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Physical Discipline In Richard Wright's Black Boy

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Around 60% of children are physically disciplined regularly(World Health Organization 1). In Black Boy, Richard Wright is greatly affected by physical discipline until adulthood. The effect is shown through his relationships and interactions with people during adolescence and adulthood. The text further proves that corporal punishment affects children’s mental health and contributes to aggressive behavior due to the fact that children use parents and other adults as a model for their behavior. Despite the majority of parents practicing physical discipline, the form of punishment does not improve children’s behavior. “Hitting children does not teach them about responsibility, conscience development and self-control”(Glicksman 22). Physical discipline does not send the message to children that they should change their behavior that is causing them to be punished. “Many evenings my mother would find me wandering in a daze and take me home and beat me; but the next morning, no …show more content…

It can cause social behavioral issues, depression, and send signals to the child that they are unloved by their parent(s). “Depression was significantly related to perceptions of parents’ punitiveness and withdrawal of love” (Smith 121). This is from a study of high school students that shows their depression and self-esteem is greatly caused by their perception of parents' feelings about them based on punishment. Richard Wright states, “I still had no friends, casual or intimate, and felt the need for none. I had developed a self-sufficiency that kept me distant from others, emotionally and psychologically”(Wright 278). Into adulthood, Richard isolates himself and does not trust other people, which could be caused by the physical discipline he received as a child. Many mental health and social issues can be the product of physical discipline received as a child and can affect a person during adolescence and

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