CliffsNotes on

Black Boy

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About the Author

About the Novel

Introduction
Brief Synopsis
List of Characters

Summaries and Commentaries

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14

Character Analyses

Richard Wright
Ella Wright
Nathaniel Wright
Granny

Critical Essays

Autobiography and Social Protest
Perspectives on Black Boy

Study Help

Quiz
Essay Topics and Review Questions

Cite this Literature Note

Would you rather . . . ?

Have a third arm.
Have hair down to your toes.
Have no nose.

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Study Help

Quiz

1:  Richard responds to his grandmother’s illness and his mother’s subsequent warning about being good by

a. praying for salvation

b. begging a white judge

c. killing a kitten

d. setting a house on fire
2:  When he is out of doors, in the natural world, Richard

a. intensifies his fears

b. feels less at home than indoors

c. freely expresses emotions

d. falls in love with a girl
3:  How does Richard define a lack of opportunity among blacks?

a. Being unable to feel or express rage

b. Staying trapped in a historical role

c. Feeling at home only among family

d. Fearing new situations
4:  Religion offers Richard all but which of the following?

a. Condemnation of pleasures

b. Artistic expression

c. Possibility of brotherhood

d. A chaotic backdrop in his quest for order
5:  When Richard’s extended family gives up on him, he

a. tries to win back their approval

b. begins writing about bigotry and hatred

c. turns his rebellion to the larger world

d. runs away
6:  Richard gives up his job selling newspapers because he

a. likes reading the paper more than selling it

b. newspaper’s publishers are racist

c. earns too little money

d. he can't read
7:  When Richard’s Uncle Tom tries to beat him for speaking plainly, Richard

a. violently refuses

b. angrily submits

c. timidly asks for forgiveness

d. halfheartedly listens to his uncle’s lecture
8:  When Richard shows his short story to a girl he knows, he's pleased with her response of

a. pride

b. satisfaction

c. anger

d. bewilderment
9:  When Richard refuses to read his principal’s prepared speech at graduation, the community

a. supports Richard’s decision

b. ostracizes Richard

c. fires the principal

d. protests the ceremony
10:  When Richard is bullied by two white men at the optical house, he

a. fights back

b. tolerates the abuse

c. moves North

d. blames his boss
11:  For what reason does Richard keep losing his jobs?

a. His self assurance frightens people.

b. His size and strength frighten people.

c. His eyes suggest that he is violent.

d. His illiteracy is hard to hide.
12:  Crime bothers Richard because of all but which of the following?

a. His family expects him to commit crimes.

b. The risk of getting caught is frightening.

c. Crime does nothing to cure social ills.

d. Blacks are always the perpetrators.
13:  Why do Harrison and Richard agree to fight?

a. They both desperately want the money.

b. They have come to despise each other.

c. They plan to stage a "play" conflict.

d. They want to impress the white men.
14:  Richard intends to take revenge on the social system by

a. flourishing as an individual

b. amassing a small fortune

c. receiving praise for his writing

d. enduring the hardships of the system



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