In the novel Black Boy, Richard leads a hard life. He lives in a time period where black and whites are not treated equally, and parents treat their kids badly. It is a difficult time for everyone Richard and his mother, both. But the environment that a person is living in cannot always be blamed for their behavior.
Richard does bad things at times, but that doesn’t make him a bad boy, for example, when he lights the curtains on fire. He is very young and didn’t really know the damage fire could do. He also wasn’t lighting the curtains on fire to be bad or because he wanted to burn the house down, he did it because he was curious, and because he was bored. Also, beating the gang of boys with the stick would normally be considered bad behavior, but considering the situation Richard was in, hitting them was acceptable. The boys were harassing him, and beating him. Richard had no other choice but to defend himself with the stick his mother gave him. These examples show that sometimes a person cannot be blamed fully for their behavior, but that their actions also depend on the circumstance and situation they are in. Although situations can take some of the blame, they cannot take all of it. When Richard killed the kitten he was fully aware of what he was doing. He was trying to take his father’s words literally, when he knew all the while what his father meant. Everyone cannot be perfect, and everyone makes bad choices once in a while, but there is a difference between making a bad choice and knowing you are doing something bad, but doing it anyway.