Searching for Place in the Novel Native Son

In the novel Native Son by author Richard Wright, protagonist Bigger Thomas struggles with feelings of frustration and anger towards whites, blacks, his friends and even his family. As Bigger attempts to establish his own identity in a segregated city that has already labeled him insignificant and powerless to change his circumstances, he struggles daily with conflicting emotions. When he interacts with friends from his neighborhood and his family, Bigger is often confrontational and physically acts out his aggression. However, while working for a white family, the Daltons, Bigger portrays an outward appearance of a shy, black man. When Bigger accidentally kills Mary Dalton, the press finds out and he is forced to run and hide in the very city he feels he has no place in. The newspapers continue to print stories about Bigger until he is captured and sentenced to death. No longer confined to a small section of town where a few people know him, Bigger invades the entire city of Chicago, black and white areas alike, via reports printed in the newspapers.

Questions to Ponder and Discuss

Initially, Bigger associates his identity with the color of his skin, which confines him to the Southside of town. This confinement leaves him unsettled and doubtful in regard to his future. However, once Bigger kills Mary Dalton and runs from police, he starts to rely less on the color of his skin to validate his place and more on the news stories written about him in the city papers.

>To what extent is a person's place in society determined by race? By geography? By the media?

>The story is set in Chicago in the 1930's. How would the narrative change if the story took place in a different city and / or a different year? If the character of Mary Dalton was black instead of white? If the character of Bigger was white instead of black?

Works Cited

Cresswell, Tim. Place: a Short Introduction. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Print.

Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Harper & Bros, 1940. Kindle Book.