Black Boy
In the book Black Boy by Richard Wright, Wright was often told to be careful about what he said or did around white people. Wright would try to watch what he said and did around the white folk, but he often had trouble acting like the "Uncle Tom" stereotype the whites expected him to be. His friend Griggs tried to explain that his very life was in jeopardy if he did not act that way "'...you may think I'm an Uncle Tom, but I'm not. I hate these white people, hate 'em with all my heart. But I can't show it; if I did, they'd kill me,'"(Wright 185). Griggs tells Wright that he has to act like an Uncle Tom and obey white commands even if he hates it that his pride is trampled on. Even though Wright knows he has to act like an Uncle Tom around white people, he still cannot act that way because his pride steps in and controls his actions. The first of Wright's failures after his talk with Griggs about being an Uncle Tom was at the first optical company Wright worked for. When his coworker Reynolds asked Wright if he could spin like a top on his ge
Even though Wright knew better, his pride made his attempts to act like an Uncle Tom unsuccessful. He knew that he should not have shown his disapproval at the optical company, but his pride dictated his actions and his true feelings were shown. He made the same type of failure when he showed his disapproval of the watchman's actions. He also refused to act like an Uncle Tom when he refused to let the whites tell him whom to fight. All three times his pride had dictated his actions, and made his attempts to act like an Uncle Tom fail. It's a shame no one else had enough pride or courage to stand up to the whites sooner. Wright failed a second time when he walked home from his work at the hotel with another black girl. As they walked by the white watchman, he slapped her on the buttocks. Wright clearly disapproved of this, and he stopped in his tracks to look back at the watchman. He soon realized his terrible mistake, "My immobility must have seemed a challenge to him, for he pulled his gun," (Wright 198). Wright knew he shouldn't have sto
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Approximate Word count = 706
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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