The Fight

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The Fight

Richard Nathaniel Wright was a African American author during the early 1900's. Wright was born in Roxie, Mississippi on September 4, 1908 in a plantation. A lot of Wright's literature was based on racial happenings, and he discussed much of the race relation occurring in the 20th century. Wright was a child who did not have what we would call a stable home. After four years of his existence in the year 1912 his entire family moved to Memphis, Tennessee while his alcoholic father abandoned them. 2 years after the relocation of his family (1914) Richards mother became sick so he was sent to a settlement home, a Methodist orphanage. However two years later in 1916 Richard and his brother were fortunate enough to reunite themselves with their mother and returned to Mississippi. While Richard lived with his Grandmother he was being permitted to do very few things, for example working on Saturday's was something he could not do. However his Grandmother told him praying and finding god was a better solution and Richard became Religiously frustrated. Richard Wright excelled as a writer in his life. In 1945 Wright's novel "Black Boy" became an instant best seller as soon as the story was published. However he struggled as he was criticized a lot, but by the age of fifteen Wright penned his first story "The Voodoo of Hell's Half-Acre" in which he published in the Southern Register - a local black newspaper.

Richard Wright wrote a short story named "The Fight" in which Wright narrated. In this story he discussed a life of a young boy who started a new school and had to prove himself. However he was not proving himself academically but in physical action - fighting. The narrator was forced into a situation in which he had no time to find a better solution and he felt that acting with aggression and toughness would permanently help him establish himself in his new school and make friends. his first encounter was one with a bully who approached him in a abrupt matter. ""Where you from?" a boy asked abruptly." The boy kept joking assuming the narrator was a pushover "How come they make you people so ugly in Jackson?" however, the narrator responded ""You're not any too good-looking yourself," as he fought back with words leading to a more serious argument. Unfortunately someone in the crowd pushed the bully into the narrator which provoked the fighting to occur. The narrator took this chance to prove himself and try to place himself on a pedestal. By the narrator fighting he created a image or first impression in which in society is respected and admired which was his primary goal even before the education and sometimes that can be more important to some individuals depending on the situation or even just in general.

After reading "The Fight" by Richard N. Wright, I do not agree with the actions performed but sometimes some situations are to be settled in some ways than others. violence shouldn't be the number 1 answer or the solution but if it's necessary to defend yourself then i don't see the blame. The narrator should have thought of a better way to avoid the fight however, society looks for violence and if he would have backed down then maybe he would have not become as popular as quickly as he did. I believe that the narrator could have reacted better but honestly if I was in the same situation I as well would have reacted in a fighting matter because, once you fight and actually win you gain a lot of respect from your peers and proven in the story stated from the narrator "In the classroom the boys asked me questions about myself; I was someone worth knowing". So overall I do not agree but if the circumstances were equal I honestly would have reacted the same way.

It has happened to a couple of people including myself having to prove your self that you are not a push over so that your peers and so called "friends" can even appreciate you or wouldn't bully, bother you. However that shouldn't be the best solution that individuals have to solve confrontation and dilemmas. If your being abused and your only option is to fight back then maybe the resolution to the problem is understanding but if your fighting to fight to feel cool then it's just ridiculous. This fight with the narrator was necessary to fulfill his personal needs so I don't this it was necessarily appropriate but this story shows that bullying can come and some people will attack back from either fear or satisfaction.