Richard Wright’s Native Son portrays the life of Blacks during the 1940’s. The reader gets a first hand look at the lives of Blacks. We see the problems they face, the decisions that are needed, and most of all, the effect of the rich-white race has on Blacks. With in the first sixty-nine pages we the reader can easily see and feel the effect of the whites on the blacks. Richard Wright’s style of writing is not very profound and elegant, but more colloquial and easy to read.
In the opening scene of the novel with the huge rat, we see the conditions of living that many blacks endure. The rat emphasizes the poverty in which Bigger and his family are living. It would seem that only in third world countries families would live with rats, but the novel takes place in the United States of America. Richard Wright successfully portrayed the living conditions of blacks during his time.
Bigger and his friends are a very close bunch. They do just about everything together, when it comes to watching movies, talking about girls, and most of all getting into trouble. The gang plans to rob. They have robbed many times before but, something is different this time. The owner of the store is a white man. The effect the white man has on the black population is tremendous. It scares the gang, to know that the white man is in total control. And to rob one, is just calling for death.
We can also see the effect of the white man, when Bigger goes to the job which Mr. Dalton, a white millionaire, gave Bigger. Before Bigger even enters the house, he has a certain amount of respect for the white man. Knowing all along, he his life could be taken. From years and years of persecution, the rituals and expectations of the white man were still alive. An example would be Bigger’s dilemma of whether he should enter from the front or the back. This sign of respect and unwritten rule by the white man effects Bigger’s life. Throughout the entire visit Bigger had with the Mr. Dalton, he had to think about every little move, thought and decision. Whether he should make eye contact, or should he think about the teenage girl. We see a totally different side of Bigger while he is at the Dalton house, compared to how he acted around his neighborhood and friends.
With his friends, Bigger is the main man. He is not scared of no one. He will stand up to anyone and anything of his own race. But when it comes to the white man, tough guy attitude goes out the window. Bigger does not know how to act around white people. This shows the effect of the white man that was very much alive during the 1940’s.
The first few pages of the novel have kept me interested and have given me an insight to the lifestyle of Blacks during the Richard Wright’s time.
As for the style of the author, it has made the novel an easy read. There are no big extravagant words needing to be looked up. The language is pretty casual, but still upholds the art of writing a novel. The words and ideas flow easily form idea to idea. (554)
1 comment:
Manley--you said, "But when it comes to the white man, tough guy attitude goes out the window. Bigger does not know how to act around white people."
Good point, and a little hard perhaps to grasp at first. But the races were so completely segregated, even in a Northern city like Chicago, that a young man like Bigger would have had very little communication with white people in his entire life. So when he does encounter them, his usual confidence vanishes and he doesn't know what to say or how to act.
Good start--keep reading, and check JStor for useful research material.
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