Background of Black Boy Written by Richard Wright

Author Biography Richard Wright was born in Roxie, Mississippi on September 4, 1908. Richard was of African American descent. He grew up in a community in which he rarely encountered white people. Growing up, his mother reared him and his brother after his father left the family at age five. His father’s absence resulted in an unstable financial status, therefore Richard’s mother was unable to provide daily meals. As a result of being emotionally scarred from physical and emotional abuse, Richard developed psychopathic tendencies. He migrated south, in which racial profiling was prominent and he could lead a more promising life.

1908 Long before the Civil Rights Movement was put into action, tensions between whites and blacks were still high, especially in the southern states. Many skills we take to be expected were few and far between. For example, 2 out of 10 Americans could not read or write. Richard himself was illiterate until he eventually taught himself how to read. Shockingly, only 6 percent of Americans had graduated from high school. Hard drugs such as morphine and heroin were sold over the counter, making drugs prominent in everyday life. A hundred years can do a lot of change to a country, just seeing how things were in 1908 compared to 2014.

At 5 Years Old… (1913) He hanged a cat out of spite for his dad His father abandoned the them to live with another woman He was placed into a foster home due to poverty He spent the majority of his time in a saloon getting drinks from patrons of the saloon while his mom was out at work

At 8 Years Old… (1915-1916) He knew how to read and count, but doesn’t advertise it Richard starts to create a rift between him and his family, especially after he moves into his grandmothers house His uncle is killed by whites after a dispute over his uncle’s bar and is introduced to the concept of “whites” and “blacks” and their social expectations

Works Cited http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/blackboy/summary.h tml http://www.shmoop.com/black-boy/literary- devices.html http://www.litcharts.com/lit/black-boy