In this book, Black Boy, I think Richard hungers for a lot of things. One detail in particular is his hunger for knowledge. Richard is a smart boy, but strives for more. He wants to read literature and books. We know this because when he had the opportunity to learn to count to a hundred, he didn't let anything stand in the way of his learning at that moment. Also, when Richard was a young child, he was very curious and yearned to know everything he could take in. I think Richards hunger for knowledge is positive. He is determined to learn and become successful in his future. He is in a good mind set and will achieve anything in school that comes his way. He is motivated to reach his goals and make himself into something more. There are also negative effects of Richards hunger. When Richard steals Ella's books, he learns horrible words that he repeats to his grandmother. He received severe consequences for his actions. Another negative aspect of Richard's hunger is when he sells the newpapers that are by the teachings of the KKK. Although it wasn't Richards fault, he used his hunger for knowledge in a negative way. Overall, I believe that the outcome of Richard's hunger is more of a positvie and will allow him to reach his dreams.
Another hunger of Richard's is food. Richard battles the amount of food everyday. He knows there is not enough and slides by on the food that is offered to him. Richard believes that hunger will always be lingering in his life and he cannot control it. When he lives with his aunt and uncle, Richard is shocked at the amount of food. Even though there was enough food for him to eat every meal of everyday, he stole biscuits and kept them to make sure there was enough for later. I think Richard's hunger for food has mostly negative affects. First, his lack of food isn't healthy for his body and can cause him to become weak and brittle. Sometimes his hunger overtakes his mind, so that he cannot focus on school or work. Richard has developed a little habit of stealing as well. One positive of his hunger is that he is forced to work in order to eat. At work he will learn how to maintain a job and can learn valuable lessons for his future.
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5 comments:
Kenzie! I totally agree wth you when you say Richard was curious as a child, for example when he set his house on fire, that shows his curiousity. He wasn't trying to burn his famiy he was simply curious. I had many similar ideas as you, and I agree when you say Richard's hunger will help him achieve his goals and dreams. I think that there are also negative affects to Richard's hunger for food and education, like you said! Great analysis Kenz!
i thought it was very creative of you to say that Richard craves knowledge. I can now see that indeed that was what he was searching for when he avidly read his books. You really powerfully support the cliche phrase, "knowledge is power" and how that connects to Richard and his journey to adulthood.
I agree with your statement that he is not only hungering for food, but for knowlege as well. I really like your connection to the newspapers with the KKK, as a negative aspect to his quest for knowledge. I also believe that his hunger can lead to something good as well.
Kenzie-
I had many similar ideas as you and i agree with mostly everything you said. I really liked how you found a positive aspect of Richard's hunger for food. Most people (including myself) immediately only saw the negative aspect of his lack of food and you enlightened me to the positive side. You backed up your ideas nicely also.
Kenzie,
i agree with your staement about Richard craving for knowledge. I do believe that was positive and i do think that being hungry for food is negative. nice work!
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