[.ca] Native Son (ISBN 0898459168)

From Amazon.com:
Bigger Thomas is doomed, trapped in a downward spiral that will lead to arrest, prison, or death, driven by despair, frustration, poverty, and incomprehension. As a young black man in the Chicago of the '30s, he has no way out of the walls of poverty and racism that surround him, and after he murders a young white woman in a moment of panic, these walls begin to close in. There is no help for him--not from his hapless family; not from liberal do-gooders or from his well-meaning yet naive friend Jan; certainly not from the police, prosecutors, or judges. Bigger is debased, aggressive, dangerous, and a violent criminal. As such, he has no claim upon our compassion or sympathy. And yet... A more compelling story than Native Son has not been written in the 20th century by an American writer. That is not to say that Richard Wright created a novel free of flaws, but that he wrote the first novel that successfully told the most painful and unvarnished truth about American social and class relations. As Irving Howe asserted in 1963, "The day Native Son appeared, American culture was changed forever. It made impossible a repetition of the old lies \oand\c brought out into the open, as no one ever had before, the hatred, fear and violence that have crippled and may yet destroy our culture." Other books had focused on the experience of growing up black in America--including Wright's own highly successful Uncle Tom's Children, a collection of five stories that focused on the victimization of blacks who transgressed the code of racial segregation. But they suffered from what he saw as a kind of lyrical idealism, setting up sympathetic black characters in oppressive situations and evoking the reader's pity. In Native Son, Wright was aiming at something more. In Bigger, he created a character so damaged by racism and poverty, with dreams so perverted, and with human sensibilities so eroded, that he has no claim on the reader's compassion: "I didn't want to kill," Bigger shouted. "But what I killed for, I am! It must've been pretty deep in me to make me kill! I must have felt it awful hard to murder.... What I killed for must've been good!" Bigger's voice was full of frenzied anguish. "It must have been good! When a man kills, it's for something... I didn't know I was really alive in this world until I felt things hard enough to kill for 'em. It's the truth..." Wright's genius was that, in preventing us from feeling pity for Bigger, he forced us to confront the hopelessness, misery, and injustice of the society that gave birth to him. --Andrew Himes

Tough and Uncompromising:
Although "Native Son" is not written in the first person, the narrative concentrates almost exclusively on the central character, Bigger Thomas. This gives the story all the intensity and focus of a first-person account, but enables the author to use a more articulate voice than his subject would have been capable of. Few novelists have employed this technique in such an uncompromising way. We are with Thomas every breath, every step. I think few readers will get to like him, any more than Wright himself does, but we get to know and understand him. He is a product of 1930s America, of deeply ingrained racial prejudice and extreme economic disparity. Wright does not suggest that this excuses Bigger, only that it explains him. The writing style is lean and muscular, sparse and direct. We are given only bare descriptions as Wright allows action and dialogue to carry the story. It is worth dealing with a couple of criticisms posted by other reviewers: firstly, the wooden axe handle does not survive the fire; we are told specifically that only the metal axehead remains. Secondly, it is entirely plausible that, in his panic, Bigger did not think to hide under the bed. Indeed, depending on the style of bed, it may not have been possible. The plot is actually quite sound, the only really implausible element being the gathering of the entire cast of characters in the prison cell, something Wright himself acknowledged could not happen in reality but for which he allowed himself dramatic license. It is true though, that the final phase goes on too long and the long diatribes from Max are unconvincing. Another socialist writer, Upton Sinclair, suffered from the same tendency to preach instead of relying on the story to carry the message. Despite these reservations, "Native Son" remains an important social commentary and a forceful and compelling portrait of a lost soul.

Revisited:
I read this in high school, more years ago than I care to admit. Now, after having picked it up again, I find it still as fresh and exciting as it was back then. Wright and Baldwin are two of my favorite authors and they should be given more credit for their remarkable accomplishments. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Powerful Appeal:
Author Richard Wright (1908-60) was a master of description, and he captures the feel of Chicago and our often cold-shouldered society in this bitter 1940 classic. It's the story of Bigger Thomas, a self-loathing young black man that accidentally kills a white coed, and then kills again in an effort to evade detection. Bigger is hardly sympathetic, but his tragic hand is forced in part by racism. It's as if the author is saying, "Your injustices helped create Bigger Thomas!" Wright's gripping (if contrived) treatment of Bigger's trial indicts such peripheral characters as Mr. Dalton, a supposedly decent man that funds Negro charities - but only after fleecing blacks in the rental market. Readers come away understanding the cruelties of racial injustice, and comprehending why Wright might have named his character Bigger. Some say this classic was loosely based on a 1938 killing on the city's South Side. NATIVE SON is rather wordy in its last chapters, and many dislike the author's pro-communism - naïve sentiments Wright later dropped after learning more about Stalinist Russia. Despite these minor flaws, this classic is gripping, persuasive, and probably Wright's best work.

Great Story, Less than Great Philosophy:
This is one of the best stories I have ever read. As I read the book, I felt myself somehow tied to the main character, Bigger. I cheered for him, was ashamed with him, and I had a hard time putting the book down because it was so enthralling. It was great to be able to feel a part of a life that was so different than my own. The culture of Bigger Thomas is something very foreign to me, and I appreciated being able to feel like I was in his shoes. Richard Wright is undoubtedly a great writer, and I am looking forward to reading more of his books, enjoying his stories and trying to understand his ideas that seem so illogical to me. The story was improbable is some parts, and I think the author sacrificed reality for the philosophy that he was pushing. This didn't take away from the suspense or interest of the story. Though the story was great, the author had some ideological axes to grind that were very evident in this novel. At first, I felt his agenda was race (the oppression of blacks). Then I felt his agenda was politics (the greatness of socialism). But I think his agenda goes even farther than those two issues, the agenda has roots much deeper than race and politics. The issue at hand is a worldview issue, in which Richard Wright tries to show the supremacy of the individual over anything else (society, religion, race) but in his world, the individual is powerless to the society. I believe Wright has given too much credit and power to society. In the book, Bigger Thomas is portrayed as a puppet in the hands of a white-controlled society. Though society is undoubtedly influential, in no way can it control individuals in the way that the main character, Bigger, was controlled in this book. Richard Wright is living proof that society is not supreme, for he wrote books that were definitely not wanted by the society that he thinks hates him and his ideas. In my opinion, this ideology is the easy way out. Blame goes on everyone but self, and the individual is justified in making poor, selfish, and destructive decisions. In the book, the white majority was definitely wrong in the way they treated the black minority. But it is my contention that this is not ground for rape and murder which Bigger Thomas was guilty of (the accidental murder of Mary and the deliberate rape and murder of Bessie). Maybe I am ignorant like the character, Mr. Dalton, but I think that the powerful and the rich ought not to be blamed for the bad decisions that individuals make, even though the powerful and the rich may be a negative influence. Society is never going to be perfect. And even though America obviously has its problems (especially in the 40's) its society is much better than most around the world. Oppression has shown its ugly head in far worse ways than America ever has. The choice is ours: puppet or person? What would you like to choose? This was a great book. The story was great and it caused me to think. I would recommend the book to anyone. I read the introduction after I read the book, and it was very helpful in understanding Richard Wright and the context in which he lived. Also helpful were the appendices which gave more context to the book.

Good Book, Native Son:
Native Son by Richard Wright I read the Native Son By Richard Wright. I liked the beginning of the story because it gives you an insight to Bigger Thomas's pre-story life. It explains that Bigger had been involved in criminal activites and attended a reform school. Also in the beginning of the story, it shows his demeanor when he kills a rat in a very disgusting way. This re-enforced the fact that he was troubled. I also like that the typical stereo type of white people hating blacks is cleared up showing that even before the equal opportunity laws existed, some whites gave African Americans chances to better themselves. An example from this story would be how Mr. Dalton, aka the Rich white man, takes the risk of hiring a young black man, who has had a criminal history, to be his family's chauffer. Another instance is when Mrs. Dalton asks Bigger if he wishes to attend night school to better his education, since he was only educated to the 8th grade. Another interesting part is where the plot starts to add up. On the first night on the job, Bigger is faced with some excitement and some peculiar happenings. For instance, he is driving Mary Dalton, the Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, and picks up one of Mary's friends, Jan. He is a boy with a weird name, kind of like a "Boy named Sue." Jan insists on driving. Jan happens to be a Communist and try's to push some communist pamphlets on to Bigger to show that the Communist party wants to help the African American community. This surprised Bigger and made him feel uncomfortable. The one thing that I didn't like about this book was the graphic description of a later incident with Mary Dalton, when he tries to conceal an event that happens between them. I also looked to find some information on Richard Wright. I found that in real life he was connected to the communist party and had actually married a white woman. He later divorced and then married another white women. I believe that he put some of his real life experiences and feelings into this book. Maybe he was thinking of his first wife when he came up with the character Mary Dalton because in the story there are bitter feelings toward Mary and since he divorced his first wife there may have been bitter feelings.