During Wright’s narrative, we witness a couple of times the dehumanization of blacks that they seem to accept. We see Shorty the elevator man say to a white man that he will do anything for a quarter. The way in which Shorty goes about getting the quarter by telling the white man to kick him for a quarter, to Richard seems disgusting, but he says that he has seen this scene enough that it doesn’t even make him angry anymore (228-229 Wright). Richard also encounters a situation like this where he is asked to fight for money. At first he is very against it because he doesn’t want to degrade himself, but he ends up giving in. Richard is filled with shame when he realizes what he has done; he gave into the stereotype that the whites had placed on him (242-243 Wright). After the fight Richard says he felt he had done something “unclean”, and he could never wash this from his memories. It is interesting to me that even though they are being dehumanized they still give into it. It’s sad that they are so hungry, or so in need of money that they basically have to sell themselves and be treated like animals. They get trapped in this never-ending cycle of doing anything they can for money.
Although Richard Wright gave into the stereotypes and was dehumanized by the whites that surrounded him, he never lost his sense of identity and morals. He gave into the stereotype but he still had control over his mind. He knew that everything whites did was wrong and he gave in only to make money so that he could escape. In Chapter 13, Wright begins to further his "education" by starting to read books. Before this he always felt that society was wrong but know he knew. Wright began to see the white people in his life as characters from the books he was reading, making him see them in a new light. His mind was truly free now and any chance he would get he would read newspapers and books. The people around him began to notice a change in him. The books made everything so more concrete that was harder to ignore everything that was going on around him. Wright still followed the stereotypes in order to keep his job, but he was a different person because of the knowledge that books provided.
Although Richard Wright gave into the stereotypes and was dehumanized by the whites that surrounded him, he never lost his sense of identity and morals. He gave into the stereotype but he still had control over his mind. He knew that everything whites did was wrong and he gave in only to make money so that he could escape. In Chapter 13, Wright begins to further his "education" by starting to read books. Before this he always felt that society was wrong but know he knew. Wright began to see the white people in his life as characters from the books he was reading, making him see them in a new light. His mind was truly free now and any chance he would get he would read newspapers and books. The people around him began to notice a change in him. The books made everything so more concrete that was harder to ignore everything that was going on around him. Wright still followed the stereotypes in order to keep his job, but he was a different person because of the knowledge that books provided.
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