Tuesday, March 4, 2008
How to act in the South
Wright in this chapter is now looking for a solid job that he make good money at. He has had some issues with keeping the jobs that he attains. His friend Griggs has a talk with Richard and the way he acts around white people. Wright expresses himself too much in the presence of white folks. Griggs tells him that he needs to “learn how to live in the South”. The meaning behind Griggs’ words is that Richard needs to act more “black” and change his attitude when he is near or around whites. In the South a black man could be killed for forgetting to say “sir” to a white man or for trying to act smarter than white person thinks a black man is. In order for Wright to sustain the jobs he has, he needs to know how to “play the game”. He obviously doesn’t like this idea, but he knows that he needs to do whatever is needed to earn the money.
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heeeey nick
You make good points here.. Wright does need to learn how to "live in the South." We talked about it extensively in class, and all came to the conclusion that Wright doesn't want to conform to the image of black vs. white in society. It's difficult for him because he doesn't understand why there has to be a difference in the way one lives because of their skin color. He does eventually realize that he HAS to "play the game" as you've said, in order to make it.
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