Black Boy

So...a little behind here...anywho:

The name of the book kind of gives away the feel or the tone of the book and the subjects in it. Sure, perhaps a book named Black Boy could not be about racism at all, but in this case, reading the back of the book would help. To me, this book is fairly confusing at some points. Little Richard Wright, even at age 6, can have a thought process as advanced as a grown man's. Perhaps not the thought process of consequences just yet, but the reasoning of life. However, at a time there is something about the word "white" that he doesn't get. He thinks his grandmother is white due to her skin being of that color, but what's the difference between her and these "white people"? His mother answers this question with irritation of course.

As the book progresses, you see Richard toughening up a bit to his surroundings; the actual brutality of the world. He traveled so much that he trained himself to leave the home he was at with no regrets. He mentioned that it actually bored him; that traveling wasn't exciting to him anymore. For a while he was afraid that even walking down the street, a random white man would beat him, due to some story that a white man beat a black boy. Which at first he figured the white man was the black boy's father, since the father has a right to beat the son, but his mother said the white man wasn't the father, which just confused him more.

Basically, it is a well written book so far in the eyes of an african(-american) boy living with white men and dealing with the hardships of growing up and learning. Which is funny, a plan meant to scare the little boy during a ride with his uncle to the middle of the river backfired to where Richard didn't trust him at all after that. They didn't bond anymore, nor could they ever again since he was shot by white men who took interest in his saloon.