Native Son (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Richard Wright
- First Published: 1940
- Type of Work: Protest Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: African Americans, Justice, Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Communism or communists, Politics, Racism, Murder or homicide, Midwest, Antiheroes, 1930’s, Poverty or poor people, Capital punishment, Trials, Law or legislation, Fear, Fate or fatalism
- Locales: Chicago, IL
Bigger Thomas, a 20-year-old black man, lives in Chicago’s South Side ghetto with his long-suffering mother, his younger sister Vera, and his younger brother Buddy. Unemployed, Bigger hangs out with his pals; they occasionally commit petty crimes to get spending money and prove their manhood. Bigger expresses his pent-up feelings mainly through violence.
Bigger gets a chance for a better life when the Daltons, a family of rich white liberals, hire him as a chauffeur. Disaster strikes on his first night on the job. He carries the Daltons’ drunken daughter, Mary, to her...
[The entire page is 888 words long]
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