What types of things does Richard "hunger" for
and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?
A nearly omnipresent hunger throughout Richard's life is the longing for his physical needs to be met. For almost his whole life, his family has been poor and scarcely manages to survive. He is always acutely aware of those around him who have enough to eat. At lunchtime at school, he pretends not to be hungry, but is really salivating at the sight of the others' food. This inspires him to begin working so he can have food, too, which is good in that food improves his health and the money helps his family get by. However, Richard's jobs also make clear the way most white people treat black people, which disturbs him.
Another unfortunate hunger of Richard's is his need for sympathy and understanding. Virtually all the grown-ups in his life have severely punished Richard for his every misdeed without ever taking the time to listen to his side of the story or explaining what he did wrong. For instance, when Granny was washing Richard and he said something rude, she immediately begins yelling at him and tries to beat him; he runs away. If he had understood what he had done wrong, he would have taken his punishment quietly, but to him it seems that Granny is just randomly attacking him, and so is deeply frightened. All these seemingly unjustified punishments lead Richard to resent authority, and to refuse to allow himself to be punished by anyone. This makes everyone consider him a ne'er-do-well, although he isn't.
A third hunger, deeply engrained in Richard's personality, is his desire for knowledge. Even when Richard was a very small boy, his setting the curtains on fire and pestering his mother with questions show that he is curious and bright. As he gets older, he asks even deeper questions about the world, particularly the hardships imposed on blacks, and develops a thirst for reading and writing. The good thing about Richard's intelligence is that it opens up more possibilities in life for him. Unfortunately, the Jim Crow South seeks to prevents blacks from having any opportunites. Closer to home, Richard's family interprets his questions as being smart-alecky, and his Granny thinks the stories he reads and writes are sinful.
It is not fair for any kid to have to grow up with such deep hunger in him, especially a kid with as much potential as Richard. Hopefully, he will be able to find a way to satisfy his hungers in subsequent chapters.
Throughout his life so far, Richard has had to endure much pain and want. As a result of this, he hungers for many things, which impacts his life in many ways.
A nearly omnipresent hunger throughout Richard's life is the longing for his physical needs to be met. For almost his whole life, his family has been poor and scarcely manages to survive. He is always acutely aware of those around him who have enough to eat. At lunchtime at school, he pretends not to be hungry, but is really salivating at the sight of the others' food. This inspires him to begin working so he can have food, too, which is good in that food improves his health and the money helps his family get by. However, Richard's jobs also make clear the way most white people treat black people, which disturbs him.
Another unfortunate hunger of Richard's is his need for sympathy and understanding. Virtually all the grown-ups in his life have severely punished Richard for his every misdeed without ever taking the time to listen to his side of the story or explaining what he did wrong. For instance, when Granny was washing Richard and he said something rude, she immediately begins yelling at him and tries to beat him; he runs away. If he had understood what he had done wrong, he would have taken his punishment quietly, but to him it seems that Granny is just randomly attacking him, and so is deeply frightened. All these seemingly unjustified punishments lead Richard to resent authority, and to refuse to allow himself to be punished by anyone. This makes everyone consider him a ne'er-do-well, although he isn't.
A third hunger, deeply engrained in Richard's personality, is his desire for knowledge. Even when Richard was a very small boy, his setting the curtains on fire and pestering his mother with questions show that he is curious and bright. As he gets older, he asks even deeper questions about the world, particularly the hardships imposed on blacks, and develops a thirst for reading and writing. The good thing about Richard's intelligence is that it opens up more possibilities in life for him. Unfortunately, the Jim Crow South seeks to prevents blacks from having any opportunites. Closer to home, Richard's family interprets his questions as being smart-alecky, and his Granny thinks the stories he reads and writes are sinful.
It is not fair for any kid to have to grow up with such deep hunger in him, especially a kid with as much potential as Richard. Hopefully, he will be able to find a way to satisfy his hungers in subsequent chapters.
4 comments:
Hey Jenny!!! I really liked your conclusion; it was really clear and well-thought out. I also liked how you explained the instance from the book where Richard says something rude to Granny. It makes perfect sense that if only Granny had made him understand what he had done wrong, Richard wouldn't have run from her, and would have learned to take his punishments (in the future). Great post, and I'll see you in LA!
I really liked the point you brought up in saying that Richard is hungry for understanding. I think if Granny had really tried to understand that Richard had not meant what he said then she would not have been as mad. I really like your writing and I think you did a very good job!!
jenny! first of all i really liked all your points, and EXCELLENT word choice! i really liked how you used richards hunger for love and affection. you really made it work! i agree with it also, if richard had possibly a more positive role model or more sympathy from his family he probably would have gone through life with a more positive outlook.
I like your ideas. I did not think of Richards need for understanding and sympathy but now that you mention it I realize that it is true. I do not agree that Richard thought his grandmother was attacking him for no reason he understood that he had said something bad. He just didn't know how bad it was.
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