Richard Wright’s novel Native Son is a story of racism occurring in Chicago and America during the 1930s. Wright gives us insights into racism and the ways in which it has affected American society through the eyes of Bigger Thomas. Throughout the novel, Wright explains that Bigger was not born a criminal. Bigger’s actions and behaviors are simply the product of the violence and racism that occurred during this time in history. Wright shows that much of the racism occurring was due to the lack of understanding, among both white and black people. In Native Son, racism is unavoidable. Bigger feels as if his (black) skin is an unavoidable burden and clearly states his frustrations clearly throughout the novel. One example of this is when he says,
…show more content…
In the article, Bigger is described as looking “exactly like an ape!” (279), with “skin exceedingly black” (279) and a lower jaw that “protrudes obnoxiously, reminding one of a jungle beast” (279). The article accuses Bigger of raping Mary and then proceeds to talk about how segregation and an “injection of an element of constant fear” (281) are the solution in “handling the problem” (281) of Black people in America. The newspapers in Native Son hold as another example of how embedded racism was in the Deep South in the …show more content…
For the first time in his life, he has done something to change the course of what lies ahead for him. He feels as if his actions were justifiable because the white society expected this of him. Although this is not morally right, it shows how affected Bigger is by the white society. Bigger convinces himself that while he did not mean to kill Mary, the town would never believe it was an accident, so it must have been on purpose because he is black and that is what is expected of him. This shows how deeply Bigger is affected by racism, which gives everyone the wrong idea about his case. Bigger’s attempts to conform is shown when he says “Maybe they were right when they said that a black skin was bad, the covering of an apelike animal” (275). Bigger’s actions are a completely accurate result of how he sees himself in this world, and by committing murders he is only accepting the stereotypes that white society has created for
In the article, Bigger is described as looking “exactly like an ape!” (279), with “skin exceedingly black” (279) and a lower jaw that “protrudes obnoxiously, reminding one of a jungle beast” (279). The article accuses Bigger of raping Mary and then proceeds to talk about how segregation and an “injection of an element of constant fear” (281) are the solution in “handling the problem” (281) of Black people in America. The newspapers in Native Son hold as another example of how embedded racism was in the Deep South in the …show more content…
For the first time in his life, he has done something to change the course of what lies ahead for him. He feels as if his actions were justifiable because the white society expected this of him. Although this is not morally right, it shows how affected Bigger is by the white society. Bigger convinces himself that while he did not mean to kill Mary, the town would never believe it was an accident, so it must have been on purpose because he is black and that is what is expected of him. This shows how deeply Bigger is affected by racism, which gives everyone the wrong idea about his case. Bigger’s attempts to conform is shown when he says “Maybe they were right when they said that a black skin was bad, the covering of an apelike animal” (275). Bigger’s actions are a completely accurate result of how he sees himself in this world, and by committing murders he is only accepting the stereotypes that white society has created for