Duh Toekevil

In his piece, Alexis de Tocqueville states his view that Americans look at women in a totally different manner than Europeans do. He believes that in the eyes of Americans, women are on a completely different plane almost totally unrelated to the plane upon which men operate. Whether or not this could create a position of superiority de Tocqueville did not know. But he was sure that this system did not compare to Europe, where women in the society were seen as equals. The main difference, de Tocqueville believed, was in the rights of women in the different countries. In Europe, not only were women treated equally, but they also had equal rights, where as in America, women were both treated differently and given different laws. de Tocqueville then finished the piece by predicting that because of their current inferiority, women would eventually attempt to rise up and achieve equality, something that proved to be true.

Byebye Black Boy

The main realization of Richard Wright at the end of the novel is that through his writing, he has an incredible power that he can share with others. That does not necessarily mean that the audience will be receptive, but he can nonetheless express himself in a unique and powerful way. By the end of the novel Wright has gone through life noticing how the majority of people have lost hope and are pessimistic about their own lives and their future. Wright feels that this is a problem because without hope in one's life, there is no real life. This makes sense to me because a large portion of life is about striving towards your goals with confidence, and if there is no hope for the future, then there really is no future.

Layngstun Hyooz

The poem "I too" by Langston Hughes and the beginning of Chapter 17 in black Boy are very similar in that the main focus of both pieces is unity as a result of white oppression. Hughes' poem spoke frequently about how even though at the current moment there was nothing he could do about his situation, he and his black brothers and sisters would eventually be able to overcome their obstacles and eat with everyone else, no longer held back in the kitchen. Richard feels his sense of unity at a relief station while he is trying to get food. He finds that he can relate to the situations of the people in this place and that even though they are all suffering, they are at least suffering together.

Ahhpoessitt Poules?

Richard's statement that artists and politicians stand on opposite poles is a reasonable one from his position, because he is in a way an artist and he has had poor experiences throughout his life with politicians. However, both politicians and artists have the roots of their professions in attempting to convey some sort of message. Politicians communicate this message through speech. Artists communicate through their work. In both cases, the more each profession's message is accepted and supported, the more successful a career the artist or politician will have. Also, as in every profession, there are those that make artists and politicians look good, and those that make them look very very bad. Once again, Wright's argument makes complete sense within the context of his life, but with a broader and less biased view of, the relationship between artists and politicians comes across very differently.

Mahlkum EX

Malcolm X took up reading while in prison because he was mightily struggling with finding a way to better express himself. However, Malcolm gained much more from the experience. He learned all about the history of America, and because he saw slanted bias in the passages he read, he realized the oppression of history the white race was pushing. Thus he developed his radical views about race relations which led him to be the incredible reformer he was with such a great impact on the American Civil Rights movement, and to eventually be a martyr for the cause. Richard Wright learned to read under similarly poor circumstances but found it important for a different reason; the escape from the terrible reality around him and a hope for something more.

The Wright Choice?

Richard Wright made the correct decision at the end of Part 1 to move without question when you look at the abundance or lack-thereof of opportunity up North compared to his current location. Richard's talents in communication and his aspirations to become a writer fall upon deaf ears everywhere around him in the Jim Crow south, and even if he had received support from his family, in such a racially segregated area, there was really no hope for Richard's success. Richard really needed a fresh start, and the only way for this to come about was for him to move North again. Had he not, he very well could have become like his father and his friends: complacent with their below average lives and both unwilling and unable to work their way up to a higher class level. By moving, Richard once and for all removed himself from those shadows and became his own man.

Iz Suhbsurrvyanse Nessecairy Four Lihveeng?

Like just about everything else on Planet Earth, subservience can be a good thing to grow up with at a moderate level. Every individual needs to be taught to a certain degree that it is important to have respect for people in a position more prominent than one's own, no matter how terrible that person may be. If one is taught to be subservient to a greater degree than necessary, that can be very dangerous, because it teaches the child to stay in said subservient role and not to have aspirations for an improved social or economic position. However, if there is no subservience taught at all from a young age, the benefits of living without it are really a flip of the coin. Some of the most powerful people in the world are where they are today because they refused to be subservient and do what they were told. They fought against establishment and won. But there are of course those who do not fare so well in fighting this establishment, such as many African Americans in the Jim Crow south. The system was so slanted against them that there was really no hope of success, and many of the people who refused to be subservient blacks to dominant whites lost their lives for it.

Koapeeng width the Wight Wurld

In Chapters 10 and 11, Richard realizes that throughout the majority of his early life, he not only did not "cope" with the white world around him in rural Mississippi. This was mostly because of his lack of exposure to much of the white world in his family and friends and the area surrounding his various homes. All he can see is a number of related blacks struggling to find their place in society and to remove themselves from poverty. Richard is unable to understand why these people are unable to succeed because he does not yet understand the situation he is in due to his race. As he grows older, he comes to then realize the prejudices against him and the discrimination he is going to face in his future. This has a special effect upon Richard, who is attempting to acheive something farther than most black people in his region ever imagined, to become a writer.

Haytread uhv jooz

Throughout the early part of his life, Richard had the idea of hating the Jewish people engrained into his mind, and stated that it was his "cultural heritage" to do so. The primary reason for the harboring of this disdain is the hardcore Christianity of all of his relatives. In the Bible, Jesus was killed on the cross by Jews, and so Richard's Christian relatives view Jews as the killers of Christ. Richard mentions that this belief was bread from childhood, which an interesting parallel to the prejudices held against him. Most white southern Americans at the time had been taught since birth about black people being inferior and lesser, and so the society as a whole continued to hold that belief for quite some time. This only further proves that prejudice is a cyclical belief of a whole society that gets passed down by generation, no matter how little substance there is to the beliefs.

Juhstickifayshun of Rehsitayshun

Being a conformist who tends to not ruffle feathers, I would definitely not behaved in the manner that Richard did. However, his actions were totally justified. Richard realized that it wasn't fair to him and all his fellow African-Americans to be forced to act in a different manner when white people were in the area, or in this case, the audience. The principal has every right to behave in the manner that he did as well, because being the principal of a high school means identifying potential problems and trying to prevent them from happening. This was just an unfortunate circumstance where no outcome was going to please everyone. Had I been in the position, I would have decided that it was important to pick and choose my battles, and that my valedictorian speech was a secondary issue that didn't speak to me.

Uhnkul Tahm

To Richard at this point in his life, Uncle Tom represents all of the societal barriers that he faces every day. Uncle Tom believes that Richard needs to adapt to the world around him, or really the white societal standards. He thinks the most important thing for Richard to learn is to respect others around him and not to talk back, because sass is something that white people would not appreciate coming from a black boy like Richard. Richard on the other hand believes that if he conforms to this society the way his uncle wants him to, there would be almost no chance of him escaping his current situation and finding a new and better life for himself. As a result, Richard lashes out against his uncle both physically and verbally and refuses to abide by his rules and wishes.

Grrrrahtifieyng Righteeng

Richard Wright was able to find gratification in his writing when he first shared his writing with his neighbor. At first, he had been very scared to share his writings with others because he knew how his family would feel about his topic of writing: the death of a young Indian girl. He felt that his family would find this sort of writing "unholy." However, Richard really liked the piece and felt a sort of attachment to the writing. Presenting his piece to his neighbor made him feel even better at the piece, as she was barely able to comprehend any of it. Richard felt as if he had written something very educated, and it made him feel very proud as a result. He felt like a rebel because of the separation his writing created between him and his family, and not only was it different, but it was very high level quality.