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As everyone knows, a person’s personality is necessarily related to his family factors and the surrounding growth environment. And a person’s growth environment is changeable, first of all, family, the school, and finally society. However, to say the most influential, it must be the family, because it has been with us throughout life. In the article “Our Time” by John Edgar Wideman, Robby’s date of birth is not a good time for Robby or Robby’s family. This date has a special meaning. And Robby was born in a black family, surrounded by white people, accompanied by racial discrimination. Then, His best friend died, which has a bad influence on him. And many conditions have led to the defects in Robby’s character. He feel angry, the unfairness of life and rejection of his peer. So when Robby grew up, he sought a sense of existence through illegal crime.

Robby was born on the 29th of December in 1950, and his date of birth was one of the reasons for his robbery and murder. At the time of his birth, his parents always quarreled. When a person is a child, the influence of the parents’ quarrel on the child is particularly large, which leads to the child’s lack of trust, security, and makes the child sensitive, suspicious and lonely. Not just because of this, according to the article “Both my grandfathers died on December 28. My grandmother died just after dawn on December 29. My sister lost a baby early in January. The end of the year has become associated with mournings, funerals”(Wideman 779). Robby’s birthday is his grandmother’s death day, and his two grandfather’s death day is also the day before his birthday. This is amazing. So it is said that Robby’s birth was tainted. How can Robby celebrate his birthday, and it’s not good for Robby to celebrate his birthday. Because on the day of your grandparents’ death, if you are partying, it is a disrespect to the elders. Robby didn’t have a special day to celebrate and share his birthday because his birthday was covered by Christmas. Look at what John writes “so there just isn’t very much left to work with if your birthday comes four short days after Jesus’.Almost like not having a birthday. Or even worse, like sharing it with your brothers and sister instead of having the private oasis of your very own special day. So Robby cried a lot on his birthdays”(Wideman 779). For Robby, December was indeed a very bad month, and the whole month was full of sorrow. The death of some family members has had a bad influence on Robby's entire family. He could not celebrate his birthday happily. So these may be the cause of Robby’s drug abuse and other bad habits. Robby can only feel happy when he is taking drugs.

However, Robby lives in Shadyside, surrounded by white neighbors, all of whom are racist. According to the article “I got a thing about black. See, black was like the forbidden fruit. Even when we went to Freed’s in Homewood, Geraldine and they never let me go on farther than the end of the block”(Wideman 773). Robby was born in a black family, but since he was a child, he was treated differently. He can’t do what he wants to do. He is restricted, unlike other children. Even going to Homewood can’t be so far than the block. As a child, there is a problem that must appear in his heart. Why he can’t go. As time goes by, Robby’s doubts will grow bigger and bigger. Why he can’t do what other white children do, he will definitely think that this is his own problem, then he will feel inferior, himself not as good as others. John says, “ They could buy pop and comic books and candy when they wanted to. We weren’t that bad off but compared to what them little white kids had I always felt like I didn’t have nothing”(Wideman 778). See, Robby definitely wants to be treated fairly, and Robby should be treated fairly. If they are poor, his family can buy something cheaper for Robby, which is much better than nothing. He wants to be a white child, just like when he wants something, he can buy it without any worries. He envied white children. But if envy is overdone, It will become a bad thing. The fact is that Robby feels that life is unfair, so he robs and kills whites.

Then, Robby’s good friend Gar passed away. He was very sad. They trusted the doctor so much that they gave his life to the doctor, but Garth died because of the inability of the doctor. As Robby says, “You know, everybody makes mistakes. And a dead nigger ain’t really such a big mistake when you think about it”(Wideman 757), And “Wind up killing some innocent person or wasting another nigger. Shucks. That doctor ought to get a medal”(Wideman 757). Not only is the doctor’s incompetence, but more serious is that doctors do not value the lives of black people. He felt that killing a black man would not affect him and lose his job. In the society at the time, and even now, there is discrimination against black people. Because Robby lost his best friend, he was traumatized by the heart. Robby thinks that black race is not important. Later, Robby’s mother found a needle for drug use under the bed.

I learned from “Our time” that a person’s success or failure has a great relationship with family education. Effective family education depends on a good family environment. More importantly, everyone must be equal. Robby was not treated fairly since he was a child. In the month he was born, the family was in a trough and many of his loved ones died in those months. He can’t celebrate his birthday. Living in Shadyside, being discriminated against by whites. When he grew up, a best friend died because of unequal medical treatment. These reasons led Robby to feel angry and the world unfair, so Robby began to take drugs and robbed and murdered, eventually going to prison.