In Black Boy, Richard Wright seems to be always hungry- for food and for attention. In just the first chapter he has done a lot of things that seem outrageous, like setting his house on fire, killing a kitten, going into the saloon and doing whatever he's told to do, and runnung away from an orphanage. Wright gave explanations for all these things, and they are probably true, but part of his motivation was also probably to get attention. His parents, especially his dad, often seemed to ignore him. His dad worked at night so he slept during the day, and eventually he left the family. When he asked his mom things, like about reading or race, she didn't answer or gave vague answers. He had to learn to count from a coal delivery man.
Richard isn't alone in his craving for attention. A lot of people want to be noticed and don't care what they have to do to get it. There are a lot of people who are shyer too, and even if they don't do things like this they can still want some attention. At the very least, nobody wants to be ignored. I think this is natural for all people, especially for a young kid like Richard who didn't get enough attention from his parents.
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