Why Richard is so angry at Uncle Tom

Wright is angry with Uncle Tom because he tried to punish him for being who he is. Uncle Tom has absolutely no authority in Richard’s life, therefore why should he be able to beat him? By being able to be beaten by someone with no authority in his life, gives Richard the feeling of complete vulnerability, like he is the property of others, and anyone can beat him if they please. Richard also doesn’t know what he did wrong. Richard was simply responding to the question Uncle Tom asked, and then all of a sudden he’s threatening to beat him. Richard doesn’t like the feeling of vulnerability, and he likes to understand and know everything. That’s why he asks so many questions. Richard gets this awful sense of vulnerability because he didn’t do anything, yet Uncle Tom, who doesn’t even have any authority in his life, is threatening to beat him. This doesn’t make any sense to Richard, therefore he becomes angry.