Black Boy (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Richard Wright
- First Published: 1945
- Type of Work: Autobiography
- Principal Characters: Richard Wright, Ella, Nathan, Margaret, Aunt Maggie, Clark, Ross
- Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography
- Subjects: African Americans, Maturation or coming of age, Language or languages, Memory, South or Southerners, Authors or writers, Prejudices or antipathies, Manners or customs, Social life, 1910’s, 1920’s, 1930’s, American Dream, Chicago, Individuality
- Locales: Arkansas, Chicago, IL, Memphis, TN, Mississippi
The Story:
Richard Wright was a bored and frustrated young boy growing up in Natchez, Mississippi, in a household that he believed neither understood nor appreciated him. At the age of four, he demonstrated his boredom and frustration by setting his house on fire, thus incurring the wrath of his mother, Ella, who beat him into unconsciousness.
When the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, Richard’s father deserted the family, leaving them in poverty. Richard’s mother was forced to put her two sons in an orphanage, where they remained for six weeks before being...
[The entire page is 2089 words long]
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