Characterization

Native Son by Richard Wright

Outline
• The title: Native Son
• Book structure and characterization
• Psychoanalytic reading of Bigger Thomas through Book 1
• How « Bigger » Was Born (Essay)
 Book title (characterization)
• Book Title => immediate connection with Bigger.
• The title could be read as an attribution, or a qualification of the major
character.
• The title instantly makes the reader think about ideas of "nativism" and
"territory." The book presents a tension between Bigger's "native" status
and his lack of political rights.
• The idea of a "native son" applies to Bigger's status as an American. As
America's "native son," Bigger is born an American, but more importantly,
the person that he becomes, is a product of America's native soil and its
poor black communities.
• The novel continually presents Bigger's feelings of being trapped and his
lack of personal and physical freedom.
 Book title (characterization)
• The title encompasses several layers of meaning:
• Identity and belonging.
• Social and racial affiliation.
• Responsibility and Accountability.
• Conflict and Alienation.
• Ambiguity and Irony.
Book structure and characterization
• What significance is attributed to the structure of the book while
probing into the characterization of Bigger Thomas?
➢The structure of the narrative typically foregrounds the portrait of
the major character.
➢The structure simply follows a chronological account of what
happened to Bigger Thomas.
➢The web of events is tigtly related to the actions and reactions of the
major character.
➢Accordingly, the analysis of Bigger Thomas as a character moves
through negotiating the sum total of his feelings, actions and
reactions.
Book structure and characterization
• Book one (Fear): introduces the readers to Bigger and establishes the racial
tension and economic hardships faced by the character and his family.
• FEAR, the title of the first book, defines the emotions that grip the
protagonist.
• Where does fear emanate from?
• Apart from the horror and fright Bigger feels upon discovering Mary is dead, there is
the constant fear of never realizing the ‘black’ potential of the black characters.
• Book two (Flight): captures the feelings of the protagonist after killing
Mary.
• Book three (Fate): negotiates the ways Bigger’s fate was sealed.
Psychoanalytic reading of Bigger Thomas
• Reader impression: Bigger Thomas, struggles with negotiating the
different formulations of his identity, which are thrown into disarray
by a segregated, inequitable, and frequently hostile society.
• The instability of Bigger's identity is shown to be a product of the
psychological disorientation engendered by the environment of
racial terror he must cope with.
• The tension among the roles he adopts, and his real internal self
made out of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty complicate Bigger’s ability
to establish any stable identity.
Bigger Thomas and social effacement
• Bigger’s sense of self is based on artifice: he has no identity at all. What
may be considered as a guiding force is his chaotic fear.
=> The immovable social barriers facing him force Bigger to think that he is
merely « no man ». In a world of racial oppression « you ain’t a man no
more ».
=> The denial of manhood relates to white society’s highly successful
effacement of black identity that cast Bigger and his like into a prolonged
period of existential crisis.
=> Bigger is the outcome of the strategies of negation employed by a racist
white society.
=> Forcing a repression of identity in blacks was a means of excluding them
from the American narrative.
Troubled sense of identity
• One of the first emblematic passages that showcase embedded fear is
the « play white » game (pp.17-20).
=> The scenarios presented in this scene represent a microcosm of the
environments and roles that blacks were forced to accept.
=> It is clear that the institutions presented in these scenarios (the
military inst., the economic inst., and the presidency) are clearly
oppressive instruments for black people in America.
=> This scene represents the psychological pressure of existing in an
environment that demands the artificial adoption of so many different
roles. This will necessarily lead to Bigger’s psychological disorientation.
 Bigger’s fractured world and sense of
belonging
• The character’s plight is much more bigger in this sense because his sense of
belonging is not going to comfort him from the fractured world he lives in.
=> The black community is not perceived as a shelter easing his psychological
anxiety.
=> His relation to the community is difficult and complicates his efforts his inner
and outer selves in harmony. (the example of the Old Blum’s heist they plan).
• Bigger's multiple identities converge in this scene as he tries to negotiate the
contradicting impulses. As his outward aggression battles his inner anxiety, a
third identity, that of submissive deferral to whites, pushes the tension to a
climax. Bigger's fear of and automatic outward submissiveness toward whites
represent a psychological barrier against which are arrayed both his social
bravado and his very real need to express some inexplicable aggression. (p.25)
then (pp.38-9)
Disorientation and violence
• Bigger’s violent reaction towards Gus is likened to a rape scene. It actually
anticipates what to come in the story and builds up the myth of the black
rapist consumed by the white community.
• Disorentation is also portrayed through Bigger’s journey in the white
neighborhood. (p.43)
=> This suggests he is aware of the difficulty that lies ahead in reconciling the
identity he would be forced to adopt at the Dalton house with that of his life
in the black belt.
=> When Bigger arrives at the Dalton house, we are presented with a
character nearly unrecognizable as Bigger. This Bigger is one of retiring
silence and "yessuhs” and “nawsuhs”.
=> The black, forced into a disorienting existential dilemma cannot but suffer
some psychological damage from having to create a false identity and
suppress those character traits proscribed by the white majority.
Identity problems and rage
• Bigger’s exposure to the characters of Mary and Jan Erlone is unique of its
kind.
• During their interaction with Bigger both characters wrongly though that
they were able to look beyond race and color. In their attempt to abolish
race distinctions, rather than humanizing Bigger, made him feel like a dog.
=> Both characters led him to a catastrophic psychological tension and
favored his extreme disorientation. (pp.66-7)
=> The restaurant episode is also a confusing experience for Bigger. In this
space, Bigger can not segregate his identities.
=> Jack greets Bigger in the restaurant but the latter cannot display his
defensive bravado to Jack while his submissiveness to whites is in effect with
Mary and Jan present.
How Bigger Was Born
• What significance shall we attribute to this essay?
• Relationship to the literary text
• A form of metafiction
 Relationship to the literary text
• Contextual Background: it is a companion piece to Native Son, explaining the
historical, social, and psychological influences behind Bigger Thomas. Wright
reveals how real-life experiences shaped the novel’s central character.
• Character Construction: Wright deconstructs Bigger, showing how he is a
composite of real people. This analysis deepens our understanding of Bigger
as more than a fictional protagonist—he becomes an archetype of racial
oppression.
• Thematic Reinforcement: The essay expands on themes present in Native
Son, such as systemic racism, fear, and the psychological impact of
oppression. By providing real-world examples, Wright strengthens the novel’s
claim that Bigger’s violence is a conditioned response to his environment.
A form of metafiction
• Self-Reflexivity: discussing the writing process, struggles with
representation, and choices in crafting Bigger’s character.
• Blurring Fact and Fiction: The essay suggests that Bigger, though
fictional, is rooted in reality. => The character’s emergence from real-
life patterns.
• Commentary on Narrative Construction: Wright examines his own
biases and external pressures, such as fears of white
misinterpretation or rejection from Black middle-class readers,
showing how societal factors shape storytelling.
Major points highlighted in the essay
1. Bigger as a Composite Character – Wright presents the protagonist
as an amalgamation of various real-life figures he encountered
during his childhood and early adult life. Each "Bigger" he knew
exhibited different forms of rebellion, fear, and frustration against
systemic racism.
2. Bigger’s Defiance and Isolation – The different Bigger figures that
Wright encountered often challenged authority, broke social rules,
and faced violent consequences. They rejected both white
oppression and, in some cases, the religious or submissive aspects
of Black culture.
Major points highlighted in the essay
3. Environmental Determinism – Wright argues that Bigger’s behavior
is not an inherent flaw but a product of the oppressive environment
he was born into.
4. Bigger as an American Archetype – While Bigger is a Black character,
Wright suggests that he represents a broader category of alienated and
frustrated individuals across different racial and national backgrounds.
5. Bigger’s Psychological State – Wright emphasizes Bigger’s fear,
suppressed emotions, and reactionary violence. His actions are often
impulsive, driven by a deep-seated sense of exclusion and an unfulfilled
desire for power and recognition.
Major points highlighted in the essay
6. Literary and Political Symbolism – Wright intended Bigger to
symbolize the consequences of racial and economic oppression in
America. He connects Bigger’s fate to the larger social and political
structures that create individuals who lash out due to their
marginalization.
7. Wright’s Struggle in Writing Bigger – The author acknowledges his
own internal conflicts in portraying Bigger truthfully, particularly
concerning how white and Black audiences might react. He ultimately
commits to writing Bigger as he is—angry, alienated, and violent—
without moralizing or softening his depiction.