Native Son (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Richard Wright
- First Published: 1940
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The 1930’s
- Setting: An American city
- 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
Characters Discussed
Bigger Thomas, a young African American, frustrated by poverty and race prejudice, who has a pathological hatred of white people. He is reluctantly drawn into alliance with his employer’s daughter Mary and her sweetheart, who are crusading with the communists to help blacks. After an evening of drinking, Bigger carries the drunken Mary to her room. To prevent her from making a sound that will alarm her blind mother, he puts a pillow over her face and accidentally smothers her. This act releases all of his pent-up emotions. He burns the body in the...
[The entire page is 1056 words long]
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