Disciplining Me Like 'Black Boy'

Dear PHuang,

I enjoyed your post, Disciplining Me Like "Black Boy" because it seemed like that people can make a type of connection to books to their own lives and continue reading on what could possibly happen.

One sentence you wrote that stood out to me is :"This relates to me because my grandma gave me a mental scar for a couple of years through mental discipline. She would lock me in the basement and shut off the electricity so I couldn’t turn on the light. Ever since those punishment, I was scared of the dark until I was around 10 years old." I think this is a strong connection to the book and lives of its readers. Since people still get abused by their parents and they some times think its the only and right way to discipine a child.

Another sentence that I noticed was:"I would see things floating around in the ceiling corner and it would seem to me like a ghost. Soon after I figured out it was all in my head and the scar finally closed up and healed up. I’d finally get some sleep as well and it was probably the best sleeps in my life, similar to when Richard Wright slept on the sofa and he had a good night sleep even if he had no cover and was cold." this stood out to me because people that discipline children like how your grandmother did to you, would make many children scared for a long period of their lives of some sort.

Your post reminds me of something that happened to me one time my parents were eating and i came in asking some question I dont even remember, but it was at the wrong time to ask because they were having an argument. When this happened my parents decided to discipline me by using a jacket and the zipper kept hitting me and left wounds for a bit but it left me afraid of them for a bit till i was 14 and i realized how weak they really are.

Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because people can continue to make connections and as they do this people will be able to come together and talk about what is going on in thier lives. Keep on writing.

Dear PHuang,

   I read your post, and I am not going to follow the structure given to comment because I feel it doesn't help me. Anyway, your post is quite interesting. I honestly don't think that Richard's punishment was a very good way to do it. I felt that it was overdone and abused. Lighter punishments should have been delivered in my opinion, but I guess it depends on the parents. This also made him grow up being afraid. Being afraid of basically everything. He has been afraid his life, and his punishments only added to his problems.

   "This relates to me because my grandma gave me a mental scar for a couple of years through mental discipline. She would lock me in the basement and shut off the electricity so I couldn't turn on the light." Now, punishments like that are in my opinion, intense, but I think it is mainly because your grandmother is from an older generation, which believed that more harsh punishments would shape out childrens to behave properly.I am not too sure whether it was necessary, because I do not know what you did to get her provoked like that, but I'm sure you were probably doing something pretty bad.

   "Ever since those punishments, I was scared of the dark until I was around 10 years old. I would see things floating around the ceiling corner and it would seem to me like a ghost. Soon after I figured out it was all in my head and the scar finally closed up and healed." Now these sentences I am confused about. You said it was quite a few years you felt this way. Perhaps a few years is short to you, but I don't think people recover like that as if its nothing. People can stay like that forever, but I guess your problem wasn't as severe as others. Anyway, I enjoyed reading your post, it gave me something to write about.

   Thanks for posting, PHuang, I would like to see more of your writing. It was quite amusing, honestly. I know you personally, and I can say, you're an idiot. But yeah, Black Boy was quite a cruel book. Richard was abused far worse than a lot of the people in our school, so I wouldn't exactly be able to compare much to his punishments. Again, thank you for posting, I hope you do well in English class, and I hope Mr. Allison gives me credit for this.

Damn, thats some dark stuff. Still, does the image go away? In my opinion, it does not. I mean, why would it? If someone causes some type of mental scarring, it should stick with you for a lifetime.

I remeber of a time (or many times) where my family has scarred me before. My grandmother (from my moms side) was real hard on me, harder than anyone else. she would've done the things that school children would do. It really racked at my brain for years. however, when I grew up, the resentment within me grew, but I did become more knowledgeable. She basically called me an idiot, mal-nurished me because of my "Over-eating", which was due to smaller meals more frequently, and made me feel like crap overall. when I turned 12, I came to a realization that I was smarter then most of the american population, mainly due to my common sense and everyone elses lack of.

That woman scarred me when I was a child, and the wounds still havent closed yet. Its what she caused that i really hate. She was able to make me feel inferior to the entire world. when i realized that I was smarter then her 100x, the damage was already done. She was able to make me feel so bad that I couldn't do my work. It eventually got me Classified, and and i was officaly partial special ed, a term that i despise to this very day, which, now that i think about it, is also the reason im going to study to become a special education teacher.

 It works out that it does relate to Richard in Black Boy. Because of what everyone says, he still chooses to change his life. So in the end, My comment Is relevant!

Dear Phil,

Hey there! Well, I read your post and I was a little confused. I didn't know what part of the book you were quoting from! It is really important to know where you are quoting and how is connects to your life. I liked your story about you being locked in the basement to suffer, I mean to relax for a little bit but without a just cause in relation to the book, it is just abuse and not cool.

So just in the future, please quote the book. I really enjoyed the post and story about you being loced in places.

KTHXBAI

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Game

Wow, that sounds pretty harsh, But i feel everyone one endures some kind of
abnormal punishment at least once in their lives, also right now i am currently reading a book called lost boy. A sequel to the boy A child called it. In the book The young boy David also endures alot of harsh punishment in his life, like sleeping on a cot in the garage. His life was so harsh he had to steal food and eat out of the garbage.
Later in the book where i currently am reading at he is rescued by Child Protective Services and now lives with a foster family.

This is very interesting, I cannot believe you went through that, thats harsh. I'm glad you got over the fear of darkness, especially since you were locked in the basement, which to me and maybe others, can be one of the scariest places of a house.

Wow, I like how he connected to the book. He had something to relate to it.