Essay Bigger's Actions to Claim Equality in "Native Son"

Wrights depiction of Bigger through his use of figurative language techniques, reveals Bigger as an unstable and violent character, and to the reader Biggers character creates an uneasy

In Native Son, Richard Wright paces the plot through his varying sentence structure which differs depending upon the situation at hand. Through the use of short and succinct sentences, especially in dialogue, Wright displays Bigger’s timid nature towards white people. In the narrative, the use of concise sentences depicts fast motions and the simple observations of Bigger. For example, when Bigger carries the intoxicated Mary to her room, Wright describes, “He turned her round and began to mount the steps, one by one. He heard a slight creaking and stopped. He looked, straining his eyes in the gloom. But there was no one” (105) By using simple statements, Wright shows

I would argue, however, that Bigger always detested whites treating him like a nobody and after accidentally killing Mary Dalton, he began being more open about he he feels since he had little to lose. Anyway, Bryant’s main argument is that the white world does not see Bigger, and this is one of Bigger’s biggest fears. Indeed, when they accuse him of rape, this takes away the subjectivity that would have been associated with him had he simply been called a murderer. In addition to making Bigger seem less than human by labeling him as a rapist, the authorities do not think that Bigger is intelligent enough to carry out a murder as complex as Mary Dalton’s. All this goes to show that Bigger is a symbol that whites have used as an excuse to discriminate against Blacks, and who Bigger is as a person is not something that really matters. The reason Bigger has negative feelings towards all Whites for the majority of the book is because they only see his skin color.

Once again, even Whites that are more liberal and/or against racism fail to see Blacks as equals or as people they can identify with. This is shown when Mary Dalton asks Jan if he knows any Blacks, which he does not. This is also shown when Mary praises Blacks by saying “they have so much emotion” (88). Ian Afflerbach in his article “Liberalism’s Blind Judgment: Richard Wright’s Native Son and the Politics of Reception” argues that Mr. Max failed as Bigger’s lawyer, as he does not focus so much on Bigger’s character as he does on the condition of Blacks in America and the blindness of every person. (100) He even denounces the argument that Bigger is a product of injustice (99). Afflerbach says that when Bigger embraces the idea that he is a

Early within the novel Wright establishes Bigger as a force to be feared when Bigger causes his younger sister, Vera, to faint by dangling a freshly killed rat before her face. As his mother, Ma, tends to Vera she sobs, “Boy, sometimes I wonder what makes you act like you do” (Wright 7). This shows that Bigger has a history of acting in an insensitive manner towards members of his own family. If his lack of sensitivity is not enough to isolate him from those within his own family, the consequences of those actions are surely enough to. Additionally, Bigger extends these tactless acts to his friend and gang member, Gus, and love interest, Bessie.

In the beginning, when Bigger started working for the Dalton’s, he had to drive Mary Dalton, the daughter, to the University of Chicago. However, she wanted him to pick up her boyfriend, Jan, and head to a restaurant. When Bigger was in the car with Jan and Mary, “he was very conscious of his black skin...Jan and men like him” made Bigger feel insecure of who he was. (Wright 67) Even though Jan and Mary did not say anything that would insult his race, the presence of white people made him self-conscious. Being

He does explain that oppression and racism affected both whites the oppressors and blacks the oppressed. He also explains how a white like girl, befriended a black man, and that a lot of what happened was because of the lack of understanding of the others culture. Yet, I feel that Mr. Wright’s emphasis was more on the struggles that the African Americans endured during the 1930’s. I feel he felt that this oppression and racism affected them the most so he tends to favor their plight more than that of the whites. Wright uses this quote to express how Bigger felt, “To Bigger and his kind, white people were not really people: they were a sort of great natural force, like a stormy sky looming overhead or like a deep swirling river stretching suddenly at one’s feet in the dark.” (109) Wright does not downplay the suffering that they endured at the hands of the whites. He depicts their poverty, in Bigger’s case the cramped rat infested apartment his family lived in. Wright uses this quote to express the living conditions, "Gimme that skillet, Buddy," he asked quietly, not taking his eyes from the rat. Wright tells of some of their racial struggles and inequalities like not being able to be educated, being forced to live in areas that were not as good as those the whites lived in but still over paying for them. It reads “black people, even though they cannot get good jobs, pay twice as much rent as whites”(248) Wright also declares that Bigger was not even allowed a fair trial to defend himself even though he was guilty of what he had done because of this racism. The headlines “NEGRO RAPIST FAINTS AT INQUEST was featured in the Tribune and in the article, Bigger is described as looking “exactly like an ape with “exceedingly black skin” (279). Wright allows the reader to know that he feels this misguided oppression and racism shows that both races lost the realization that all men are

  In Native Son, Wright employs Naturalistic ideology and imagery, creating the character of Bigger Thomas, who seems to be composed of a mass of disruptive emotions rather than a rational mind joined by a soul. This concept introduces the possibility that racism is not the only message of the novel, that perhaps every person would feel as isolated and alone as Bigger does were he trapped in such a vicious cycle of violence and oppression. Bigger strives to find a place for himself, but the blindness he encounters in those around him and the bleak harshness of the Naturalistic society that Wright presents the reader with close him out as effectively as if they had shut a door in his

Wright uses Bigger’s psychological corruption to send a message to the reader. It offers a new view on the underlying effects of racism on the black community of the time period. Wright creates Bigger from the diversity he saw throughout American society. “I made the discovery that Bigger Thomas was not black all the time; he was white, too, and there were literally millions of him, everywhere... I became conscious, at first dimly, and then later on with increasing clarity and conviction, of a vast, muddied pool of human life in America. It was as though I had put on a pair of spectacles whose power was that of an x-ray enabling me to see deeper into the lives of men. Whenever I picked up a newspaper, I 'd no longer feel that I was reading of the doings of whites alone (Negroes are rarely mentioned in the press unless they 've

When analyzing Bigger Thomas, Richard Wright’s protagonist in the novel Native Son, one must take into consideration the development of his characterization. Being a poor twenty-year-old Black man in the south side of Chicago living with his family in a cramped one- bedroom apartment in the 1930’s, the odds of him prospering in life were not in his favor. Filled with oppression, violence, and tragedy, Bigger Thomas’ life was doomed from the moment he was born. Through the novel, Bigger divulges his own dreams to provide for his family and to be anything but a “nobody.” Although Bigger struggled to fight through obstacles to pursue his dreams for the future, his chase for a better life came to an abrupt

Because the character of Bigger Thomas is so central to Native Son, Mary is important mainly for her effect on Bigger. While she means only to help him, her whiteness and wealth make Bigger

Throughout the whole novel Bigger had felt cornered and intimidated by the white man and who they were. However, this man was different from the others. He treated Bigger as a normal human being, not as a downtrodden person or a murderer, just a normal human being. This is the only instince in which this happens in the whole novel. Wright used it primarily to show that he himself did not feel as if all whites were bad but that because of stereotyping, many were. Wright goes out of his way to show that this man was not under the inlfluence of stereotyping and to show the decent side of some whites.

The possession, use, cultivation, transportation, and sale of marijuana are illegal under the federal law in the United States. However, the federal government announced that states are allowed to pass a law to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use, provided that they develop a system to regulate the activities. Under the Controlled Substances Act, passed in 1970, Marijuana is classified as a substance of schedule 1, the highest listing under the legislation. The classification implies that the substance is deemed as possessing a potential for grave abuse, according to the federal government. Nonetheless, the state laws do not always agree with the federal standards, and, as a result, state-level proposals for marijuana decriminalization have led to mixed reactions from the people from all over the nation. Washington, Alaska, Oregon, and Colorado are among the United States that have legalized marijuana for both medicinal and recreational purposes (Cerdá et al. 23). The benefits that the authorities and communities stand with the legalization of the substance are greater than the costs, and, as such, the substance should be legalized across all states in the U.S. though it is of paramount importance that sufficient provisions be put in place to regulate the use of marijuana.

“By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise” (Adolf Hitler). Long before the term “Propaganda” came to be, the act of controlling the public's mindsets and opinions was still being practiced ever since mankind came to be. People with ideas want to influence their beliefs on others. Propaganda goes way back to the early times. In 1622, Pope Gregory XIII settled “De Propaganda Fide” which translates to the Congregation for Propagating the Faith, which was a committee of cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The “De Propaganda Fide” was intended to disperse Catholicism into Christian beliefs. Propaganda remained a religious term throughout the 18th and part of the 19th century. Propaganda began as ideologies inculcated by the Catholic Church. The people were persuaded by their faith rather than on the reason. In 1939, Propaganda was the seed that rooted World War II. Truth is, World War II was not just a battle between countries but a battle after people’s minds. Propaganda has the power to change people’s opinions through art. Nowadays, persuasive techniques are used in almost every fast food restaurant ads. The amount of Propaganda one is exposed to on a daily basis is bizarre.

The oppression that Bigger experiences from his mother is the root of his tendency to want control. She deprives him of his own identity which leaves him to do the only natural thing: create one. Bigger also has control over Buddy, but he does not need to use violence to accomplish it because Buddy is entranced with everything that Bigger does. Wright also foreshadows the events of the novel in the opening scene. The rat is a symbol of the white world’s view of Bigger: an annoying and dangerous monstrosity who does not belong in a civilized environment. Literally, Bigger must gain control over the rat due to his compulsion to commit violent acts. Bigger’s killing the rat symbolizes his destruction of himself that he creates through the violence that he commits.