Hungry Hungry Hobos

Richard is hungry because his father, Nathan Wright, has left the family to be with a 'nother woman. This has left them with very little money. This isn't the only hunger he has to endure, though. He is hungry for knowledge about the world, and why it is the way it is. He doesn't fully understand the reasons why the relations between whites and blacks are the way they are, but he has no way of satisfying his hunger. He demonstrates his hunger for knowledge by learning to count to 100 when the deliveryman teaches him how.