Quest of the Spirit: From Suffering to Acceptance

6.4 Part III: Minority Lit: A Child of Sorrow: Richard Wright's Native Son!

                                   Violence, Power, and Revenge in Richard Wright's Native Son

        "But only under the stress of hate was the conflict resolved. He had been so conditioned in a cramped environment that hard words or kicks alone knocked him upright and made him capable of action—action that was futile because the world was too much for him. It was then that he closed his eyes and struck out blindly, hitting what or whom he could, not looking or caring what or who hit back" (278). This passage from Richard Wright's Native Son characterizes protagonist Bigger Thomas' quest for meaning as a young, uneducated black boy growing up in a predominantly white American society of the 1930's. In this respect, the young anti-hero's coming-of-age symbolizes the unfortunate plight of black Americans across the nation. Through the use of social criticism, the author conveys a tone of tragic loss and futility, resulting from poverty and racial prejudice. In a society which refuses to recognize a human being because of his racial or ethnic background, young Bigger can never hope for the dreams and achievements of his white counterparts. For him, life was but "a sorrow to be accepted" (293). Bigger thinks to himself that "he did not want to make believe that it was solved, make believe that he was happy when he was not. He hated his mother for that way of hers which was like Bessie's. What his mother had was Bessie's whiskey, and Bessie's whiskey was his mother's religion. He did not want to sit on a bench and sing, or lie in a corner and sleep. It was when he read the newspapers or magazines, went to the movies, or walked along the streets with crowds, that he felt what he wanted: to merge himself with others and be a part of this world, to lose himself in it so he could find himself, to be allowed a chance to live like others, even though he was black" (278). Ironically, only through violence can he define himself. Only through acts of hatred and revenge can he compel others to acknowledge his existence. Ironically, the only act of self-will that gives him a distinct identity is murder. According to Wright, "He had murdered and had created a new life for himself. It was something that was all his own, and it was the first time in his life he had anything that others could not take from him." This shocking statement clearly indicts a society that refuses to acknowledge his very existence. Instead of aspiring to noble achievements, he now feels that he is destined to commit these heinous crimes which single him out as a unique individual. Bigger thinks to himself, "He had killed many times before, only on those other times there had been no handy victim or circumstance to make visible or dramatic his will to kill. His crime seemed natural; he felt that all of his life had been leading to something like this" (119). This is what he calls "the hidden meaning of his life" (119). Even relating the murder to his girlfriend Bessie "made him feel alive and gave him a heightened sense of the value of himself"(163). As he recounts the gruesome details, he "enjoys her agony, seeing and feeling the worth of himself in her bewildered desperation" (168). Ironically, the murder gives him a sense of confidence and autonomy, in which he admits to himself, "As long as he moved carefully and knew what he was about, he could handle things . . . As long as he could take his life into his own hands and dispose of it as he pleased, as long as he could decide just when and where he would run to, he need not be afraid. He felt he had his destiny in his grasp. He was more alive than he could ever remember having been; his mind and attention were pointed, focused toward a goal" (170). Bigger capitalizes upon the white society's inability to discern between his innate intelligence and his lack of education. Their confusion enables him to 1) blame the murder on Mary Dalton's boyfriend Jan (190), and 2) remain calm, knowing their acceptance of the ignorant black stereotype leads them to discount him as a suspect. This prejudice Wright attacks and uses as a foreshadowing of what could actually occur if white society fails to alter its current racial course. Bigger uses the violence associated with his murder as a means of avenging the prejudice his race has long endured. According to Bigger, "The knowledge that he had killed a white girl they loved and regarded as their symbol of beauty made him feel the equal of them, like a man who had somehow been cheated, but had now evened the score" (188).