Native Son by Richard Wright is a major work of American fiction and an incredibly important work in terms of American race relations. While other books we have read this term have disused political and social issues, Native Son stands out by disusing the causes of the issues rather than just the symptoms. More specifically, the novel discusses how media representation and an unfair system lead to a cycle of poverty and crime in the black community. throughout the book, Bigger has an understanding of the social inequality between races, as he demonstrates when he plays Whiteman with Gus and tells him about he would like to be pilot which both of them understand is impossible due to their race. This inequality is further driven home when we learn about Mr. redlining policies which prevent black families like his from having better living conditions. in contrast to his poverty and lack of opportunity, Bigger sees white people living in luxury and blessed with all possible opportunities. This dichotomy between black and white is enforced by the media. When going to the movies with his friends, Bigger first sees a film about a wealthy white woman living in luxury which was contrasted against another movie which portrayed Africans as savages. Wright argues that because of this racial dichotomy and lack of opportunity, many African-Americans feel like the system is rigged against them and commit acts of crime and violence against whites out of anger. This can be seen in both the lack of guilt Bigger felt after killing Mary and the way he mentally justified robbing Blum. This violence allows whites to justify their actions, thus perpetuating the cycle.
5 thoughts on “Native son, opportunity, media, and crime”
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I believe that the system that is rigged against blacks and the violent lash outs by Bigger feeds a cycle that continues inevitably. Every time a crime is committed in this system, the entire black community is punished by greater stereotypes of their animal like behavior and savageness. But this causes more black people to feel helpless and causes them to search for ways to escape the system which often leads to a life of crime.
I agree that Bigger’s lack of guilt after killing Mary stems from the image of whites as sophisticated and dominant in many aspects. I believe that Bigger enjoyed having some control over a white person. It was probably an entirely new experience to him. This feeling of control quickly faded as he realized the consequences he would likely face.
As a result of fear and anger the accident of killing Mary Dalton did not fill Bigger’s conscious with guilt. Instead this was one of the first times he has his own individuality and power against white forces. Although later he realizes the consequences for his actions, it doesn’t change his emotions. In fact, it elicited a corrupt identity for Bigger.
Do you believe this dichotomy to also play into Bigger’s sentencing? There is quite a history of racial bias (or just general discrimination as evidenced by the Leo Frank trial) being used in decisions regarding the death penalty (a detail even the Supreme Court admits is true in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia case) So that is a question I have, do you think if Bigger were a white man he’d still receive the death penalty, or even just a life sentence? Would the decision even be different for a rich white man versus a poor white man?
The idea of the media constantly pressing the idea of oppression onto blacks is something that seeps deeply into their minds. It is a constant reminder that they are seen as less than people. They feel this oppression from so many different sides of life, it is no question why Bigger acts the way he does.