Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Native Son

Native Son by Richard Wright is a unique novel--in relation to my research focus--because it weaves a criminal investigation, Depression era race relations, an ode to the Red scare, and Gothic elements together into one work that sheds great light on the psychological rationale of utterly poor African Americans. The first two parts of the novel, specifically, are of most interest to me since they contain a host of rich Gothic elements; the third part digresses into weighty courtroom rhetoric. However, Native Son, as the title suggests, centers on the actions of Bigger Thomas, who lives in the ghetto of Chicago during the thirties. Bigger, as the oldest male of a family without a patriarch, is expected to get a job in order to provide much needed income for his struggling family. However, its clear from the beginning that Bigger has his own plans in mind that usually involve personal gratification, rather than hard work. Bigger is frustrated with his ethnic identity, which leads to some dark behavior, on his part, throughout the novel. However, Bigger's main problem is that he does not know how to communicate with the white community. He knows that he is black; therefore, he thinks that whites will all view him as subordinate. He fails to understand the individuality of whites, especially the genuine kindness of the Daltons.

In terms of oppression, I think that in this novel its a two-way street: naturalistic forces certainly lead Bigger to suffocate Mary Dalton; however, Bigger also invites an excess of outcry from the public through his efforts to manipulate the investigation with the ransom note. Once Bigger realizes that he has been caught in Mary Dalton's bedroom, he knows that nothing good could come from the situation. He is black, and that is all the evidence that prosecutors need to charge him with rape. Therefore, when Mary begins to make noise, Bigger acts out of his own self-interest by smothering her with a pillow. He does not try to explain to Mrs. Dalton--who is blind--what has happened because Bigger knows that blacks and whites do not rationally work things out. However, through his actions, Bigger feels that he finally possesses his own sense of identity. No longer is he simply a young black man, instead he is the young black man that has committed the murder of Mary Dalton. Simply put: society regards him for something other than his race. 

In Native Son, the definition of minorities can also be expanded to included Communists and Jews. Indeed, this novel not only vividly describes the the discrimination that African Americans experience, but it also pays close attention to the negativity directed towards immigrants, who practice different customs and religions. Indeed, its interesting to ponder--especially in this novel-- whether African Americans or the Reds/Jews/Immigrants experience greater oppression from society? Although the Reds/Jews/Immigrants posed a undetectable visible threat to society, they could "pass." Conversely, African Americans were easy targets because of their skin color and detachment from white society.

In addition to the oppressive forces within the novel, there are also a myriad of Gothic symbols and elements that are also worth noting. Much of Bigger's psychological angst manifests in extremely dark behavior that transpires, primarily, in the first part of the work: he plans to rob a store, he masturbates in a theatre, he suffocates and decapitates Mary Dalton, and he mutilates the body of Bessie. Additionally, there are a variety of Gothic symbols throughout the novel as well: the rat that appears in the Thomas's apartment, Mrs. Dalton's white cat, the Dalton's furnace, the water tower that Bigger climbs, and Bigger's ransom note. The man-hunt of Bigger also struck me as particularly Gothic, and immediately reminded me of the man-hunt of the monster in Frankenstein. Indeed, Bigger is portrayed as a monster who satisfied his carnal desires and the disposed of his prey. The society that conditioned him to behave in this manner never took responsibility; however, they were quick to lame blame and sentence the perpetrator.     

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