wanted, since she was forced to become a mature