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  • Essay / The role of grandmother in "Black Boy"

    Isaac Newton, a prominent English physicist and mathematician, conceived his third law of motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In Richard Wright's autobiography Black Boy, a key influence in Richard's life is his grandmother, called Granny throughout the book, who continually tries to get Richard to embrace God; his attempts, however, are in vain with someone as recalcitrant as Richard. In human terms, Granny and Richard's interactions confirm Newton's third law. When Granny attempts to get Richard to conform to her lifestyle, Richard fights back and rebels just as vigorously. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get the original essayGrandma is devoutly religious, her lifestyle metaphorically considered a diet: a word which, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means “a government, especially an authoritarian government.” " Although Granny is not the only member of the family who tries to influence Richard, she stands out in that she does it constantly and wonderfully. Even though Richard's mother is religious, she is nothing in comparison to Granny, who could be considered a religious fanatic The first example of Granny imposing religion on her family members is when Richard's mother "announced that we were going to move, that we were going back to West. Helena. Since then, she had had enough of the strict religious routine of Granny's house" (Wright 59). of whom she considers Ella's stories and books as "things of the Devil" (39) and forbids him his books, which are his only source of stimulation. He also does not like the corporal punishments of grandmother who. are often inflicted; this is shown by Granny, “with all the fury of her sixty-year-old body” (41), who beats Richard for having uttered a vulgar phrase without thinking. Richard believes that leaving West Helena will rid him of Granny, who is a thorn in his side and another adult to scold and beat him. But destiny did not announce it that way. Unfortunately, Richard and his mother find themselves on Grandma's doorstep when Richard's mother suffers an untimely stroke and is unable to support herself and her children. Mamie still hasn't given up her way of life and continues to urge Richard to accept God in his life. Richard, however, is indifferent to Grandma's rules and “[shirks] the week's services as much as possible” (111). Richard's blatant disregard for Grandma's religious routine is evident when he describes being transported to church: "During the passionate prayers and hymns being sung, I sat writhing in a pew, longing to growing up so that I could run away, listening indifferently to the theme of cosmic annihilation, loving the hymns for their sensual caress but finally casting furtive glances at Granny and wondering when I could safely lie down on the bench and go to sleep." (112). Richard abandons Grandma's mandates when he finds prayer "a nuisance" (120) and begins writing hymns to appease Grandma and pass the time, but one day he writes. a story and feels extremely accomplished Richard decides he wants to continue writing and is delighted when a local newspaper publishes one of his stories. When Grandma discovers this, she calls Richard's story "the. work of the devil” (168). Richard is further encouraged to write and prove Granny wrong. Granny pressuring Richard to.