Richard Wright experiences a life of segregation while growing up in the American South at the turn of the 20th century, as detailed in his autobiography Black Boy. Richard Wright was born into an African American family, who suffered from economic and social disadvantages. He was part of a big family, with multiple aunts and uncles. However, his father left very early, his mother became ill and he was placed into an orphanage with his brother in hopes of earning enough money to put the family back together. In Part One of the book "Southern Night" as he tries to understand the world around him and the factors that have shaped his personality. Wright's hostile and toxic environment shapes his personality to become a violent person. All throughout Wright’s life he was severely beaten. No matter what he did wrong Wright would be punished by getting a beating for his actions. For example, “If you come back into this house without those groceries, I’ll whip you! (page 18)” his mother said. As the autobiography goes on Wright continues to get beaten and he starts to retaliate. He ends up getting in a fight with his Aunt Addie and pulls a knife on her …show more content…
Wright mentions that the kids always talked about how hungry they were and how they had to pull the grass because they didn’t have money for a mower. For instance, “Each morning after we had eaten a breakfast that seemed like no breakfast at all, an older child would lead a herd of us to the vast lawn and we would get to our knees and wrench the grass loose from the dirt with our fingers” (page 29). Wright's personality is severely impacted by the orphanage's toxic atmosphere of deprivation and poverty. He developed a firmly rooted hatred against the world and an urge to flee, becoming resourceful and rebellious. These incidents are examples of the more significant social and economic factors influencing the lives of black Americans at the