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Discrimination And Poverty In Richard Wright's Black Boy

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Young African Americans in the United States in the early 20th century encountered many obstacles as they grew up, especially the systemic racism and poverty that were prevalent at the time. Black Boy's autobiography Richard Wright, a black American who endured racial discrimination and poverty throughout his life, vividly illustrates these tribulations. He was born in Mississippi in 1908, and his aspirations were to move to the North and pursue an education. His goal of becoming a writer required him to take these steps.In his autobiography, as he navigates racial discrimination and poverty, Richard Wright portrays hardships as obstacles in the way of his ultimate goal of becoming a writer.

One of the challenges Richard Wright faced was finding …show more content…

Richard had been living in poverty for basically his whole life and at one point the clothes he wore began to reflect that which embarrassed Richard. He says, “My clothing became so shabby that I was ashamed to go to school.” At his young age and while he was attending school Richards was now going to force himself to work on the weekends to make money for new clothes. This idea was quickly shut down by his grandmother as she refused to let him work on Saturdays for religious reasons. Richards went as far as saying, “‘Then I'll quit school,’” (143). For Richard, quitting school would be a huge setback in his goal of becoming a writer and he had to make the decision to stay in school despite this hardship forced on him due to poverty. Being in a situation where you are considered poor can be very damaging because it can force someone into making decisions. An example of this for Richard is when he is in need of work and has to make an important choice without fully thinking it through. “My life now depended upon finding work, and I was so anxious that I accepted the first offer, a job as a porter in a clothing store, selling cheap goods to Negroes on credit.” (179). This job that Richard agreed to, made him witness the torture and belittlement of many african americans and caused a huge mental strain for him. This mental strain is another deficit forced onto him because of his life in poverty. These events illustrate how poverty forced Richard to make sacrifices, and was a big hurdle to overcome in his life in order to eventually become a

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As if living in the south as an African-American was not challenging enough, Richard lived in a troublesome household striving to make ends meet. For instance, when Richard was living with his very religious grandparents, he struggled to find his faith, which made his Granny very upset. In Chapter Five, he describes Granny's house as a prison. “I could breathe again, live again, that I had been released from a prison” (122). The reader learns this author has finally been given the chance to go to school, and escape the strangling he felt at home.

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