What types of things does Richard "hunger" for
and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?
I believe that Richard is "hungry" for information and knowledge. He is hungry for stories and literature. Richard longs to know what is going on in the outside world. When the school teacher Ella reads Richard Bluebeard and His Seven Wives, Richard becomes so excited and craves the stories, "The tale made the world around me be, throb, live" (Wright 39). Once Richard discovers books he suddenly becomes alive, and can't seem to get enough of them. Richard is a naturally curious boy, and this new information captivates him and makes him feel motivated towards something.
There are many positive effects of Richard's hunger for knowledge. This hunger effects him positively and puts him in a determined mind set. The hunger to know and learn more motivates Richard to be successful, and he starts to strive towards goals. After hearing Ella's story Richard becomes driven, "I hungered for the sharp, frightening, breathtaking, almost painful excitement that the story had given me, and I vowed that as soon as I was old enough I would buy all the novels there were and read them to feed that thirst for violence that was in me, for intrigue, for plotting, for secrecy, for bloody murders" (Wright 40). He vows to himself that he would buy as many novels as he could.
Richard's motivation and determination to consume all the knowledge he has is amazing, but there are some negative aspects of his hunger. In Richard's family life, books like the ones he craves are forbidden in his household.His family (Grandmother especially) finds stories like these the "Devil's work" (Wright 39). Richard gets punished for desiring this books and the school teacher is forced to leave by Granny (39). Richard also ends up without knowing it selling magazines for the KKK because he wanted to read the newspaper's magazine supplement. Richard's neighbor informs him that he is selling papers for a group whose goal is to kill him, "'Well, the paper you're selling preaches the Ku Klux Klan doctrines,' he said" (Wright 131). If Richard had not been warned about the papers, his hunger could have potentially put him into danger.
Overall, I think Richard's hunger for knowledge is positive and will encourage him to strive to be successful, but Richard has to be careful and not let his hunger overwhelm him and get him into trouble.
I believe that Richard is "hungry" for information and knowledge. He is hungry for stories and literature. Richard longs to know what is going on in the outside world. When the school teacher Ella reads Richard Bluebeard and His Seven Wives, Richard becomes so excited and craves the stories, "The tale made the world around me be, throb, live" (Wright 39). Once Richard discovers books he suddenly becomes alive, and can't seem to get enough of them. Richard is a naturally curious boy, and this new information captivates him and makes him feel motivated towards something.
There are many positive effects of Richard's hunger for knowledge. This hunger effects him positively and puts him in a determined mind set. The hunger to know and learn more motivates Richard to be successful, and he starts to strive towards goals. After hearing Ella's story Richard becomes driven, "I hungered for the sharp, frightening, breathtaking, almost painful excitement that the story had given me, and I vowed that as soon as I was old enough I would buy all the novels there were and read them to feed that thirst for violence that was in me, for intrigue, for plotting, for secrecy, for bloody murders" (Wright 40). He vows to himself that he would buy as many novels as he could.
Richard's motivation and determination to consume all the knowledge he has is amazing, but there are some negative aspects of his hunger. In Richard's family life, books like the ones he craves are forbidden in his household.His family (Grandmother especially) finds stories like these the "Devil's work" (Wright 39). Richard gets punished for desiring this books and the school teacher is forced to leave by Granny (39). Richard also ends up without knowing it selling magazines for the KKK because he wanted to read the newspaper's magazine supplement. Richard's neighbor informs him that he is selling papers for a group whose goal is to kill him, "'Well, the paper you're selling preaches the Ku Klux Klan doctrines,' he said" (Wright 131). If Richard had not been warned about the papers, his hunger could have potentially put him into danger.
Overall, I think Richard's hunger for knowledge is positive and will encourage him to strive to be successful, but Richard has to be careful and not let his hunger overwhelm him and get him into trouble.
4 comments:
I agree with you in the idea that Richard hungers for education. He really did devour the first novel he ever heard and all the one's after. I also think that Richard is hungry for a stable family situation. Even though he doesn't come out and state it, he has a difficult time growing up in an enviornment with an angry father and then no father, constantly being beaten for reasons he does not know.
Amanda,
i agree with your thoughts on the blog question. He does hunger for knowlege and he strives to be the best he can be. Whenever he is reading a book or going to school it seems to excite him in a way nothing else does. Because of his hunger for knowlege, it inspires him to accumulate more literature and learn more. This affects him in a very positive way which is what you thought as well! Great post!
well, since everyone is saying how good his hunger is, i guess i'll try and show you the other perspective (just a disclaimer, but i agree completely with everything you have said, overall the hunger is good).
His hunger is obviously for something that is not accepted in his culture. For us, it would be akin to drugs or becoming an alcoholic. Things are generally not accepted for a good reason. So , is it really such a good thing to yearn for something that isn't good for you?
Amanda,
I agree with your thoughts on the question this week. I like how you stated that after Richard was read the story that he couldn't get enough, and he really couldn't. I also enjoyed how you linked this wanting of more to a positive result which was determination. I also liked how you stated that this determination was not only positive but had a negative affect as well. This negative affect was that he got himself into trouble with the KKK. But Richard learns from these mistakes.
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