Question

He asked easy, drawling questions about me, his other son, his wife, and he laughed, amused, when I informed him of their destinies. I forgave him and pitied him as my eyes looked past him to the unpainted wooden shack. From far beyond the horizons that bound this bleak plantation there had come to me through my living the knowledge that my father was a black peasant who had gone to the city seeking life, but who had failed in the city; a black peasant whose life had been hopelessly snarled in the city, and who had at last fled the city—that same city which had lifted me in its burning arms and borne me toward alien and undreamed-of shores of knowing. Which statement best describes how Wright’s cultural perspective influences his decision to forgive his father?

Answer 1

Wright's cultural perspective helps him understand the difficulties his father faced throughout life. Wright most likely included this anecdote in order to demonstrate his father's dismissive treatment. This excerpt reflects to the twentieth century society that men were considered more able and trustworthy than women.