Native Son by Richard Wright
"Native Son" is a novel by Richard Wright that explores the life of Bigger Thomas, a young African American man living in poverty in Chicago during the 1930s. Bigger grapples with profound feelings of hatred, fear, and frustration, which are compounded by the systemic racism and economic oppression he faces. When he secures a job as a chauffeur for a wealthy white family, his interactions with their daughter, Mary Dalton, lead to a tragic spiral of events. After accidentally killing Mary during a confused encounter, Bigger attempts to cover up his crime, which only intensifies his inner turmoil and leads to further violence, including the murder of his girlfriend, Bessie.
The narrative delves into themes of race, identity, and societal impact on individual choices. As Bigger's case goes to trial, it becomes a broader examination of racial injustice and societal failings, challenging the reader to consider the complex interplay of personal responsibility and systemic oppression. Ultimately, the story raises critical questions about the roots of violence and the struggle for self-identity within a prejudiced society, making it a significant work in American literature that resonates with ongoing discussions about race and inequality.
Native Son by Richard Wright
First published: 1940
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of plot: 1930s
Locale: An American city
Principal Characters
Bigger Thomas , a young African AmericanMr. Dalton , Bigger’s employerMrs. Dalton , his wifeMary Dalton , their daughterJan Erlone , Mary’s sweetheartBritten , Dalton’s private detectiveBessie Mears , Bigger’s mistressBuckley , a state prosecutorBoris A. Max , Bigger’s lawyer
The Story
Bigger Thomas lives in a one-room apartment with his brother, sister, and mother. Always penniless, haunted by a pathological hatred of white people, driven by an indescribable urge to make others cringe before him, Bigger has retreated into an imaginary world of fantasy.
Through the aid of a relief agency, he obtains employment as a chauffeur for a wealthy family. His first assignment is to drive Mary Dalton, his employer’s daughter, to the university. Mary, however, is on her way to meet Jan Erlone, her sweetheart. The three of them, Mary and Jan—white people who are crusading with the Communist Party to help African Americans—and Bigger—a reluctant ally—spend the evening driving and drinking. Bigger brings Mary home, but Mary is too drunk to take herself to bed. With a confused medley of hatred, fear, disgust, and revenge playing within his mind, Bigger helps her to her bedroom. When Mary’s blind mother enters the room, Bigger covers the girl’s face with a pillow to keep her from making any sound that might arouse Mrs. Dalton’s suspicions. The reek of whiskey convinces Mrs. Dalton that Mary is drunk, and she leaves the room. Then Bigger discovers that he has smothered Mary to death. To delay discovery of his crime, he takes the body to the basement and stuffs it into the furnace.
Bigger then begins a weird kind of rationalization. The next morning, in his mother’s home, he begins thinking that he is separated from his family because he has killed a white girl. His plan is to involve Jan in connection with Mary’s death.
When Bigger returns to the Dalton home, the family is worrying over Mary’s absence. Bigger feels secure from incrimination because he has covered his activities by lying. He decides to send ransom notes to her parents, allowing them to think Mary has been kidnapped. There are too many facts to remember, however, and too many lies to tell. Britten, the detective whom Mr. Dalton has hired, tries to intimidate Bigger, but his methods only make Bigger more determined to frame Jan, who, in his desire to protect Mary, lies just enough to help Bigger’s cause. When Britten brings Bigger face-to-face with Jan for questioning, Bigger’s fear mounts. He goes to Bessie, his mistress, who gets from him a confession of murder. Bigger forces her to go with him to hide in an empty building in the slum section of the city. There he instructs her to pick up the ransom money he hopes to receive from Mr. Dalton.
Bigger is eating in the Dalton kitchen when the ransom note arrives. Jan has already been arrested. Bigger clings tenaciously to his lies. It is a cold day. Attempting to build up the fire, Bigger accidentally draws attention to the furnace. When reporters discover Mary’s bones, Bigger flees. Hiding with Bessie in the deserted building, he realizes that he cannot take her with him. Afraid to leave her behind to be found and questioned by the police, he kills her and throws her body down an air shaft.
When Bigger ventures from his hideout to steal a newspaper, he learns that the city is being combed to find him. He flees from one empty building to another, constantly buying or stealing newspapers to judge his chances for escape. Finally, he is trapped on the roof of a penthouse by a searching police officer. Bigger knocks him out. The police finally capture Bigger after a chase across the rooftops.
In jail, Bigger refuses to eat or speak. His mind turns inward, hating the world, but he is satisfied with himself for what he has done. Three days later, Jan Erlone comes to see Bigger and promises to help him. Jan introduces Boris A. Max to Bigger. Boris is a lawyer for the Communist front organization for which Jan works. Buckley, the prosecuting attorney, tries to persuade Bigger not to become involved with the Communists. Bigger says nothing even after the lawyer tells him that Bessie’s body has been found. When Buckley begins listing the crimes of rape, murder, and burglary charged against him, Bigger protests, vigorously denying rape and Jan’s part in Mary’s death. Under a steady fire of questions from Buckley, Bigger breaks down and signs a confession.
The opening session of the grand jury begins. First, Mrs. Dalton appears as a witness to identify one of her daughter’s earrings, which has been found in the furnace. Next, Jan testifies, and, under the slanderous anti-Communist questioning, Max rises in protest against the racial bigotry of the coroner. Max questions Mr. Dalton about his ownership of the high-rent, rat-infested tenements where Bigger’s family lives. Generally, the grand jury session becomes a trial of the race relations that have led to Bigger’s crime rather than a trial of the crime itself. As a climax to the session, the coroner brings Bessie’s body into the courtroom to produce evidence that Bigger has raped and murdered his sweetheart. Bigger is returned to jail after Max promises to visit him. Under the quiet questioning of Max, Bigger at last talks about his crime, his feelings, his reasons. He has been thwarted by white people all of his life, he says, until he killed Mary Dalton; that act had released him.
At the opening session of the trial, Buckley presents witnesses who attest Bigger’s sanity and his ruthless character. The murder is dramatized even to the courtroom reconstruction of the furnace in which Mary’s body was burned. Max refuses to call any of his own witnesses or to cross-examine, promising to act in Bigger’s behalf as sole witness for the defense. The next day, in a long speech, Max outlines an entire social structure, its effect on an individual such as Bigger, and Bigger’s inner compulsions when he killed Mary Dalton. Pleading for mitigation on the grounds that Bigger is not totally responsible for his crime, he argues that society, too, is to blame.
After another race-prejudiced attack by Buckley, the court adjourns for one hour. It reopens to sentence Bigger to death. Max’s attempts to delay death by appealing to the governor are unsuccessful.
In the last hours before death, Bigger realizes his one hope is to communicate his feelings to Max, to try to have Max explain to him the meaning of his life and the meaning of his death. Max helps him see that the people who persecute African Americans, poor people, or others are themselves filled with fear. Bigger forgives them because they are suffering the same urge that he suffers. He forgives his enemies because they do not know the guilt of their own social crimes.
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