Native Son by Richard Wright Summary

The compelling tale of Bigger Thomas, a young Black man living in 1930s Chicago during the Great Depression, is told in Richard Wright’s book Native Son. Each of the three sections of the book—Fear, Flight, and Fate—focuses on Bigger’s last days following a string of terrible incidents that permanently alter him and those around him.

The narrative illustrates how Bigger’s actions and thinking are influenced by racism, poverty, and a lack of options, ultimately guiding him down a terrible path.

Bigger and his family reside in a small, dilapidated apartment in a low-income area at the start of Native Son. When Bigger kills a big rat in their flat in the opening scene, it demonstrates his dissatisfaction with his life. He lives with his brother (Buddy), mother (Ma), and younger sister (Vera), all of whom are striving to make ends meet and are impacted by poverty.

Bigger is upset about the lack of chances he faces as a Black guy in a racist, divided culture and feels stuck in his life. He knows he will never be able to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. He believes that taking a low-paying job won’t improve his situation, despite his mother’s advice to stay out of trouble and pursue employment.

Bigger soon receives an opportunity from a relief organization to serve as a chauffeur for Henry Dalton, a wealthy white guy. Mr. Dalton, who identifies as progressive, is well-known for hiring Black employees and making donations to Black nonprofits.

Bigger grudgingly takes the work because he knows it’s one of his only opportunities to earn money. He feels uneasy and uncomfortable visiting the Daltons’ opulent estate on the day of his interview. He finds the Daltons’ wealth astounding, and he is uncomfortable and bitter among them.

When Bigger first meets Mary Dalton, Mr. Dalton’s little daughter, his uneasiness grows. Mary is amiable but unsophisticated; she doesn’t quite comprehend Bigger’s world and even makes fun of him by inquiring about his union membership.

She claims to care about racial equality and is active in communist causes with her partner, Jan Erlone. Bigger feels condescending and degraded by their behavior, despite their insistence on treating him as an equal.

They coerce him into going out to a Black restaurant called Charlie’s Kitchen Shack for dinner. Mary and Jan both see it as a “adventure,” but Bigger is upset by their lack of knowledge and doubts their motives.

Bigger had to assist Mary to her room later that evening after Jan leaves since she is very inebriated. He gets anxious as he brings her upstairs when Mrs. Dalton, Mary’s blind mother, enters the room out of the blue.

In a panic, Bigger covers Mary’s face with a pillow in an attempt to silence her. Without fully understanding what he’s done, he accidentally suffocates Mary out of dread of being found alone with her. Bigger is horrified and astonished by what transpired, but he soon understands that he needs to hide his crime.

He even decapitates Mary to make her fit before concealing her body in the furnace in the basement. In an attempt to conceal any proof of his deeds, he sets fire to her remains.

The following day, despite his overwhelming terror, Bigger makes an effort to act normally. When the Daltons and their maid, Peggy, discover Mary is missing, they first assume she is traveling with Jan.

Bigger chooses to take advantage of the circumstance by fabricating a ransom note and claiming that communists have abducted Mary. He blames Jan and his political views in an attempt to get money from the Daltons.

He convinces his girlfriend, Bessie Mears, to assist him in writing the ransom note in order to bolster his alibi. Bessie believes she has no choice but to participate in his scheme despite her anxiety.

Bigger’s anxiety and panic increase as suspicions mount and Mary’s absence garners public attention. But when investigators find burnt corpses in the furnace, his scheme swiftly fails. Bigger chooses to go away after realizing he has no other option.

He abducts Bessie and takes her with him out of desperation, but when he learns she might turn on him, he kills her by striking her with a brick and then hurling her body down an airshaft. Bigger has now completely succumbed to violence and terror, therefore Bessie’s passing is a devastating turning point in his journey.

Bigger flees, but the police launch a fierce manhunt across Chicago’s Black areas with the aid of a white mob. Bigger is eventually found by them in an abandoned building, where he makes an effort to resist but is eventually taken prisoner. After being assaulted by the police, he is transported to jail to stand trial for the murders of Mary and Bessie.

He becomes the focus of extensive media coverage and public opinion shifts against him, representing the white community’s prejudices and anxieties regarding Black men.

Bigger encounters Boris A. Max in jail, who tries to defend him and shows empathy for his predicament. Max contends that Bigger’s acts stem from the prejudice and persecution he has seen throughout his life, but the court finds little use for his words, and Bigger is given the death penalty.

In his last moments, Bigger considers his life and sees how social pressures forced him into a situation over which he felt powerless. He accepts that forces far greater than himself have shaped his existence, which brings him a peculiar sense of serenity even if he still fears death.

In the end, Native Son is a tale about the effects of poverty and institutional prejudice. The racial and economic restrictions that keep Bigger from leading a happy existence influence his life, decisions, and destiny. In many respects, his violent acts are a desperate response to a culture that views him as a threat based only on the color of his skin, and his rage and frustration stem from a place of helplessness and dread. Richard Wright uses Bigger’s story to highlight the hardships Black Americans endured in the early 20th century and to criticize the socioeconomic institutions that put people like Bigger in dire situations.