Black Boy: The Meaning of American HungerWhen a person thinks of hunger, food comes to mind. We never think of hunger as anything else. In Richard Wright's book titled "Black Boy (American Hunger)," a boy faces many different types of hunger. He references the phrase “American hunger” throughout his book. I believe the "American hunger" you are referring to is the hunger to be considered an American and to be treated as an equal. All his life he was treated as if he were from another planet. He has always been considered different, an outcast and a loser. He felt the need to be part of the so-called American culture. He wanted to be able to do what the white kids did. He wanted to be able to go to school, learn, read, have friends, have a job; but because he was African American he couldn't. This is what I will talk about in this article: his intellectual hunger. Richard was so eager to learn that he constantly kept asking questions, and if his questions went unanswered, he let his imagination take over. He would try to get a job where he could read some of the books. His family and relatives refused to let him learn. There is an incident where his teacher read to him. His grandmother got angry and said that reading was the devil's work. During his childhood he heard many terms and phrases. He never understood what they meant but once they said them he knew whether they were good or bad. For example, when Richard was taking a bath and his grandmother came in to rub his bottom, Richard responded, "When you're done, kiss back there." This is just one of many phrases he said that he didn't know the meaning of. Because of his desire to learn, he began to better understand himself, other blacks, and whites. He continues to learn and act stupid for his own survival. His self-education began when a colleague lent Richard his library card to read Mencken's essays. He feels that his dreams and the stories he reads are an escape for him. He wants to fit in with others and be able to be separate from America.