Customer Reviews

Native Son Abridged Ed

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Author Richard Wright (1908-60) was a master of description, and he captures the feel of Chicago and our often cold-shouldered society in this bitter 1940 classic. It's the story of Bigger Thomas, a self-loathing young black man that accidentally kills a white coed, and then kills again in an effort to evade detection. Bigger is hardly sympathetic, but his tragic hand is forced in part by racism. It's as if the author is saying, "Your injustices helped create Bigger Thomas!" Wright's gripping (if contrived) treatment of Bigger's trial indicts such peripheral characters as Mr. Dalton, a supposedly decent man that funds Negro charities - but only after fleecing blacks in the rental market. Readers come away understanding the cruelties of racial injustice, and comprehending why Wright might have named his character Bigger. Some say this classic was loosely based on a 1938 killing on the city's South Side.

NATIVE SON is rather wordy in its last chapters, and many dislike the author's pro-communism - naïve sentiments Wright later dropped after learning more about Stalinist Russia. Despite these minor flaws, this classic is gripping, persuasive, and probably Wright's best work.

This is one of the best stories I have ever read. As I read the book, I felt myself somehow tied to the main character, Bigger. I cheered for him, was ashamed with him, and I had a hard time putting the book down because it was so enthralling. It was great to be able to feel a part of a life that was so different than my own. The culture of Bigger Thomas is something very foreign to me, and I appreciated being able to feel like I was in his shoes. Richard Wright is undoubtedly a great writer, and I am looking forward to reading more of his books, enjoying his stories and trying to understand his ideas that seem so illogical to me. The story was improbable is some parts, and I think the author sacrificed reality for the philosophy that he was pushing. This didn't take away from the suspense or interest of the story.

Though the story was great, the author had some ideological axes to grind that were very evident in this novel. At first, I felt his agenda was race (the oppression of blacks). Then I felt his agenda was politics (the greatness of socialism). But I think his agenda goes even farther than those two issues, the agenda has roots much deeper than race and politics. The issue at hand is a worldview issue, in which Richard Wright tries to show the supremacy of the individual over anything else (society, religion, race) but in his world, the individual is powerless to the society. I believe Wright has given too much credit and power to society. In the book, Bigger Thomas is portrayed as a puppet in the hands of a white-controlled society. Though society is undoubtedly influential, in no way can it control individuals in the way that the main character, Bigger, was controlled in this book. Richard Wright is living proof that society is not supreme, for he wrote books that were definitely not wanted by the society that he thinks hates him and his ideas.

In my opinion, this ideology is the easy way out. Blame goes on everyone but self, and the individual is justified in making poor, selfish, and destructive decisions. In the book, the white majority was definitely wrong in the way they treated the black minority. But it is my contention that this is not ground for rape and murder which Bigger Thomas was guilty of (the accidental murder of Mary and the deliberate rape and murder of Bessie). Maybe I am ignorant like the character, Mr. Dalton, but I think that the powerful and the rich ought not to be blamed for the bad decisions that individuals make, even though the powerful and the rich may be a negative influence. Society is never going to be perfect. And even though America obviously has its problems (especially in the 40's) its society is much better than most around the world. Oppression has shown its ugly head in far worse ways than America ever has. The choice is ours: puppet or person? What would you like to choose?

This was a great book. The story was great and it caused me to think. I would recommend the book to anyone. I read the introduction after I read the book, and it was very helpful in understanding Richard Wright and the context in which he lived. Also helpful were the appendices which gave more context to the book.

I read this in high school, more years ago than I care to admit. Now, after having picked it up again, I find it still as fresh and exciting as it was back then. Wright and Baldwin are two of my favorite authors and they should be given more credit for their remarkable accomplishments.

Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Native Son
by
Richard Wright

I read the Native Son By Richard Wright. I liked the beginning of the story because it gives you an insight to Bigger Thomas's pre-story life. It explains that Bigger had been involved in criminal activites and attended a reform school. Also in the beginning of the story, it shows his demeanor when he kills a rat in a very disgusting way. This re-enforced the fact that he was troubled.

I also like that the typical stereo type of white people hating blacks is cleared up showing that even before the equal opportunity laws existed, some whites gave African Americans chances to better themselves. An example from this story would be how Mr. Dalton, aka the Rich white man, takes the risk of hiring a young black man, who has had a criminal history, to be his family's chauffer. Another instance is when Mrs. Dalton asks Bigger if he wishes to attend night school to better his education, since he was only educated to the 8th grade.

Another interesting part is where the plot starts to add up. On the first night on the job, Bigger is faced with some excitement and some peculiar happenings. For instance, he is driving Mary Dalton, the Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, and picks up one of Mary's friends, Jan. He is a boy with a weird name, kind of like a "Boy named Sue." Jan insists on driving. Jan happens to be a Communist and try's to push some communist pamphlets on to Bigger to show that the Communist party wants to help the African American community. This surprised Bigger and made him feel uncomfortable.

The one thing that I didn't like about this book was the graphic description of a later incident with Mary Dalton, when he tries to conceal an event that happens between them.

I also looked to find some information on Richard Wright. I found that in real life he was connected to the communist party and had actually married a white woman. He later divorced and then married another white women. I believe that he put some of his real life experiences and feelings into this book. Maybe he was thinking of his first wife when he came up with the character Mary Dalton because in the story there are bitter feelings toward Mary and since he divorced his first wife there may have been bitter feelings.

Although "Native Son" is not written in the first person, the narrative concentrates almost exclusively on the central character, Bigger Thomas. This gives the story all the intensity and focus of a first-person account, but enables the author to use a more articulate voice than his subject would have been capable of. Few novelists have employed this technique in such an uncompromising way. We are with Thomas every breath, every step. I think few readers will get to like him, any more than Wright himself does, but we get to know and understand him. He is a product of 1930s America, of deeply ingrained racial prejudice and extreme economic disparity. Wright does not suggest that this excuses Bigger, only that it explains him. The writing style is lean and muscular, sparse and direct. We are given only bare descriptions as Wright allows action and dialogue to carry the story.

It is worth dealing with a couple of criticisms posted by other reviewers: firstly, the wooden axe handle does not survive the fire; we are told specifically that only the metal axehead remains. Secondly, it is entirely plausible that, in his panic, Bigger did not think to hide under the bed. Indeed, depending on the style of bed, it may not have been possible. The plot is actually quite sound, the only really implausible element being the gathering of the entire cast of characters in the prison cell, something Wright himself acknowledged could not happen in reality but for which he allowed himself dramatic license. It is true though, that the final phase goes on too long and the long diatribes from Max are unconvincing. Another socialist writer, Upton Sinclair, suffered from the same tendency to preach instead of relying on the story to carry the message. Despite these reservations, "Native Son" remains an important social commentary and a forceful and compelling portrait of a lost soul.

Bigger Thomas is one of the most compelling characters that 20th century American literature has produced. He commands both hatred and sympathy at the same time. He is full of evil and yet also very human. He is one of those characters that will haunt his readers long after the book has been closed.

Richard Wright should be applauded for his courage in choosing to take the approach he did with this novel. He does not create a typical hero who will inspire others. He does not try to paint black America in rosier shades in order to convince the white majority to give up their prejudices. Instead he gives us one of the worst of the bunch, a directionless punk, a criminal, an abuser of women, a young man full of anger and hatred. And yet we see the world through his eyes, and only his eyes, and eventually we come to see the humanity in him, despite his many flaws. We come to care for this kid, even after he commits two heinous crimes, and (dare I say?) we even hope for his escape or an acquittal in the courtroom. Why is that? Perhaps it is because the inevitable outcome is so obvious, so preordained. We want to hold on to a small glimmer of hope that perhaps there will be something to cheer for.

Wright gets a bit preachy at times, especially at the end when Max makes his passionate plea for mercy on Bigger's behalf in the courtroom. It reminded me of the 96-page radio address at the end of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Fortunately Wright keeps his speech to under 10 pages, but I'm always a bit annoyed when authors completely abandon subtlety and simply decide to speak through their characters like through puppets. I'm not sure it was even necessary in this case. Throughout the book Wright presents a powerful indictment of American society, and the reader does not need to be beaten over the head with a brick (excuse the stolen reference) in order to get the point across. But that being said, this is an excellent book, and a very important book, one that should be taught widely in high schools.

Powerful, gripping, but a bit fatalistic novel of a young Negro chauffeur in 1930's Chicago who finds himself the victim of unfavorable socioecomic circumstance. Wright's Bigger Thomas is a stand-in for black America of the early 20th century, driven to vile deeds out of fear and desperation from his disenfranchisement by a white-dominated society. From the very first scene with a rat-hunt in his family apartment (which nicely prefigures his own unenviable position on the fringes of society), Bigger is characterized as a guy who just seems to be getting the short end of the stick in just about everything, and only truly feels empowered when he expresses himself through violence.

Despite the intensity of its subject material, the book is not without flaws. In addition to the plausibility issues involved with Mrs. Dalton and the furnace (I really don't see how she couldn't have felt something was not right in Mary's room, nor how a burning body doesn't give off a noticable, rank odor), the lengthly third section of the novel undermines much of the cohesion of the rest of the story. Given that its primary focus is on a trial whose outcome (thanks to the precedence of the other two chapters) we can easily predict, the tension and momentum that drove the rest of the story is absent. In its place, we're left with a long, rambling closing statement by Bigger's lawyer that seems superfluous and not at all clarifying, much less convincing.

It seems as if the author wanted (using Max as a proxy) to get up on his soapbox at the end of the story and directly reproach the evils of racism, ignorance, and poverty that led to Bigger's downfall, but there is no real need for this, seeing as how his masterful narrative of Bigger's indiscretions and lack of foresight has already established this as strongly, if implicitly, as possible. There's little need for an author to devote fifty pages at the end of the book to explain the story that just preceded it, especially one as uniform in tone and mood as this one. As a whole, I think that Native Son is a great, valuable novel, but I wish that Wright would have written it with a better appreciation for subtlety and a greater faith in the power of imagery rather than direct explication.

Native Son is an excellent example of American literature at it's best. I found myself turning the pages endlessly completely captivated by Richard Wright's incredible imagery and flow. The story begins in Chicago, where a young man named Bigger spends each day hating the white society in which he is forced to live. Bigger turns to a life of crime and hangs with his gang until he is offered a job at a rich family's home as their driver. Bigger accepts the position and that is when the story really becomes interesting. The book is easy to read and I found myself breezing through it at a good pace. This is an important book, but also an enjoyable reading experience. A must-read! Other books I recommend: Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Balwin, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez

Hey you from Ohio, this book is not in the civil war time period. It's in the 1930's. Just thought I'd let you know.

This book is awesome. It's goes deep into the thoughts and feelings of Bigger Thomas about the relationship between blacks and whites in the early 1900's. This book really opens up your mind to the persecution that Black Americans have endured since coming to this country. Everyone who loves books should read this story.

Time: 1940's. Place: USA. Subject: Race relations. A young black man named Bigger, oppressed by a white society, accidentally kills the daughter of his new employer. He hides the body in the furnace then later attempts to burn it, which is almost comical in its absurdity. His crime is discovered, he flees, involving his girlfriend whom he later murders for fear she'll endanger him. He is brought to trial and sentenced to die. An unsympathetic character, paired with an extremely sympathetic situation of racial bigotry. The moral: hate and anger is self-destructive. Clearly showed how and why someone could become a person like Bigger without glossing over his coldness. It did not use sentimental prose and characters. Well done.