what challenges does the character bud face in bud not buddy

Bud, Not Buddy serves as a rite of passage novel as it guides the reader through the pain Bud Caldwell experiences from becoming an orphan, through being alone in the orphanage, being unwanted as a foster child, and finally as a voyageur on the search for his father in Grand Rapids. Bud being an orphan is symbolic of how his character fits into the story. Bud is alone in life without his mother, is a young black male in the Depression, and is alone in his venture to find his identity.

Bud never seems to succumb to being a victim of his lack of adult guidance, but prospers in it. He is a gentleman as he interacts with other adults, as if he has a second sense about how the adult expects him to act. He is polite and kind, and patient when dealing with others.

Bud's racial identity as an African American isolates him from others, as the Depression has not brought the recognition of equal rights for blacks and whites. Bud is left to fend for himself as a young black man, and this becomes apparent when he has to be in line for food at the shelter, or when only Leftie Lewis is willing to pick him up on the side of the road late the night he begins his journey to finding his father.