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Examples Of Racial Oppression In Native Son

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Richard Wright’s novel, Native Son, talks about the racial oppression that was going on in chicago in the 1930s. The protagonist who is Bigger Thomas and who is African American in which talks about this fear, hatred, and anger that racism has impressed upon him that ravages his individuality so severely that his only means of self-expression is to commit violence acts. After killing Mary Dalton the only daughter of the Dalton’s, Bigger must contend with the law, the hatred of society, and his own destructive inner feelings in which brought him into this situation in the first place. Eventually sending Bigger to be killed by the electric chair and the court not having any kind of mercy to him. When reading the novel people can interpret the …show more content…

When people read the novel, they may think that the way that they portray African Americans is not true whatsoever. It makes it look like African Americans are animals and their only motif is to cause harm to others in order for them to feel superior and feel okay about themselves. For example, when Bigger is trying to put Mary in the furnace he does not feel guilty whatsoever, but in fact feels good about it and feels a rush of adrenaline rushing through his body. Also, when Bigger eventually kills Bessie so that she wouldn’t tell the police, he feels this type of adrenaline again in which makes him feel good about himself and does not feel guilty about it. This is not true, in which not all African Americans are is trying to cause harm to others just because so they could feel good about themselves, or get their self esteem up. Violence is not the only the answer to get the message out to the world that racism is not okay and it should come to a stop. There are other methods in doing that and at the same time not cause harm to anybody else. For example, trying to create brochures and pamphlets in which people can read and learn off

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