Black Boy Section: Book Reports
Another situation that Richard had to cope with racism was when he worked in a clothing store. He saw his boss and his bosses son beat a black woman half to death. He didn't have much options but to sit there and continue doing his job. When Richard witnessed this he was outside on the sidewalk." I watched out of the corner of my eyes, but I never slackened the strokes of my chamois upon the brass" (212), he described. He thought it was right to sit their and not act on anything that was happening. After a few minutes later the lady stumbled out of the store, only to be accused of being drunk by a white police man who witnessed the whole thing. Richard walked in side and saw blood, hair and pieces of clothing on the ground." My face must have reflected my shock, for the boss slapped me reassuringly on the back" (213), he thought to himself. The boss handed Richard a cigarette and he excepted. This saying that if you keep your mouth shut and act like a black boy is suppose to then nothing will happen to you and you might even get rewarded. In one particular situation Richard was backed into a corner. It occurred when he was working for a black Yankee in an optical factory. Richard had these two co-workers, Pease and Reynolds who accused him of calling Mr. Pease, Pease. This was a battle that Richard could not win. If he confessed and said yes he did call Mr. Pease, Pease. Then he would be in a lot of trouble. If he denied it, that was even worse. That would mean that he was calling them Liars. Reynolds told Richard," You can't call a white man a liar and get away with it" (225). Richard had no only one way of getting out of this mess, and it was to leave his job and go up north. He was scared for his life so he had no other choice. This tell's you that back during the Jim Crow era, if you have white enemies then you are in some serious trouble. Richards way of coping with racism was different then other people's because Richard is more independent. Richard's way of coping with racism was to act nice and respectful towards whites. On the other hand, he also thinks that he should not act like that. He thinks that whites don't deserve this kind of treatment. There is nothing he can do because if he acts like blacks are just as equal as whites, then he would probably end up dead. If he acts like whites are much better then blacks then nothing would happen to him. This makes him burn up inside knowing that he hates whites so much and that blacks should not give whites this sort of respect. In this story, Richard shows that people all have the same feelings and are as alike on the inside as they are different on the outside. He also shows that there is no place in the world for racism.
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