Free Native Son Essays: Two Schools of Thought Native Son Essays

Native Son - Two Schools of Thought

Was it not the unexpected presence of Mrs. Dalton which caused Bigger to suffocate Mary Dalton? Was it not his fear of the consequences of the white mans legal system which forced him to burn the evidence? Was it not the shame that Jan Erlone made him feel which encouraged Bigger to blame Jan for Marys murder? Is Bigger not a victim of his overwhelming surroundings that drove him, beyond his control, to taking such drastic actions? In Native Son there is an abundance of evidence supporting two schools of thought.

Bigger and his people had been oppressed by their white counterparts for so long. A colored was never to advance in life. Not that they could since their simple minds could not obtain all that was needed to live a good life. Negroes were to be kept firmly in their place. These very ignorant beliefs caused Bigger to shut himself off from the real world only to want and desire it all the more for not being allowed to attain it. There would come a time when Bigger would be enlightened and would create a new attitude, a new mind set--for he had killed.

A new freedom had arisen in Bigger. He had done the undoable. Murder, concealment, and deceit. Was it all Biggers bidding, cold and clinical? Or was it all based on the shame and the fear Bigger felt? Would he have contemplated the same crime at any other time? Throughout the entire novel, it has been illustrated with precise articulation that Bigger never, could not, act on his own willpower. An emotion, a force always moved him, even towards his escape. And in his escape, Bigger felt the urge to steal, commit delinquencies, and act in such a brutish manner. Could all this be the product of a less manipulated environment?

Bigger Thomas undeniable criminal actions are only fed by his own self-oppression, and his acceptance of the boundaries placed about him. He acted as expected by the ignorant society responsible for him.