Black Boy Memoir Blog #1

 "One morning I slapped an enormous bee between my hands just as it had lit upon a flower and it stung me in the tender center of my left palm. I ran home screaming. 'Good for you,' my mother commented dryly. I never crushed any more bees."

     I really loved this quote because Richard Wright learned over time that killing bees was bad by getting stung by one. I think it was good for Richard to get stung by a bee because he had to learn killing bees is bad and that bees serve a purpose in our world. His mother knew Richard was doing something bad and that with time he would learn his lesson through natural consequences. I thought this made his mothers character in the book very wise and strong.
     I think this quote was very well written because it was to the point and funny. I noticed how the author had ended the discussion of his bee crushing phase in life with one sentence, "I never crushed any more bees". I thought that last sentence was funny because Richard had been crushing bees for fun and just by getting stung once he learned his lesson immediately. I learned the author writes in the same way a story would be told aloud which is unique because while a lot of writers focus on all the little details Richard Wright focuses on the main point and the lesson that should be learned.
     The order of words in this quote makes it stand out because it starts with Richard getting stung, then he makes a point to show that his mother isn't sorry for him, and then he concludes everything by saying he learned his lesson. I think this quote is telling us something about Richard's past to hint us about his future. Killing bees may have taught him not to kill in the future or it may trigger a feeling for power and superiority.