Book Review on Black Boy

TITLE: Black Boy

AUTHOR: Richard Wright

INTRODUCTION OF AUTHOR: Richard Wright was born in Natchez, Mississippi.

When he was six years old, his father, Nathan Wright deserted the family for whatever

reason. His mother, Ella, became the breadwinner of the family. Abandoned by her

husband and unable to establish economic independence from her strict mother, Ella

suffered greatly. A strong woman who faces terrible adversity, she trained Richard to be

strong and to take care of himself. Later, the feisty, independent spirit Richard developed

at home led him to refuse to accept the codes of behavior the white world has set for

Southern blacks. When Richard finally decided to become writer, that career represented

a declaration of independence from those in the black community.

PLOT SUMMARY: The opening chapter recounts Wright's early childhood in Natchez,

Mississippi, and his family's move to Memphis. It describes his early rebellion against

parental authority, his poverty and hunger, and his unsupervised life on the streets while

his mother is at work. Then the Wrights move to the home of Richard's Aunt Maggie. But

their pleasant life there ends when whites kill Maggie's husband. Later the threat of

violence by whites forces Maggie to flee again. Richard's mother has a stroke. Richard is

sent to his Uncle Clark's, but he is unhappy there and insists on returning to his mother's.

Richard confronts his Aunt Addie, who teaches at the Seventh-Day Adventist church

school. He also resists his grandmother's attempts to convert him to religious faith. And he

writes his first story. Richard gets a job selling newspapers but quits when he finds that

the newspapers espouse racist views. Later, his grandfather dies. Richard gets a job

working for white people. Then he is baptized in his mother's church. Finally, he has

another near-violent confrontation with a relative. Richard publishes his first story. The

reaction from