Summary: Chapter 3
[T]he meaning of living came only when
one was struggling to wring a meaning out of meaningless suffering.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Richard becomes friends with the other black boys in his
Arkansas neighborhood, finding that they share the same hostility
to white people and the same racial pride. Wright remarks that he
and the other boys did not entirely understand their motivations
at the time. He reproduces one of their typical conversations along
with a running commentary on the words the boys speak, which show
that race is always the fundamental concern of the boys’ interactions. The
local black boys and white boys seem to assume their conventional
racial roles “by instinct,” meeting at the boundary of their respective
territories for bloody battles fought with rocks, broken glass,
pieces of iron, and anything else that can be thrown. In one fight,
a broken bottle gives Richard a deep wound behind the ear that requires
stitches. His mother takes him to the doctor for stitches but beats
him when they get home, making him promise not to fight again. Richard
feels he cannot honor his promise because these neighborhood fights
are a matter of personal honor.
Ella becomes too ill to work, forcing her to move the
family to a series of different apartments in an attempt to meet
the rent payments. Richard works a variety of menial jobs to help
with expenses. Ella suffers a paralytic stroke, and, though the
neighbors assist in caring for his mother, Richard writes to Granny
for help. The world around Richard, which heretofore had seemed
somewhat harmless, suddenly appears bleak and hostile to him, and
he begins to wonder what will happen if Granny doesn’t come.
Though starving, Richard refuses the food offered by his
neighbors, as he is ashamed to feel like an object of charity. When
Granny arrives, Richard is glad that someone else will handle his
mother’s affairs, but he retains an understanding that he must now
“face things alone.” Richard helps the illiterate Granny by writing
letters requesting money and support for Ella from her eight other
children. Money from these aunts and uncles begins to arrive by
mail. Ella, her sons, and Granny return to Granny’s house in Jackson.
Back at Granny’s house, Richard experiences terrible
nightmares and fits of sleepwalking, which Granny treats by giving
Richard more food and making him take naps in the afternoon. All
of Richard’s aunts and uncles come to Granny’s house to help resolve
the problem of how to care for Richard and his brother. The aunts
and uncles decide to separate the two boys, as it would be too much
of a burden for any one of them to care for both boys simultaneously. They
decide to send Alan to live with his aunt Maggie in Detroit. To his
surprise, Richard’s aunts and uncles give him a choice of where he
wants to live. He chooses to live with his uncle Clark in nearby Greenwood,
Mississippi, so as to remain near his mother.
Richard feels nervous when Clark assigns him a long list
of chores as soon as he arrives, but he feels better when he wakes
up the next morning. That morning, Richard is mildly rebuked by
Clark’s wife, Aunt Jody, for failing to say good morning to her
when he enters the kitchen. Richard then heads off to school, where
he successfully fights another boy on the playground in order to
gain acceptance from, and the respect of, his peers. That afternoon,
Richard finds a ring in the street, removes the stone, and bends
the ring’s sharp prongs outward, making it into a weapon. He puts
on the ring, expecting to have to fight again, but it proves unnecessary.
Just as Richard feels he is finally settling into his
new life, he learns that the son of the previous occupant of Uncle
Clark’s house died in the bed that Richard now uses. Richard immediately
grows terrified of the room and cannot sleep at all. Clark and Jody
refuse to let him sleep on the sofa, and Richard’s insomnia persists,
bringing him to the edge of nervous exhaustion. Unable to endure
the situation any longer, Richard asks to return to Granny’s house.
One day, while waiting for Granny’s response to Clark’s letter,
Richard accidentally curses in front of Jody. After Clark punishes
him with a beating, Richard begs so persistently to return to Jackson
that Clark sends him right away.
