Black Boy Literature and Writing Quotes Page 1
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| Quote #1 She whispered to me the story of Bluebeard and His Seven Wives and I ceased to see the porch, the sunshine, her face, everything. As her words fell upon my new ears, I endowed them with a reality that welled up from somewhere within me. (1.2.23) |
Literature creates a reality for Richard that is more real than "reality" itself. It’s like the first virtual reality game, and he doesn’t even have to buy a new console.
| Quote #2 The tremendous upheaval that my words had caused made me know that there lay back of them much more than I could figure out, and I resolved that in the future I would learn the meaning of why they had beat and denounced me. (1.2.94) |
This is the first time Richard figures out that words mean something, and that they can actually make things happen. Like making your grandma try to strangle you with a towel, for example.
| Quote #3 "Did you really write that story?" they asked me. "Yes." "Why?" "Because I wanted to." "Where did you get it from?" "I made it up." "You didn’t. You copied it out of a book." (1.7.85) |
Even before people could spend their time doing exciting things like looking at YouTube and breading their cats, writing was so boring no one could imagine you did it willingly.
