The Fight

Richard Wright's "The Fight" is autobiographical. Wright was an African American writer from the early 20th Century. Born in September of 1908, Wright grew up at a time when people of color basically had no rights. With this being the case, most of Wright's stories were about racial issues. While "The Fight" is not necessarily about a racial issue, it deals with a time in his childhood when violence played a key role in life for African Americans. Wright is most famous for his novel "Black Boy", which is fictional version of his childhood.

In "The Fight", the narrator enters a new school and figures the only way to fit in is to fight. During recess he is confronted by a group of boys, however, the narrator stands his ground. One of the boys in particular begins to taunt him by saying "How come they make you people so ugly in Jackson?". The narrator responds, "You're not too good looking yourself". From there the situation escalates to the point where they are in each others face. Another boy from the group, who figured that they wouldn't fight, shoved the first boy into the narrator. The narrator pushes him back, and when the boy was pushed again, the narrator strikes the first blow.

One would wonder if the narrator has the right mentality about fighting to fit in. If I was in this situation, I would gladly agree with the narrator. Especially if I feel they deserve it. I have had past experiences similar to this, and by showing the opposition that I will not back down I proved my worth. The narrator's reaction to the group of boys was very appropriate. He handled the situation very well. Fortunately for the narrator, his "fight to fit in" mentality works out for him. After the fight he says that when he got back in the classroom, boys asked him questions about himself and that he was someone worth knowing.

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