Richard, growing up in the South, discovers a racial hierarchy that directs every one of his actions and finds hope in a fantasy of the North. As a child, Richard faces many struggles at home. Following his father’s departure, he becomes very hungry both literally and figuratively. Richard discovers alcohol and gang violence, which shape his development. He is an angry child, mad at the world because of how unfair it is. He becomes the neighborhood’s charity case, following his mother’s death. Soon enough, he is tossed around from town to town, family to family, looking for someone who could care for him and his brother. As he boards a train to go nearby, to be with his mother, racism and the separation of color becomes evident. Richard never noticed color in other people, but here there was a line for whites and another for colored people. …show more content…
His family has always been big on religion and growing Richard’s faith. His grandmother sends him to a non-secular school, where his Aunt Addie works. She disciplines him in class, which angers Richard. Richard also starts going to church very often, but does not grow spiritually and instead goes to see his friends. He is baptized and stands up to Granny and his Aunt which make his mother smile. In his academics, he excels and is promoted various times, even graduating as his year’s valedictorian. His principal however refuses to give him the privilege of performing his own speech at the graduation because white folks won’t listen to a black man. His Uncle Tom, for example, is an educated black man who was a victim of the racial hierarchy. He left his teaching job to weave chairs, the only job