Summary of Chapters 1-2

In chapters 1-2 many events happen that lead Richard Wright and his family to the place they are now. At the beginning of the the book, Wright was bored at his grandparents house and began playing with the fire pit. When he ran out of things to toss in the fire, he thought of the curtains. Wright eventually was surrounded by fire so scared he ran outside and hid underneath the house to hide from his mother because, he thought he was going to get beaten. His brother and him were eventually moved into an orphanage house for about a month until his mother and father had a place of shelter for them to stay, which is in Mississippi. They reside there momentarily but, as they move around from place to place he notices that his father is not around anymore. Transitioning into the second chapter, his grandmother pushes a religious issue upon him and what he believes. He starts school again but, is still stuck in the same shy situation that he was in before.