Change

I am unsure of whether or not the change at the end of part one is positive or not.

Wright is finally moving away from the South. He is one of the few who is able to escape the treacherous environment of the South, but in doing so he abandons the only life he has ever known. The factor of the unknown is what could potentially make this a negative change. There are no promises of whether or not life will improve as he moves north, and unless he is able to quickly befriend someone, he will be unaware of the customs of that environment. If he makes the mistake of addressing a white man as any other person when it is not typical to do so, he could still be risking everything. Wright is also temporarily leaving his mother, which although he has done so before, could compound on his sense of being lost. However, if life in the North really turns out to be how he imagines it, then it is obviously a positive change. Ultimately, Wright is just taking a gamble.