In my opinion, Richard hungers for knowledge, companionship, and food. There are definitly both positive and negative effects of his hungers. For example, when Richard yearned to hear about what the schoolteacher, Ella, was reading. He begged and begged and she finally gave in and told him the story of, "Bluebeard and His Seven Wives." Later that night Richard insulted his grandmother with words he didn't understand, and since Granny already disapproved of Ella filling his head with adventurous tales, she assumed he had learned the words from Ella through her biased attitude toward the poor girl. So Richard's hunger for knowledge back-fired and had a negative effect. Furthermore, when Richard joined a gang of boys and they began fighting with the white boys. One day Richard gets a deep cut from a broken bottle that was thrown at him. The wound was so bad he needed stitches, which is a negative effect of his hunger for companionship. Finally, just being hungry (for food) puts Richard in a bad mood and makes him miserable which is a negative effect in itself.
Although there are many negative effects of Richard's hungers, there are also several positive ones. For example, Richard's hunger for knowledge leads him to teach himself how to read. Also, when Richard lived in the Home at a young age it was a horrible experience, but he found companionship which helped him perservere and be able to talk to someone who shared his feelings about the Home. Finally, Richard's hunger for food lead him to want to get a job to earn money for food. It's true, his Granny wouldn't hear of it, but just the fact that he understood that he needed to get a job so he could fill his hunger shows his resourcefulness, which is a very positive trait in a person.
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5 comments:
I like how you had a bunch of different examples that all led to a single point. Very well organized. I agree that there are lots of negative effects of Richard's different hungers, but some good does eventually come out of it in the end, mostly because out of his hunger for knowledge he has learned so much.
That's pretty much what I wrote! I wish you said something different, so I could converse with you, but I pretty much said the same things. I agree with anna: great examples, they really add to the understanding of your opinions. I'm supposed to say something thought provoking, but I honestly agree with everything you said. Great job (sorry Ms. Froehlich)!
You don't need to apologize Teddy!
I hadn't thought of Richard before as being resourceful. You're definitely right, though. As he has grown up, he has learned this skill, because it is necessary to survive in his environment and to stand a chance of assuaging his many hungers.
Haley I like your examples and I agree with your I ideas. One thing i was confused about was I though that Richard said something naughty to his grandmother a while after he was told about Bluebeard. i also don't understand how Richard finding companionship connects with hunger
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