Native Son Summary
In Native Son, by Richard Wright, the main character is 20 year old Bigger Thomas. Growing up poor, uneducated, and angry at the whole world, it is almost obvious that Bigger is going to have a rough life. Anger, frustration, and violence are habits for him. He is an experienced criminal, and unable to handle with his wild mood swings, Bigger often explodes in fits of crazy, aggressive outrage. Bigger has grown up with the opinion that he simply has no control over his life. In his mind, he can't ever be anything more than an unskilled, low-wage laborer. He is forced to take a job as a chauffeur for the Daltons to avoid having to watch his own family starve. Strangely, Mr. Dalton is Bigger's landlord; he owns most of the company that manages the apartment building where Bigger's family lives. Mr. Dalton and other wealthy real estate men are robbing the poor, black tenants on the South Side. What they do is refuse to rent apartments in other neighborhoods to black tenants. By
Dalton, angers Bigger when she ignores the "rules" of society when it comes to relationships between white women and black men. The white authorities and mob use Bigger as an excuse to terrorize the entire South Side neighborhood. However, his generosity is only a way for him to get rid of the guilty conscience he has for cheating the poor black residents of Chicago. Dalton prays and then leaves the room. Everyone is after Bigger to try to catch him and bring him to jail. Max warns the public that there will be more men like Bigger if America does not put an end to the huge cycle of hate and punishment. Bigger is scared that Mary will give away that he is in the room, so he covers her face with a pillow and accidentally smothers her to death. Mary Dalton, the daughter of Bigger's Mr. Mary is too drunk to make it to her bedroom on her own, so Bigger helps her up the stairs. Jan also realizes that he violated all of the "rules" that apply to race relations. One thing leads to another, and all three of them get drunk.
Common topics in this essay:
Bigger Bessie,
Dalton Bigger's,
Thomas Growing,
Bigger's Dalton,
Jan Mary's,
Unaware Mary,
Boris Max,
Bigger America,
Richard Wright,
Bigger Jan,
poor black,
punishment trial,
bigger scared,
black tenants,
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