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Black Boy- Discussion Questions
Black Boy by Richard Wright- Part 1 (pgs. 3-8)
*Note: When you quote from the text, make sure you include a page number.
style
characterization
mood
1. Where in the text does Richard’s narration change sharply?
2. What was his writing style like before the sharp change? (Quote at least 2 examples from the text to prove
your point.)
3. What was his writing style like after the sharp change? (Quote at least 2 examples from the text to prove
your point.)
4. Why do you think he makes this change? Which writing style do you like better and why?
5. What kind of a character is Richard? Describe him in 3 words. For each word, give an example from the
text to prove why you chose that word.
6. On page 5, Richard is terrified that his mother is going to find him. Think of a time that you did
something bad and were afraid that you were going to be in trouble. Write at least 5 sentences about that
time. How did you feel compared to Richard? Who do you think was more afraid and why?
7. How does the mood of this story change over the course of just these few pages? What is the mood in the
beginning, what is the mood in the middle, and what is the mood in the end, and why does it change? For
each of these three different moods, find at least one example of sensory imagery from that part of the text
that contributes to the mood.
8. What does Richard mean on page 5 when he says of his mother, “Her wails were full of an agony whose
intensity told me that my punishment would be measured by its depth”?
9. Look very carefully at the first paragraph of page 3. Why does Richard say that the “vivid image of
Granny’s old, white, wrinkled, grim face, framed by a halo of tumbling black hair, lying upon a huge feather
pillow, made me afraid”?
interior monologue
Black Boy by Richard Wright- Part 2 (pgs. 9-14)
foreshadow
“Why not throw something into the fire and watch it burn?”
1. Read the above interior monologue from Part 1 of Black Boy. What does this example of interior
monologue show you about Wright? How does it foreshadow the remainder of the chapter? Use
specific examples from the text to prove your point.
2. Richard is disappointed when he realized that the Kate Adams is not as nice as he expected. Write
about a time when you expected one thing but got something completely different and not as nice as
you expected.
3. What does Richard mean when he says on page 10, “It was in this tenement that the personality of my
father first came fully into the orbit of my concern”?
4. Compare Richard’s father to his mother.
5. Write down the sensory images you find in the scene when Richard kills the cat (on page 10). What
effect do these images have on the way we view him as a character?
6. What do you think of Richard’s brother? Why?
7. In your opinion, why does Richard kill the cat? Back up your answer with evidence!
8. What prediction can you make about the relationship between Richard and his father that will
develop over the course of the book based on this chapter? Back up your answer with evidence!
9. What do you think of the way Richard’s mother handles the situation with the kitten? Why? What
would you have done?
10. On page 14, Richard’s mother says, “Well, I suppose you’ve learned your lesson.” Do you agree
with her? Why or why not?
11. Notice that at the beginning and end of this section, Richard changes topics very quickly. Why do
you think he does this? What effect does it have on the text? How might he have done this
differently?
12. How might this scene have been different if it were written from the point of view of Richard’s
father?
Black Boy by Richard Wright- Part 3 (pgs. 14-19)
personification
1. What is being personified on page 14? How do you know?
2. What does it mean when Richard says that hunger had been more or less at his elbow when he
played? (pg. 14)
3. Do you find it surprising that Richard’s mother teases him on page 15? How does this compare with
what we know of her so far?
4. Why does Richard say that father becomes associated with pangs of hunger?
5. Make a list of the ways that Richard’s mother reacts each time he returns to the house with no
groceries. Why does Richard’s mother send him back out again and again even though he gets
beaten up? What do you think of this decision? What do you think of the ways that she reacts? Does
anything on your list make you think that she ever takes it too far? Does it change your opinion of
his mother in any way?