Black Boy

This part of Black Boy was an 'awakening' for Richard to the outside world. First, after consistent begging on the part of his mother and his friends, Richard joins his grandmother's church.
Uncle Tom's temper flares up after he asks Richard what time it is. The conversation seems like a perfectly harmless one to Richard, and to me, but Uncle Tom seems to absolutely snap. I think that Tom's anger towards his nephew has been building up inside of him for a long time, and this little slip of Richard's mouth drives him over the edge. Luckily for Richard, he finds razors to prevent himself from getting whipped. This shows Richard's iron clad will, he simply refuses to get beaten or do anything else that he feels is unfair. I have a feeling that this could come back to haunt him in the future.
Throughout this whole time, Richard bounces from job to job, trying to statisfying his growing hunger. But all his earnings seem to slip into "the never ending debt of my family" and he never seems to jget anything good out of his hard work. Richard also writes a story that is published in the negro newspaper. Although it was very impressive, none of his family members or friends give him support in his new hobby.