Abuse In Richard Wright's Black Boy

From the beginning of the novel “Black Boy”, by Richard Wright, Richard is faced with many hardships and obstacles. One of the hardships he has to deal with is the ongoing violence. From his early childhood through his teens, he had to endure not only physical abuse but also mental abuse. The abuse came from his family, classmates and also co-workers. When Richard was just four years old he recounts the incident of burning the curtains. Not only did the curtains burn but the house burned also. When the house becomes engulfed with smoke and fire, Richard hides under the house. His father finds him and drags him from under the house. As he is being yanked from his hiding place, he knows that he is going to be beaten. He recalls that his mother

In fact, it was quite the opposite. Richard didn’t have a much of a relationship with his father. He only saw him as person who would punish him even when it was not deserved. At an early age his father did not come home from work one evening. Later his mother finds out that he has abandoned the family.
When he attends school, Richard realizes he must prove himself to be accepted. In order to make friends he has to prove that he is tough. As he arrives at school, another black boy starts picking on him, but Richard stands his ground. The boy puts a rock on his shoulder and dares Richard to knock it off. The fight ensues not only with the boy but also with his brother. Little did he know that the boys were the school bullies. He ends up winning the fight and the respect of the other

There had already been conflict with his aunt but things were about to explode. Richard was falsely accused of eating walnuts in the classroom. She made him hold out his hand and “She stung my palm until turned red” (pg. 106). Richard then recalled, she “then lashed me across my bare legs until welts rose” (pg. 106). At this point Richard knew there was not a reason for the beating. He resigned himself to not be beaten again. When his aunt came home that day she tried to beat him again. Trying to defend himself, he grabbed a knife and he told her “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you if you don’t leave me alone!”(pg. 109). The incident ended with his aunt storming away. He was learning that he could fight back against the violence.
To help with money coming into the home, Richard’s Uncle Tom and his family were invited to rent the upstairs. His Uncle Tom decides that he is going to beat Richard because he didn’t answer him correctly. Uncle Tom wanted to break his spirit. In response, Richard hides razors in his hands. Richard tells his uncle that he is not going to allow him to whip him. Richard had took a stand of not allowing anyone to abuse him