Brinley Johansen Language Arts 11 15 March 2024 The rights to the Streets of Memphis Perservernecne is a recurring theme in the short story “The Rights to the Streets of Memphis.” The character in the short story had to persevere through many things throughout the story. The main thing the boy went through was getting beat up multiple times when trying to go to the grocery store. The reason that he had to go to the grocery store alone was because of his rough upbringing. The character was born into a loving family. But his Dad left him at a young age. He would always ask his Mom when Dad was coming home because Dad brought food to the home. He would also always complain about hunger. “Hunger stole upon me so slowly that I didn’t know what …show more content…
This statement absolutely hurts me. No child should ever have to go through that. Next in the story, the writer brings up the fact that the Dad is supposed to bring the food home. This goes into the story of the Dad. “ I was glad that he was not there to shout his restrictions at me.” (Richard Wright 2). This quote shows that the father was very absent in the life of the child. And when he was home, he wasn’t kind to the family. The child needs to realize why the Dad is gone and that maybe it is for the best. He needs to persevere through this time because the Dad is not going to come back. The Mom realizes that the Dad is not going to come home and that she needs to get moving on by herself. She gets a job and starts teaching the boys how to be men and fill in for the things that the Dad didn’t do. The Mom starts teaching the character how to go get groceries by himself. The first time he goes, he encounters a group of kids who are ready to beat him up. They beat the character up and the boy does not fight back. This was a heartbreaking story because the gang had no idea what was going on in the boy’s life. He goes home and tells his Mom. She sends him back to the store and tells him not to