Native Son Literary Analysis

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Through Native Son, Richard Wright unapologetically shows the American people of the 1940s how in a decade racism hasn’t improved in the least. Bigger Thomas is shown as a product of the world the readers of the time have created, and these readers are challenged to confront and change this. Wright demonstrates that despite Bigger’s horrendous actions, his surroundings and upbringing help these readers sympathize with him because of how much Bigger’s world connects to the real world that they live in.
Bigger Thomas’s upbringing and environment isn’t perfect. He lives in the South Side of Chicago with his mother and two siblings in an apartment big enough for one. His mother is the only contributor to the family as the father is never mentioned. …show more content…
Racism is strong in Bigger’s neighborhood and he experiences it. His family is segregated in a concentrated part of Chicago. Supposedly, this is because they wouldn’t “like to live any other place” and “Negroes are happier when they’re together” (327). In reality, white society wants to oppress and control the black community. They don’t want to let go of the hold they had on blacks when they enslaved them so they “tell them that they are beasts” and treat them as such (427). This confinement is what sends Bigger towards negative actions. The reader can see his actions are based on his desire for freedom and humanity. Bigger steals and acts mean to survive, yet he kills Mary Dalton to feel human. This choice opens up other choices and options for Bigger. This is a new feeling for Bigger because black society does not have options. In the novel, black society doesn’t have anything other than what white society gives them. To survive, they must live in the homes given to them, shop at the stores provided for them, and settle for the education given to them. Bigger breaks this common knowledge the minute he holds Mary Dalton in his arms, and as these new options overwhelm him he makes questionable decisions which lead to his death. Wright shows the life readers live in and have made; a life where black men “are fighting for life” in a world that won’t give them a chance
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