a white person. Richard takes this advice and starts a new job at an optical company. He becomes cautious of every move he makes. I was reminding myself that I must be polite, must think before I spoke, must think before I acted, must say yes sir, no sir, that I must so conduct myself so that white people would not think I thought I was as good as they (Wright 205). This job ends when he is accused of not addressing a white man properly, and he is accused of calling a white man a liar. Once again, Richard is unable to hold a job when working with whites, even despite his attempts to conform to the rules of the white and black classes of society. Richard is forced to sacrifice his need for respectful treatment and equality to survive in his racist environment. Richard struggles to conform to the rules of the classes within the society he lives, with his rebellious nature making it even more difficult. The black community and Richards family disapproves of his rebellion, and Richard lacks a sense of belonging and feels out of place. For survival and to achieve a sense of belonging, Richard attempts to adapt to the expectations of blacks and whites. He finds he is split between two needs; his need to follow the rules and expectations of the black and white races for survival and acceptance, and his need to be treated respectfully, with dignity, and as a valuable human being....
