“I was beginning to dream the dreams” –p169

In chapter 7, Richard continues to develop his own unique sense of self, of purpose, of determination. His fascination with reading and writing leads him to the Southern Register where he publishes The Voodoo of Hell’s Half-Acre, his very first work of literature.

Two significant things strike me in connection with Richards’s accomplishment.

1. The editor of the newspaper is an important person for Richard. Though Richard does not spend too much time recognizing this fact, the editor is the first person in his life who patiently and politely answers all of his questions. Additionally, the editor is the only person to ever encourage him to write!

2. The dialogue printed on pages 166 – 167 is incredibly endearing! Richard, honestly answers his fellow classmates as they ask “Why [did you write it]?” and “But what are they publishing it for?” and again “Who told you to do that?” Richard displays, what I can only describe as a sort of child-like- maturity. Like a child he doesn’t take into consideration other people’s reactions or judgments and does things simply “Because [he] wanted to”. At the same time, he has the courage to go against his family and others.

While Richard confesses that if he had known about the negative reaction he received he would not have published in the first place, but chapter after chapter we see that Richard is willing to defy his family’s religious convictions as well as other practices in his home.

If Richard had known about the negative reaction he would have gotten from his being published do you think he would not have submitted his story as he says he would have?

“The whole of my being felt violated, and I knew that my own fear had helped to violate it” – pg 192

Both chapters 8 and 9 examine Richard’s behavior around white people. In chapter 8, Richard conducts himself with such grace and dignity when he politely and stalwartly refuses to deliver the principal’s written speech. No matter what the costs, he “like[s] to do things right.”

Yet chapter 9 is a shift in his behavior. After a montage of horrific and racially charged memories of violence, Richard experiments with adopting a more submissive attitude that Griggs suggests. The chapter ends with Richard having an emotional breakdown and resolutely deciding to leave the South.

In trying to flee from the Southern way of life Richard becomes a part of the very racist system that he is trying to escape in order to make money. This directly contrasts with his behavior in the previous chapter.

Does Richard have to engage with/in the system in some ways in order to beat it?