He exclaims to her, "I"ll kill you! I"ll kill you if you don't leave me lone!" Richard refuses to be beaten for no reason, or in this case, a reason that Aunt Addie invented because she did not want to admit that she was wrong in her conclusions. This quotation has an equal blend between Richard's paradoxical oppression against violent punishment, with his use of a knife to promote violence at the same time. Another depiction of Richard's rash behavior is when he talks back to his Uncle Tom. Uncle Tom is angry with Richard because he had said something extraneous when only asked for the time and so he attempts to beat him. Richard's survival tactic for recognizing the coming of violence comes into play when he gets up immediately when he first hears the angry words of Uncle Tom: "Why, you impudent black rascal!" he thundered. I pushed back the covers of the bed, sensing trouble." Once again, Richard's violent nature is expressed against his authorities when he threatens Uncle Tom with razor blades. Violence at home is a way to survive for Richard; he harnesses it with the thought that in order to stay alive, one must oppress threatening authority. .
Then, there is violence that takes place outside of Richard's home, most often in schoolyard playgrounds and against peers who challenge him. The first incident of fighting occurs when Richard is told by his mother to buy groceries for supper. Mrs. Wright hands Richard the money and sends him out, alone and vulnerable. Richard comes back empty handed, beaten up by bullies and with money stolen. Richard goes for a second try, coming back yet again, with no groceries and no money. The third time Richard is sent out, his mother hands him a stick to fight the harassers. Richard does not want to at first, but his hidden hostility and anger arises and he bashes the bullies across their skulls with all the might he had. He then yells to them, "I"ll kill you," a sentence that revealed what he had truly felt and experienced at home.
