Question

read the excerpt from richard wrights black boy.
hunger stole upon me so slowly that at first i was not aware of what hunger really meant. hunger had always been more or less at my elbow when i played, but now i began to wake up at night to find hunger standing at my bedside, staring at me gauntly. the hunger i had known before this had been no grim, hostile stranger; it had been a normal hunger that had made me beg constantly for bread, and when i ate a crust or two i was satisfied. but this new hunger baffled me, scared me, and made me angry and insistent. whenever i begged for food now my mother would pour me a cup of tea which would still the clamor in my stomach for a moment or two; but a little later i would feel hunger nudging my ribs, twisting my empty guts till they ached. i would grow dizzy and my vision would dim. i became less active in my play, and for the first time in my life i had to pause and think of what was happening to me.
which best describes why wright includes this anecdote?

• to show how poverty shaped his behavior when he was younger
• to vividly depict the hardships caused by oppression and segregation
• to realistically portray the struggles he endured as a child
• to provide an accurate account of the injustices he experienced as a youth

Explanation:

The excerpt from Black Boy focuses on Wright's childhood experience of hunger. The anecdote describes his physical and emotional responses to hunger, showing the struggles he faced as a child. Option A focuses on behavior change, but the anecdote is more about the struggle itself. Option B brings in oppression/segregation, which isn't directly addressed here (the focus is hunger/struggle, not racial oppression contextually in this excerpt). Option D emphasizes "injustices," but the passage is a personal, realistic portrayal of childhood struggles (hunger) rather than a legal or social injustice account. Option C matches as it's a realistic portrayal of his childhood struggles with hunger.

Answer:

C. to realistically portray the struggles he endured as a child