Name: Date: Period
Black Boy- Discussion Questions
Black Boy by Richard Wright- Part IV (pgs. 18-22)
setting
1. Why do you think Richard includes the passage about the privies near his house? What does it tell us about the setting?
2. Based on the text on page 19, do you think Richard understands the concept of segregation? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think Richard enjoys hanging around the saloon at first? (Think about before he ever goes inside, not about once he enters for the first time.)
4. What mood does the setting of the saloon create? What sensory images contribute to this mood?
5. What inferences can you make about the kind of people who were hanging around in the saloon?
6. By the end of this section, what is your opinion of Richard’s mother?
Black Boy by Richard Wright- Part V (pgs. 22-25)
context clues
1. How does your opinion of Richard change after you read this section? How has he changed as a character?
2. Use context clues and inferences to guess what the word dumbfounded probably means. Use it in a sentence of your own.
3. Use context clues and inferences to guess what the word nuisance probably means. Use it in a sentence of your own.
4. Why does Richard use quotation marks around the words “black” and “white” on page 23-24?
5. Why does Richard’s mother make the distinction between whipping and beating on page 24?
6. Use context clues and inferences to guess what the word doggerel means. Use it in a sentence of your own.
7. Use context clues and inferences to guess what the word retentive means. Use it in a sentence of your own.
8. Why do you think Richard writes “four-letter words” all over the windows in the neighborhood? What does that tell you about him as a character? Why do you think he tells us, “Never again did I write words like that; I kept them to myself.”
Black Boy by Richard Wright- Part VI (pgs. 25-29)
1. Use context clues and inferences to guess what the word galled means. Use it in a sentence of your own.
2. Why does Richard compare the preacher to his father?
3. Write about a time when you did said something you knew you probably shouldn’t have, but you couldn’t help it. Why couldn’t you help it? What was making you say it, even though you knew you shouldn’t have? What made Richard do this?
4. Are you surprised that the judge is white? Why or why not?
5. By the time Richard goes to court, what does he now think of his father? Why?
6. Use context clues and inferences to guess what the word copiously means. Use it in a sentence of your own.
7. Why do you think the judge ruled in favor of Richards’ father?
8. What is the mood of this selection? Use evidence from the text to back up your answer.
9. What do Richard’s mother and grandmother mean by, “That woman ought to be killed for breaking up a home”?
10. Do you think Richard really would have killed his father, as he suggests? Why or why not?
11. Does it surprise you that Richard is so shy sometimes? (E.g., at school and with Miss Simon.) Why or why not?
Black Boy by Richard Wright- Part VII (pgs. 29-35)
conflict (internal conflict + external conflict)
1. Do you believe Richard’s mother when she says that she stopped visiting because Miss Simon told her to? Why or why not?
2. What kind of character is Miss Simon? Do you like her? Why or why not? Think of someone who she reminds you of, even if she only reminds you of them a little bit. What things does she have in common with this person?
3. Why do you think Richard won’t/can’t blot the ink as Miss Simon asks him to?
4. On average, about how many words are in each of Richard’s sentences? Do you think these are longer or shorter than the average sentence in books of this nature? Why do you think he chooses to write in this style? What would be the effect if Richard’s sentences were a drastically different length than these?
5. What does Richard mean when he says that the police officer is not “white” anymore?
6. How do you feel about Richard’s mother after reading this section? How do you think Richard feels about his mother now? Do you think his opinion of her is changing as he grows older? Why or why not?
7. If you had been Richard’s mother, would you have taken him to his father? What alternatives do you think she had? Why do you think she made this decision? Use evidence from the text.
8. What is your opinion of Richard after the confrontation with the “strange woman” and his father? Use evidence from the text to back up your opinions.
9. What does Richard’s father mean on page 33 when he says “Don’t teach him to be a fool”?
10. When in this chapter does Richard experience an internal conflict?
11. Write about a time when you experienced an internal conflict.
12. After seeing his father 25 years after this encounter, what does Richard finally come to understand about him? Use evidence!
13. According to Richard, how has his own life turned out different from his father’s? Use evidence.
Post Reading Questions
protagonist antagonist
1. After reading about this much of Richard’s life, what do you predict he will go on to do as he grows up? Use evidence from the text to back up your answer.
2. Do you think Richard ultimately resents, respects, or pities his father? Why?
3. Do you like Richard? Are we supposed to like Richard? Why or why not?
4. Who is the protagonist in this story? Is there an antagonist? If so, who is it and why do you think so? If not, then why isn’t there one?