Is Richard a "bad" boy?
When should behavior be blamed on the person and when should it be blamed on the environment?
Richard is young when the book starts, leading him to do rash things and not understand the danger of his actions. When Richard is trying to entertain himself at the beginning of the book, he naturally is attracted to the fire (4). He was not trying to be destructive, he merely was curious, and his curiosity lead him to see if things other than the straw from the broom would burn. I can say that In this case he's really just acting like any other four year old who has not been taught the dangers of fire. The phrase "curiosity killed the cat" is not quite true when it comes to Black Boy. When Richard's father tells him to kill the kitten, one can be sure he did not mean it literally. Though Richard, being young and wanting to spite his father, takes his father's words seriously and uses a piece of rope to strangle the kitten (11). Again, Richard grew up being taught that his father's word was law, so blame cannot really be pushed upon him. Overall, I just think Richard is a product of his environment and he really takes little blame for his actions.
Wow, I wrote a lot... :) Do we have to cite the book?
Wow, I wrote a lot... :) Do we have to cite the book?
