Is Richard a "bad" boy? When should behavior be blamed on the person and when should it be blamed on the environment?

If someone asked you, "How does one define a bad boy?", would you say a boy that acts out because he is beaten and comes from a broken home? I wouldn't. In the first chapter, we see that Richard gets beaten regularly. Most of the time he doesn't even understand why he is being beaten. I think this is the point where the actions he made should be blamed on the environment he is surrounded by. For example, think of when Richard visits the bar and learns bad words. If his father didn't leave for another woman, his mother wouldn't have to go to work. This means Richard would be under supervision and would have never gotten beaten for words he didn't even understand.

Although, I do think that actions that one knows is wrong, but continues to do them anyway, is bad. In the book, Richard describes how fearful he is of his father. He doesn't like the way his father drinks and is afraid to approach him because he is so afraid of being beaten. This fear begins to turn into hate. One day, while Richard's father is sleeping, a cat meows on the steps. His father comes out and in a sarcastic tone tells him that if killing the cat is the only way to keep him quiet, then kill it. Richard, even thought he knows his father didn't mean what he said, kills the cat. Richard knows this is wrong because he says, "Oh, yes... He had said to kill the kitten and i would kill it! I knew that he had not meant for me to kill the kitten, but my deep hate of him urged me toward a literal acceptance of his word". This is when, I believe, actions should be blamed on the person at fault.