Richard hesitates to engage in the thievery rampant among
the hotel workers because he does not consider it worth the risk
of being caught. He acknowledges, however, that racism encourages
such theft, as whites would rather have a dishonest, uneducated
black worker than an honest, educated one.
Eventually, Richard changes his mind and decides to steal
so that he can raise money to move North, reasoning that living
honestly would merely prolong his stay in the South. He leaves his
job at the hotel and takes one at a movie theater, where he helps
his coworkers steal two hundred dollars by reselling tickets. Burning
to leave the South, he steals a gun from a neighbor and pawns it
for money. He then resells some fruit preserves that he has stolen
from a nearby black college. With this money, Richard goes to Memphis.
His stealing pains him, and he vows never to do it again.
Summary: Chapter 11
In Memphis, Richard rents a room from a black woman named Mrs.
Moss. She delights Richard with her kindness and generosity. It
immediately becomes clear that, although she has just met him, she
wants him to marry her daughter, Bess. Unaccustomed to trusting
people, Richard feels stunned and slightly disgusted that Mrs. Moss
can so wholeheartedly accept and trust someone she barely knows.
Moreover, Bess is not attractive to him; he finds her childish and
dull.
The next morning, Richard meets another young black man while
sitting on the waterfront. They find some bootleg liquor hidden
in a patch of weeds and decide to sell it. A white man says he will give
them five dollars for the liquor if they will move it to his car. Richard
feels uneasy, but the young black man appears more than willing,
and Richard assists. The black man leaves Richard to get change
for the five-dollar bill so they can split it, but he does not come
back. Richard is annoyed with himself for not realizing that the
black man and the white man had been working together and had used
Richard to help them move the illegal liquor.
Analysis: Chapters 9–11
Richard’s inability to meet his family’s expectations
throughout the early parts of Black Boy foreshadows
the inability to show humility before—and thus avoid confrontations
with—the whites that he displays in these chapters. The fundamental
source of Richard’s difficulties with his family is his inability
to obey their orders: he can never submit to his family’s demands
that he humble himself to their authority, so he receives violent
beatings as punishment. Here, we see that Richard has similar trouble
hiding his pride and judgment in the presence of whites, which results
in similar negative consequences. To paraphrase his friend Griggs,
Richard’s problem is that when he is around whites he acts as if
he does not notice that they are white. He does not bend over backward
to humble himself as whites expect him to, and, consequently, he
reaps violence. The burst of violent racism in Chapter 9 may
startle us, but it fits with the already established pattern of
Richard’s family life.
Mr. Crane symbolizes how even well-meaning whites commit subtle
acts of racism. At first glance, Crane appears sensitive toward Richard,
and when push comes to shove he shows compassion, asking Richard
genuine questions about how he was terrorized, giving him more money
than he is due, and repeatedly saying that he is sorry about the
whole situation. The fact that Pease and Reynolds can only terrorize
Richard when Crane is out of the office implies that Crane would
defend Richard. At the same time, however, Crane shows signs of
the typical white superiority complex in relation to Richard. He
makes Richard wait a full half-hour before speaking with him just
because he wants to peruse the mail. He also shows his lack of understanding
by remarking that life in the South is tough not just for Richard
but for himself as well. Though Crane may indeed have a rough time
controlling the racial turmoil in his factory, and may face some
criticism from fellow whites for his sympathy toward blacks, his
troubles cannot begin to compare with Richard’s problems. Crane
is unable to do anything to help Richard beyond apologizing and
giving him some extra cash. While these are undeniably kind gestures,
they merely attempt to compensate Richard for enduring racism instead
of trying to redress the racism itself.
