INTRODUCTION OF AUTHOR: Richard Wright was born in Natchez, Mississippi. When he was six years old, his father, Nathan Wright deserted the family for whateverreason. His mother, Ella, became the breadwinner of the family. Abandoned by herhusband and unable to establish economic independence from her strict mother, Ellasuffered greatly. A strong woman who faces terrible adversity, she trained Richard to bestrong and to take care of himself. Later, the feisty, independent spirit Richard developedat home leaded him to refuse to accept the codes of behavior the white world has set forSouthern blacks. When Richard finally decided to become writer, that career representeda declaration of independence from those in the black community.PLOT SUMMARY: The opening chapter recounts Wright's early childhood in Natchez, Mississippi, and his family's move to Memphis. It describes his early rebellion againstparental authority, his poverty and hunger, and his unsupervised life on the streets whilehis mother is at work. Then the Wrights move to the home of Richard's Aunt Maggie. Buttheir pleasant life there ends when whites kill Maggie's husband. Later the threat ofviolence by whites forces Maggie to flee again. Richard's mother has a stroke. Richard issent to his Uncle Clark's, but he is unhappy there and insists on returning to his mother's. Richard confronts his Aunt Addie, who teaches at the Seventh-Day Adventist churchschool. He also resists his grandmother's attempts to convert him to religious faith. And hewrites his first story. Richard gets a job selling newspapers but quits when he finds that the newspapers espouse racist views. Later, his grandfather dies. Richard gets a jobworking for white people. Then he is baptized in his mother's church. Finally, he hasanother near-violent confrontation with a relative. Richard publishes his first story. Thereaction from his family is overwhelmingly negative. Richard becomes ...
