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ornamental line

The Riddle of His Life

"But he kept this knowledge of his fear thrust firmly down in him; his courage to live
depended upon how successfully his fear was hidden from his consciousness" (42).
Richard Wright's Native Son (1940)

 

Points for Reflection

Richard Wright's Native Son (1940), Book One: "Fear" (3-93)

  1. what challenges does Bigger’s family face given their constrained living quarters?
  2. which of Bigger’s actions most upset his mother?
  3. what observations threaten to overwhelm Bigger—thoughts that his friends think it better to dismiss?
  4. why does Bigger hate his family, and separate himself from them behind an “attitude of iron reserve” (10)?
  5. for what array of reasons does Bigger hesitate to attend the job interview set up for him?
  6. why does Bigger carry his gun and knife to his job interview with Mr. Dalton?
  7. does Bigger daydream more, or less, compared with his friends?
  8. why might Wright choose Trader Horn (1931) for the film watched by Bigger and his friends?
  9. what does Bigger’s “playing white” (17-20) with his gang suggest about their prospects of upward mobility?
  10. what evidence does Richard Wright provide of Bigger Thomas’s intelligence and insight?
  11. is fear the primary factor behind Bigger’s violent behavior?
  12. why does Bigger violently lash out at one of his gang members?
  13. how self-aware is Bigger when committing violent actions? Are we supposed to assume that Bigger represents many other black men, or that his mental and emotional situation is relatively unique?
  14. do cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption appear equally innocent in this novel?
  15. Bigger notes twice that he feels something’s going to happen to him, something he can’t help (20, 22).  Something big does obviously happen in Book One of the novel.  Is it something that Bigger “can’t help”?
  16. why is Bigger so angry and on edge during his first evening with the Daltons?
  17. why are Bigger’s feelings towards Mary Dalton so conflicted?
  18. does Mary intentionally attract Bigger’s sexual attention?
  19. Peggy, the Dalton’s housekeeper, says her folks back in Ireland feel about the British “‘like the colored folks feel about this country’” (57).  Does this strike you as an apt parallel?
  20. why do Jan and Mary want to eat at “‘one of those places where colored people eat, not one of those show places’” (69)?
  21. how responsible is Bigger for his ethically dubious actions?
  22. does the novel provide any direct or oblique commentary on Christianity?
  23. what are we to do with the ease with which Bigger falls asleep at the end of Book One?


a painting of a dark pool hall with four pool tables and several figures either playing or watching the match. the abstract figures are wearing suits and are concentrating. there are hanging light fixtures.
Pool Parlor (1942)
Jacob Lawrence


Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu