Book Review
Oct. 25th, 2008 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariNative Son
by Richard Wright
This profound novel concerns the short, troubled life of Bigger Thomas, an African American living on the South Side of Chicago in 1930. He and his family live in abject poverty. Through a relief organization, Bigger gets a job as a chauffeur for the Daltons, a very wealthy white family. On Bigger's first day of work, he brings Daltons' daughter, Mary, home drunk and has to help her up to her room. Just after Bigger has gotten Mary to her bed, Mrs. Dalton approaches the room and Bigger accidentally smothers Mary out of his fear of being discovered in a white woman's bedroom. He then tries to hide the body by burning it in the Dalton's furnace. This leads Bigger down a path of further crime. The conclusion of Native Son concerns Bigger's trial and his lawyer's attempt to save him from the death penalty. During this time, Bigger reflects on his life and actions and begins to develop greater self-understanding. This part of the book also provides a platform for Wright, through the lawyer character, to expound upon the effects of poverty, segregation, and racial oppression.
I found Native Son to be a very complex and thought-provoking novel. Bigger often comes across as brutal, but there were also times I felt great sympathy for him and his situation. His crimes are serious, and he is often filled with hate and anger. However, the oppression and poverty in which Bigger lived was so extreme. And, especially towards the end of the book, Bigger comes to some striking realizations about himself and his life. Wright also does a terrific job of taking a close, hard look at the role of oppression in Bigger's life and actions without trying to absolve him of responsibility.
by Richard Wright
This profound novel concerns the short, troubled life of Bigger Thomas, an African American living on the South Side of Chicago in 1930. He and his family live in abject poverty. Through a relief organization, Bigger gets a job as a chauffeur for the Daltons, a very wealthy white family. On Bigger's first day of work, he brings Daltons' daughter, Mary, home drunk and has to help her up to her room. Just after Bigger has gotten Mary to her bed, Mrs. Dalton approaches the room and Bigger accidentally smothers Mary out of his fear of being discovered in a white woman's bedroom. He then tries to hide the body by burning it in the Dalton's furnace. This leads Bigger down a path of further crime. The conclusion of Native Son concerns Bigger's trial and his lawyer's attempt to save him from the death penalty. During this time, Bigger reflects on his life and actions and begins to develop greater self-understanding. This part of the book also provides a platform for Wright, through the lawyer character, to expound upon the effects of poverty, segregation, and racial oppression.
I found Native Son to be a very complex and thought-provoking novel. Bigger often comes across as brutal, but there were also times I felt great sympathy for him and his situation. His crimes are serious, and he is often filled with hate and anger. However, the oppression and poverty in which Bigger lived was so extreme. And, especially towards the end of the book, Bigger comes to some striking realizations about himself and his life. Wright also does a terrific job of taking a close, hard look at the role of oppression in Bigger's life and actions without trying to absolve him of responsibility.
