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Native Son, a novel by American author Richard Wright, was published in 1940. It is a searing exploration of systemic racism and its impact on Bigger Thomas, a young Black man in 1930s Chicago. Trapped in poverty, Bigger’s life takes a tragic turn when he accidentally kills a wealthy white woman.
- Part Four
A summary of Book One (part four) in Richard Wright's Native...
- Part One
A summary of Book One (part one) in Richard Wright's Native...
- Full Book Summary
A short summary of Richard Wright's Native Son. This free...
- Part Two
A summary of Book Two (part two) in Richard Wright's Native...
- Themes
A summary of Themes in Richard Wright's Native Son. Search...
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- Motifs
Popular Culture. Throughout Native Son, Wright depicts...
- Character List
The protagonist of Native Son. A poor, uneducated Black man,...
- Key Facts
Full Title Native Son. Author Richard Wright. Type of work...
- Bigger Thomas
As the protagonist and main character of Native Son, Bigger...
- Part Four
A short summary of Richard Wright's Native Son. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Native Son.
- Richard Wright, Arnold Rampersad
- 1940
- Plot
- Synopsis
- Analysis
An alarm clock rings in a dark Chicago apartment. Bigger Thomas, a young black man, shares the apartment with his mother, his sister Vera, and his brother Buddy. The apartment has only one room, which forces Bigger and Buddy to turn their backs to avoid the shame of seeing Vera and their mother dress. A huge black rat runs across the floor. Vera co...
With the immediate danger gone, Mrs. Thomas turns all her attention on Bigger, first asking him why he has frightened his sister, then blaming him for the familys poverty and accusing him of thinking only of himself. She warns him that if he does not change his ways and stop associating with his gang, he will end up in the gallows. Bigger tries to ...
Bigger hates his family because of their poverty and suffering and because he feels there is nothing he can do to help them. He believes that he cannot afford to let himself feel their shame and misery too strongly without also feeling the urge to kill himself or someone else. He has cultivated a façade of outer toughness to protect himself from th...
A concise biography of Richard Wright plus historical and literary context for Native Son.
Richard’s Wright’s debut novel Native Son was an immediate success upon its publication in 1940, selling 250,000 copies in three weeks. Today, it is widely recognized as not only Wright’s greatest work, but as one of the most significant American novels of the twentieth century.
Notes of a Native Son is a collection of ten essays by James Baldwin, published in 1955, mostly tackling issues of race in America and Europe. The volume, as his first non-fiction book, compiles essays of Baldwin that had previously appeared in such magazines as Harper's Magazine, Partisan Review, and The New Leader.
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Need help with Book 1 in Richard Wright's Native Son? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and analysis.
