Hungry For Attention

Richard Wright, in his early years was a mischievous little brat.  The book “Black Boy” is an autobiography by Richard Wright that starts off in the “four-year- old days” of his life. At this age he’s just as curious as any other young child so it didn’t really surprise me when I read that he began playing with the fire. But before I knew it (well, forth page of the book actually, second to last paragraph) he lights the whole house on fire! Now, I assume that most people think he’s gone too far by now but hey; he’s a curious little kid. He probably knew that it would be bad to burn the house down, in fact as soon as the fire grew he ran under the burning pile of wood and stone to avoid being beaten! But still he was too young to think in depth about the possible tragedy that could be bestowed upon him from playing with fire. Children in those days watched grownups handle fire every day they weren’t aware of the possible harm that fire could cause. I honestly doubt he was looking for attention; kids who look for attention tend to whine and annoy people. Therefore I will defend Richard Wright and say that I believe his tragedy was actually just a simple accident caused by the innocent unawareness of a young child. I think the same goes to his drinking rampage. He was just influenced by the older people in society. If he wanted his mother’s attention he’d get drunk and go home and yell at his mom saying it was her fault. He actually tries to conceal that fact that he’s been drinking which is a clear sign that he doesn’t want his mother bugging in on his business. But maybe he does feel lonely so he looks for comfort in alcohol. But I wouldn’t know, I ain’t no drunkoholic.