Native Son Analysis

In Richard Wright’s novel Native Son he captures the lifestyle of our male protagonist Bigger Thomas; a 19 year old black boy. Throughout the novel, death takes on several different meanings and interpretations. Readers witness the death of equality, self, and death in the literal sense as Bigger and his race struggle to survive in the white supremacy.

In the 1930s racial segregation was something that the society was used to but that did not make it any easier for the colored men and women. The whites were on one side of town with all of their homes and stores and the colored people had their side of town. Bigger lives in a tiny one roomed apartment with his younger brother, sister, and his mother; in order to change the boys have to go first while the women turn the other way and vice versa. In the white neighborhoods however the rich are very comfortable life, a life colored people only dream of, in large homes with maids and butlers that do all of the upkeep around the estate. Bigger and his family rely on welfare check in order to eat because his mother does not work. Bigger and his friends make money by robbing people because law enforcement does not pay any attention to black on black crime. This leads Bigger to want to perform his biggest heist ever with his friends, robbing Mr. Blum’s deli.

Racism strips away any hope that colored people may have a better life and greater opportunities. In book one Bigger and Gus see a plane in the sky that spells out “Use Speed Gasoline.” Bigger’s aspirations and dreams far exceed reality and how far one can go without being judged for the color of their skin. Bigger and his friend Gus pretend to be respected members of society in their spare time in a game called ‘white.’ In this g...

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...he correct way and her polite behavior was unbecoming and eventually led to her death. The next person death took was Bessie, Bigger’s girl. Her complaining to Bigger led him to be angry and see her as an obstacle in his flight. She too died by the hand of Bigger as he was beginning his flight to an animalistic nature and his own downfall. The final person death took was Bigger himself. Through the trail of bodies he left, the acts of violence, and the anger he had towards white people that festered for way too long his end was inevitable.

Death takes on many forms throughout the novel and changes the way people act. Through death there is life, as a side of Bigger, which has never been seen, starts to develop and grow. The death of equality, slander, and racism plays a large role in Bigger’s turning point and is the cause of Mary Dalton’s and Bigger’s own death.