Native Son Literary Analysis
Conor Mulroy
Ms. Millar
English 2
September 30, 2014
Native Son by Richard Wright In this story and in many others of Richard Wright’s books, he explains his main theme for racism over and over. In Native Son, he puts us into another persons point of view (Bigger Thomas) to explain the reasons for what they did. In the story, Bigger Thomas was a murderer. In Richards story, he makes us understand Bigger’s side to show that he was not born a violent criminal. Wright used racism, and the social conditions in which his character was raised as an excuse for what his Bigger did. In this story there was a common theme that Richard Wright emphasized. His main theme was the effect of racism towards the African american population. In the story “they are given such low-paying and transient employment that they cannot maintain a secure living”(Native Son Themes) In the book, Wright shows how the stress of poverty and racism causes people to lash out under pressure. This caused white people to be afraid of them which forced black people into more poverty and racial profiling. Racism was the main topic of conversation in Wright’s books. …show more content…
Richard Wright chose racism for his theme because there was a lot of it during his time and they had no clue how it was effecting others.
He brought this problem to the surface in his books to better explain how it was damaging our society. He was bothered how the black society was being treated so horribly. “Richard Nathaniel Wright was a communist African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction.”("Richard Wright [author]). Considering the fact that he was african american, he chose this theme because him, and many others like him, could relate to his main topic. He wanted other people to have a better understanding on the effects of
racism. Richard Wright bases his character Bigger Thomas after himself in many ways. “When Wright was five, his father left the family and his mother was forced to take domestic jobs away from the house” (Richard Wright's Life). Throughout his life, he and his younger brother were in poverty and had too much weight on their shoulders such as his character did. The best example that he could prove and show in his books of racism was himself. He was able to show his life of criticism and racism and how it affected him and others throughout his books with many characters that resembled him.
Richard Wright wrote in this way because he had lived in this poverty and understood what it was doing to the african american population. He wanted for everyone to know what was happening behind closed doors, and all of the little things that they were getting so used too. He understood the problems and effects of racism so he showed it through all of his books. Wright was a good author for his time period because he could relate his problems to others to not make them feel alone. He understood how racism was affecting the people and how to break the cycle.
Ms. Millar
English 2
September 30, 2014
Native Son by Richard Wright In this story and in many others of Richard Wright’s books, he explains his main theme for racism over and over. In Native Son, he puts us into another persons point of view (Bigger Thomas) to explain the reasons for what they did. In the story, Bigger Thomas was a murderer. In Richards story, he makes us understand Bigger’s side to show that he was not born a violent criminal. Wright used racism, and the social conditions in which his character was raised as an excuse for what his Bigger did. In this story there was a common theme that Richard Wright emphasized. His main theme was the effect of racism towards the African american population. In the story “they are given such low-paying and transient employment that they cannot maintain a secure living”(Native Son Themes) In the book, Wright shows how the stress of poverty and racism causes people to lash out under pressure. This caused white people to be afraid of them which forced black people into more poverty and racial profiling. Racism was the main topic of conversation in Wright’s books. …show more content…
Richard Wright chose racism for his theme because there was a lot of it during his time and they had no clue how it was effecting others.
He brought this problem to the surface in his books to better explain how it was damaging our society. He was bothered how the black society was being treated so horribly. “Richard Nathaniel Wright was a communist African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction.”("Richard Wright [author]). Considering the fact that he was african american, he chose this theme because him, and many others like him, could relate to his main topic. He wanted other people to have a better understanding on the effects of
racism. Richard Wright bases his character Bigger Thomas after himself in many ways. “When Wright was five, his father left the family and his mother was forced to take domestic jobs away from the house” (Richard Wright's Life). Throughout his life, he and his younger brother were in poverty and had too much weight on their shoulders such as his character did. The best example that he could prove and show in his books of racism was himself. He was able to show his life of criticism and racism and how it affected him and others throughout his books with many characters that resembled him.
Richard Wright wrote in this way because he had lived in this poverty and understood what it was doing to the african american population. He wanted for everyone to know what was happening behind closed doors, and all of the little things that they were getting so used too. He understood the problems and effects of racism so he showed it through all of his books. Wright was a good author for his time period because he could relate his problems to others to not make them feel alone. He understood how racism was affecting the people and how to break the cycle.