Richard Wright grew up without any support from anyone for anything he attempted to do. He appeared to not care about anyone but himself, for he did what he wanted and did not accept any negativity from anyone, no matter what race they were. He would defend himself against people trying to stop him from doing something, and in his autobiography Black Boy, he showed us what it meant to be a black child growing up in the south during the early 1900s. He also showed us the difficulties that came with trying to go against what was preset for him, and the triumphs he accomplished. Although Richard Wright was discouraged by people telling him a black man could never be successful as an author, he uses this disheartenment as motivation to pursue a career in writing.
While going to his bedroom daily to pray for an hour, Richard remembers some old Indian stories he once read, and chooses to write a story of his own to pass the time.
English: Richard Wright by Gordon Parks, 1943 Espa...
English: Richard Wright by Gordon Parks, 1943 Espa...
Black and white copy of Joseph Wright's painting o...Once he was through, he realized that, although the story had no context at all, he had never before accomplished something so great, and he was excited. Wright decided to read the story to his black neighbor, who, when he was finished, stared at him and asked him why he wrote it. Her lack of enthusiasm at first discouraged him, because he was happy about this accomplishment, it being his first short story. Although he was disappointed, that soon changed, for when he thought of "her inability to grasp what [he]had done or was trying to do somehow gratified [him]. Afterwards whenever [he] thought of her reaction [he] smiled happily for some unaccountable reason" (Wright 121). Her reaction to his first short story, although not appreciative, was...