As a result, he is never able to really fit in. The other African-American boys he comes across are never able to understand Wright and his attitude, nor he theirs. Wright is never fully able to satisfy the hunger for acceptance, even amongst his peers. “The entire family became kind and forgiving, but I knew the motives that prompted their change and it drove me an even greater emotional distance from them.” (113) This emotional distance takes a toll on Wright despite that distance, and despite the antagonistic and demoralizing experience Wright experiences in his family, he is able to maintain his hunger for a better life, one that he could better comprehend. This is the case when his family is attempting to ‘save’ his soul. On the rare occasions that they are amicable with him, Wright cannot trust their motives, and it, therefore, pushes him further out of the family. Wright’s opinion of Aunt Addie is reflective of his opinion of his entire family, which leads Wright to feel as though he is an outsider in his own home. The altercation resulted in Aunt Addie refusing to speak to Wright, to which he responded: “I was conscious that she had descended to my emotional level in order to rule me, and my respect for her sank”(Wright, 110). She punishes him at school and then tries to punish him a second time at home when she finds out that he really did not leave the shells there but would not tell her who had.

As his schoolteacher, she is able to make it doubly difficult for him, such as when she accuses him of leaving shells all over the floor in the school. His struggles with his family are epitomized during his struggles with his Aunt Addie. The adults in his family often argued with him, and prefer to have as little contact with him as possible. In fact, the majority of their interactions are the exact opposite of this.

His family was never able to provide everything that a family is supposed to, such as love, security, and acceptance. Wright’s struggle with hunger started within his family. Wright suffers from hunger his entire life, not only for food but also for acceptance, love, and an understanding of the world around him but most importantly, Wright possesses an insatiable hunger for knowledge. Beyond this, Black Boy is a story about a life-long struggle with hunger. It is a story about the hardships and obstacles faced by a poverty-stricken family, and one boy’s determination to escape the prison created by these circumstances. It follows him through his youth, examining the hardships and obstacles faced by both Wright and his family.

It catalogs Wright’s life growing up as an African-American in Jim Crow South, depicting the economic and social struggles that were stereotypical for African-Americans at the time. The autobiography Black Boy, by Richard Wright, is a tale of hope and determination.

Black Boy by Richard Wright