Character Analysis Of Native Son - 2011 Words

When a child is born, it is not up to him or her what race, gender, or social class he’s born into. Yet, he is treated and nurtured based on these physical attributes that he had no control over. A male African American living in the outer boroughs is arguably given some of the harshest stereotypes and lowest expectations for success. Knowing this, Wright created Bigger Thomas, the main character in Native Son. Bigger lives in a one bedroom apartment with his family and works as a driver for a family on the white side of Chicago. Bigger is surrounded by people telling him that he will not succeed and that he will end up a criminal as â€Å"every† person sharing his physical appearance has. This constant doubt causes Bigger to lose faith in†¦show more content†¦Combining nature and nurture made it easier to stereotype groups of people. This exposure to the constant blending of nature and nurture forced African American’s to see themselves as forced pr oducts of white ideologies. Bigger believes that the whites live â€Å"right down in here in [his] stomach† (Wright 21). Bigger feels that he is constantly fed what the whites want him to be, so much so that he is now physically ingesting it. This constant reinforcement of the same ideals causes a loss of self in the individual. During the 1930s and 1940s Chicago was a divided environment. It was filled with whites who openly hated blacks, whites who wanted to make a difference in blacks’ lives, and blacks who felt alone and scared. Bigger knew he had no power to help his family out of this environment, he also knew that if â€Å"he allowed himself to feel [the] fullness [of] how they lived he would be swept out of himself with fear and despair† (Wright 13). The feeling of guilt Bigger had for not being able to help them caused him to distance himself from them emotionally and often physically. This separation caused less of an impact of guilt on a basic level , but if bigger ever began to think about the distance he would realize that it was doing more damage than it was solving. These emotions having a constant place in Bigger’s life cause him to feel constricted and, trapped in an areaShow MoreRelatedNative Son Character Analysis1069 Words   |  5 PagesRichard Wright, author of Native Son, commences the novel with an introduction of the morning routine of the African-American protagonist, Bigger Thomas, showing that he lives in a rat-infested one bedroom apartment with his mother, brother, and sister. These poor living conditions demonstrate to the reader one of the many struggles African-Americans face living in a predominately Caucasian society that judges their race by fallacious stereotypes given due to the color of their skin. As a resultRead MoreExistentialism vs. Naturalism in Native Son1657 Words   |  7 PagesWhen I was recently suffering from the dreaded sweet tooth syndrome, I hadn’t the slightest clue tha t the result would lead to a personal and universal philosophical debate worthy of comparison to Richard Wright’s Native Son. I found a bag of Dove milk chocolates in my cupboard, and proceeded to snack mindlessly. If you have ever had a Dove chocolate bar, you may know that the foil wrappers include adorable anecdotes, encouraging you to â€Å"take a well-deserved bubble bath†, or reminding you that â€Å"whenRead MoreThe Great Journey Through History in John Demos’s The Unredeemed889 Words   |  3 Pageswriting and historical review, John Demos’s The Unredeemed Captive is a paragon of history writing that is simultaneously informative and intriguing. Through his entertaining text and thorough analysis, the readers may find themselves as captivated by the story as the Deerfield captives were by the Native Americans. Although often criticized for his style, Demos has produced an evolutionary way to encapsulate facts through descriptive writing. Prov iding innumerable sources that are presented inRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Secret River1703 Words   |  7 PagesFamily, an English family recently transported to Australia and the Dhurag people, an Aboriginal family already living on the land. The purpose of the play is to bring attention the racist and aggressive actions of white settlers in relation to the native population. It is important that Australia recognises its wrongdoings in the past and moves towards reconciliation. Bovell chose to focus on the more pivotal moments of conflict to position the text responder to draw focus to the issue of land ownershipRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1705 Words   |  7 Pages2014 The Tempest Written between 1610 and 1611, The Tempest by William Shakespeare is the final play penned by the famous Bard. The play portrays the illusory struggle of power and conscience through the character of Prospero and his egocentric motives. Politically, the play can be seen as an analysis of important political issues relevant to that of oppression and imperialistic tendencies of the time. Artistically, The Tempest emphasizes the nature of art, more prominently, theatrical art. Being theRead MoreHeart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad1149 Words   |  5 PagesDarkness, author Joseph Conrad sheds light on the primal nature in all men, casting a shadow—a darkness that is the result of being freed of societies norms. An in-depth analysis of Joseph Conrad and the work shows how well he is able to combine story elements to make an engaging read. Conrad is able to do this through his characters, such as protagonist Marlow, whose experiences through his journey shows him vividly, the violenc e and brutality even the gentlest people are capable of. In addition toRead MoreThe Shining Film Analysis1360 Words   |  6 Pages Thematic Analysis of The Shining â€Å"Here’s Johnny!† A famous line from The Shining, when Jack Torrance goes mad and is hacking at the bathroom door with an axe to mutilate his wife, Wendy and son, Danny into many little bloody pieces for disobeying him. The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick. Jack Torrance played by Jack Nicholson, quits his job as a school teacher and takes a job as caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado during the winter, hopingRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1308 Words   |  6 Pagesis a novel with literary merit—and lots of it. Part of the novel’s appeal lies in its compelling themes which strike chords that resound throughout time and across linguistic barriers. The clash of cultures, the struggle with change, and fatal character flaws are the main themes which Achebe’s novel probes. In order to sculpt a literary monument to the human condition and these universal themes, the author, Achebe, employs a broad variety of literary tools. Literary devices play a crucial role inRead MoreThe Unredeemed Captain Is The Factual Telling Of The Deerfield Massacre Essay1431 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Williams family who lost their daughter as a captive to the Bear tribe of the Mohawk Native Americans. The book deeply explores religion and how it relates to the ideas of savagery and family through comparison of experiences in the lives of the Puritans and the lives of the Native American captors. The Deerfield Massacre occurred in 1704 in Massachusetts. The massacre was carried out by a tribe of Native Americans in retaliation against French and English attacks. The small town of DeerfieldRead MoreConflict of Convictions1695 Words   |  7 PagesE. Marshall October 16, 2012 English Composition 1102 Table of Contents Section 1: Introduction page 3 Section 2: Historical Context page 4 Section 3: Common Theme in other literature page 5 Section 4: Analysis page 7 Section 5: Conclusion page 9 Section 6: Works Cited page page 10 Introduction The literary piece â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† by George Orwell, highlights the apprehensions of a colonial officers obligation to shoot a rogue