The Real Encounters In Richard Wright's Black Boy

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The book Black Boy, written by Richard Wright contains a chapter titled “Library Card,” depicts the real encounters that Wright faced on an everyday basis. Richard Wright had his first encounter with H.L. Mencken when he arrived to work early and read the Memphis Commercial Appeal. This article was explicitly produced to make Mencken appear to be a fool; Wright was hooked from the beginning. Growing up in such a dangerous era was a threat enough to any black man, let alone Wright. Understandingly, Wright asked a white man to assist him in getting his hands on a Mencken book to successfully understand why he was a “fool.” The man who finally decided to aid to the black boy was the one and only Mr. Falk who was an Irish-Catholic man who was commonly known as the “Pope Lover.” By many standards, he was a brave man. Not only …show more content…

It was not until the library card was in Wright’s possession that he felt that he could trust in somebody other than himself. In addition, Wright’s intriguing moment of discovering the books of Mencken also pulled him into a dwelling place. The book not only showed him the pureness of sinking oneself into a book and experiencing each event as if it were true. Wright’s collection of reading also showed him the reality and exalted his understanding of the hate the world has casted upon him. Toward the end of the book I was confused for a brief moment as to why he felt this way toward the white men as a whole; since Mr. Falk went out of his way to supply Wright with what he wanted. Not only does Wright wish that he was unhappy since his life was controlled by what the white man wanted, but I think he became unhappy that Falk did the same to him. Mr. Falk desired to keep this library card a secret, and Wright new that it needed to be, but I truly don’t think he realized that soon

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