strokes suck. pobre woodrow wilson...

One of the most interesting pieces of Wright’s response to his mother’s paralysis was his refusal of food from neighbors because he was so ashamed of his dependence on them. He had reached a point where his hunger would not surpass the embarrassment he faced from taking food from strangers. Also important was his inability to sleep in the bed of the dead child. There are many instances where it is obvious that he does not feel accepted after his mother has he stroke. More importantly though was his recollection of the symbol his mother’s suffering turned into at the end of the chapter. Her paralysis eventually was the thing that stood for all the endless suffering he was forced to face, and possibly even further by standing for the suffering of all colored people (though that may be just a little to deep for me…). While at some points it seemed like it was getting better, inevitably it always returned worse. It was simply “something that could not be stopped or helped.” It is interesting how he relates his mother to this larger problem because the parallels are so striking.