1 (3-14)

1. 1 (3-14) “I had the first triumph over my father.” Richard burns the house down and his mother beats him. Richard and his family move to Memphis. He kills the cat. His father leaves them. He stands up to a gang of boys who take his money.

2. 1 (14-22)“Happy” Childhood Memories Richard’s mother makes him pray for the cat he killed Richard’s father leaves him and his mother without any food or money Richard’s mother gives him a stick to defend himself with, while he gets groceries Richard goes to a saloon and gets drunk Richard wants to learn how to start reading “When I had learned to recognize certain words, I told my mother that I wanted to learn to read and she encouraged me.”

3. 1 (22-35)Richard tries to find himself The coal man teaches Richard how to count in chapter 1 Richard is confused about why is father left the family Richard’s mother is financially unstable, so she drops them off at an orphanage Richard feels out of place and runs away from the orphanage Within this chapter Richard, his brother, and his mother go to his father in search of money, but get nothing in return “I soon made myself a nuisance by asking far too many questions of everybody.” (wright 23)

4. 2 (36-46)Visiting Granny Richard goes to visit his granny in Jackson. Richard wants to read the story that Ella’s reading, so Ella ends up reading it to him. She gets into trouble because it goes against Granny’s beliefs. He gets into trouble for wanting to read that; he accidently back talks with Granny. She wants to beat Richard for saying such a bad thing and he hides from her. Richard’s grandpa takes him to Arkansas and that’s when he realizes the separation of blacks and whites in different lines.

5. 2 (46-61)A New View on Life The family goes on the train, and Richard asks his mom a lot of questions about white people. They arrive at their aunt’s house, and Richard finally has enough to eat. His uncle gets shot by a white person because they were jealous of him because his business was successful. The family goes to granny’s house. Richard sees some black criminals chained together and white people watching them. “Can I go peep at the white folks?”

6. 2 (62-77)Prostitution and White’s attitudes towards blacks “ I thought I had poked my nose into every bit of conceivable business in the neighborhood”. This shows his curiosity. Land lady catches Richard peeking on her prostitution business and they are forced to move. “uncle” did something causing white people to come after him so him and aunt Maggie are forced to run away. Richard tries to sell his dog for a dollar to a white women but she is three cents short so Richard refuses to give her the dog and she calls him crazy He forgets how to spell his name on the first day of school because he gets shy when up in front of the class. The war ends and everyone celebrates.

7. 3 (78-92) Moving On “My first job was carrying lunches to the men who worked in the round house, for which I received twenty-five cents a week.” Richard willingly chose to work because he was determined to do things on his own which showed how he was maturing. Started making friends but got into an argument after school Richard gets his first job Mom has a stroke Aunt Maggie takes Richard’s younger brother and Richard lives with his uncle Clark Gets into a fight at his new school

8. 3 (93-101) “I had already begun to sense that my feelings varied too far from those of the people around me to blah about what I felt” In this quote Richard is expressing how he feels his problem are not important enough for people to care. Richard has moved to a new house with his aunt and uncle He is afraid to sleep in his new bed cause he believe there is a ghost He used to be a good student and now his grades started slipping and his is getting less sleep Richard gets in trouble and is beaten bad by his uncle and sent back home to Jackson His mom has to get an operation and he worries about her

9. 4Fighting Back “In the past I had taken punishment that was not mine to protest the solidarity of the gang.” This shows Richard is loyal and fights for his beliefs. Richard agrees to go to a religious school where the teacher us his Aunt Addie. She blames Richard for dropping walnuts and beats him for it. She tries to beat him again when they get home. Richard fights back with a knife. Everyone around Richard tries to convince him to believe in god and he states that he will never understand religion. Richard writes a short story about an Indian maiden. He shows it to a neighbor and gets positive feedback which makes him happy.

10. 5 (122-133)Richards Realization “Listen, son, listen. You're a black boy and you’re trying to make a few pennies. All Right. I don’t want to stop you from selling these papers, if you want to sell’em. But I’ve read these papers now for two months and I know what they’re trying to do. If you sell’em, you’re just helping white people to kill you.” He starts a new school and gets into a fight once again to prove himself. Richard gets in trouble from the teacher and is sent to the fifth grade as a punishment. He leaped grades which inspired him to go after his dreams and study harder. Boys at school are working and Richard wants to get a job but granny would not allow him to work. Richard starts selling propaganda newspapers/magazines to make money. Richard realizes that he doesn’t really understand the stuff he is selling and gives up his job selling the papers. He feels ashamed and that he betrayed his friends/neighbors/family.

11. 5 (133-144)Richard’s Enlightenment “I ran to my room, got a battered suitcase, and began packing my ragged clothes. I did not have a penny, but I was going to leave.” • He decides to put effort into school. • Granny tries to hit him and she falls down the steps • Richard blamed • He says he’ll kill his grandma if she tries to beat him. • Richard’s grandpa dies. • Richard stands up to his grandma and aunt • Mom’s proud of him

12. 6 Discouraged by family and employer “You need a lesson in how to live with white people”- Uncle Tom Naïve Richard in confronted by the white lady about if he steals Richard explains to the white lady about him wanting to be a writer When Richard is asked by his mother if he believes in god, he evades the question