The Struggle In Richard Wright's Native Son

Bigger, the protagonist in Richard Wright’s Native Son, faces many conflicts with himself, society and fate. He faces fear in his daily life, of himself, his friends and surroundings and is the result of a broken system, setup to make him fail. Many of the conflicts Bigger faces throughout the novel stem from race. Race controls his actions, schooling, living and how he is treated by others. Fear of himself ultimately leads to a fear of society,, and in the end of Book 3 when he is getting the death penalty, he is afraid of his fate. Through the progression of Bigger from a kid on the streets to ending on death row, Richard Wright develops Biggers attitude between himself, society, and his fate through his bold actions. In Book 1: Fear, Wright …show more content…
Bigger has always been afraid of himself and what he's capable of. When he started working for the Daltons, his sense of self changed, because there was a purpose to his life. However, working for the Daltons continued the idea in that was holding him back, that him as a young black male was inferior to whites. He does not feel he deserves the extra money and the care the Daltons give him, and he becomes troubled with the power given to him. This it what causes him to kill Mary and burn her body in the furnace. The moment Bigger realized Mary was dead something inside him changed. Instead of being the boy from Book 1 who posted a front for his fear of robbing the store, he was all for it. Hiding her body, and the adrenaline that came with it was a way to dissipate his anger. At the end of Book 2, Biggest fear takes over, and challenges himself by going even more violent and running from the cops and asking for a ransom letter. Once the conflict between him and himself started, Bigger’s fear led him to spiral out of control and lose his sense of who he was, turning himself into an angry and violent