Native Son (1940) is a novel written by the American author Richard Wright. The story revolves around 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, an African American youth living in extreme poverty in the “South Side” of Chicago in the 1930s. Wright portrays a systemic inevitability behind Bigger’s crimes, despite Bigger never apologizing for them. Bigger’s lawyer, Boris Max, makes the case that there is no escape from this destiny. This is because Bigger, or any other black American for that matter, is a necessary product of the society that formed them and told them since birth who exactly they were supposed to be.
Wright’s exploration of Bigger’s psychological corruption gives us a new perspective on the oppressive effect racism had on the black population in America in the 1930s. Bigger’s psychological damage originates from the constant barrage of racist propaganda and racial oppression he faces while growing up. The movies he sees depict whites as wealthy and sophisticated , while the blacks are depicted as jungle savages. Bigger and his family live in cramped and squalid conditions. They endure socially enforced poverty and have little to no educational opportunities. Bigger’s attitude toward whites in response to this is a volatile combination of anger and fear. He believes “whiteness” is an overpowering and hostile force that will forever be set against him. Just as whites fail to conceive of Bigger as an individual, he fails to distinguish between whites as individuals. To him, they are all the same, frightening and untrustworthy. Because of his immense hatred and fear, Bigger’s accidental killing of Mary Dalton does not leave him with guilt. Instead, he feels an odd jubilation because, for the first time, he has established his own individuality against the white forces that have conspired to destroy it.
I agree that Bigger has been constantly made to feel inferior to whites throughout his life. Not only is he aware of the lack of opportunities he has had, he might even see himself as undeserving in some capacity. Because of these beliefs he is further pushed towards living outside of the bounds of law and order.
I think individuality in this novel is very important. Under the constant barrage of racist propaganda and oppression Bigger feels inferior to the whites. Bigger does not view the whites as individuals, but as a natural oppressive force. After accidentally killing Mary Dalton he feels almost empowered. This promotes aggressive retaliation that extracts psychological corruption in Bigger.
I agree that Wright portrays Bigger’s crimes as inevitable even though Bigger never apologizes for them. I think Bigger fails to apologize for accidentally killing Mary Dalton because he feels a sense of freedom instead of guilt. This is because it was the first time he affirmed his individuality against the white forces of oppression which sought to extinguish that very individuality.
I agree with how you distinguish that Bigger feels as if he feels oppressed by whites. It is almost as if the thought that he can be above whites never really crosses his mind at all because of the racial propaganda against him and his people.
I think what’s interesting here is that Wright does not stop as showing the effect of oppression on the oppressed but also shows how oppression will have negative consequences for the oppressor as well. Wright argues that by oppressing the black community, the white community is creating violence against themselves. This may tie into Wright’s communist beliefs which argue that the ruling class sown the seeds of their own destruction by oppressing the working class.