Resumo de Native Son - Richard Wright

Native Son is the most powerful book I have ever read about the plight of AfricanAmericans in the 20th century. It is a naturalistic novel that focuses on how our environment determines who we are.
The main character is Bigger Thomas, a young, uneducated black man
living in the slums of Chicago during the 1930?s. He lives with his
mother, brother and sister in a dirty, rat-infested apartment. There is
a scene in the beginning of the novel where he tries to catch a rat in
the apartment, which exemplifies the squalid conditions he faces.Bigger
lives in constant fear of white people. He begins a fight with his
friends because he is too scared to rob a white man with them. He and
his family are segregated from society and he lacks the motivation and
means for a better life. Bigger is given an
opportunity of what may be a better life when he gets the job of a
chauffeur for a Mr. Dalton. Mr. Dalton is a wealthy businessman who is
sympathetic to blacks. Mr. Dalton tries to help black people, but his
methods are ineffective. He tries to buy blacks ping-pong tables and
other items, but he does not tackle the root of their problems. They
live in squalid conditions and are degraded by society. Mr. Dalton owns
the complex where Bigger lives, but he does not do anything to improve
the living conditions there. Mr. Dalton?s daughter Mary also wants to
help Bigger, but she is so naïve that she does not understand his
problems. She introduces Bigger to her communist friend Jan. Jan wants
Bigger to join the Communist Party because he believes it will give
Bigger a chance for equality. Bigger does not even know what a
communist is, but associates it with being something negative because
this is what he saw in the movies. Jan just like Mr. Dalton and Mary
are unable to help Bigger. One day Bigger drives
Jan and Mary to dinner and they get drink. He takes Mary back to home
and to her room so her parents will not know that she was drinking. She
begins to make noises and he covers her face with a pillow so she will
not be heard. Bigger is so afraid of white people that he believes that
he may be killed if Mary?s parents find him in her room. While trying
to quiet Mary, Bigger accidently suffocates her. In a state of panic he
cuts up her body with an axe and throws her in the furnace. During the
search for her he blames her disappearance on Jan.Later on Mary?s body
is found in the furnace, Bigger flees, and he is later apprehended.
From this point on the outcome of the story is obvious. He is already
condemned to death even before his trial. Society has deemed him to be
evil and a monster. In most novels about racial
prejudice white people are portrayed as oppressive and black people as
kind and sympathetic. In this novel, Bigger is cruel and violent and
the Dalton?s seem sympathetic. This seems to be the opposite of most
other problems, but it proves to be very effective.Bigger may be a
cruel and violent man, but he is the victim of his environment. He has
always lived in fear and brutality is the only way he could survive. He
has never been given a chance to live a better life. From his youth, he
has been looked down by white people and treated as a second-class
citizen. Over time his anger has built up and he has become a
despicable person. The Dalton?s are portrayed as sympathetic to show
that even white people who want to help the Black cause were often
unable to do this. Bigger, his family, and friends want decent living
conditions, the opportunity to succeed, and to live a better life. The
Dalton?s did not offer this to them. Right now
conditions are different, but during the 1930?s life for
African-Americans was very difficult. This was before the Civil Rights
Movement, the desegregation of the military, and the color barrier
being broken in sports. Native Son is a deeply moving novel about the
harsh living conditions that African-Americans faced.

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