In Richard Wright's Native Son, communism plays a central role in the lives of all the characters involved. Either indirectly or directly, characters central to the narrative find their lives shaped by the controversial movement. Bigger Thomas himself, had an encounter with "reds" which became a direct catalyst for the central event of the novel. Throughout all of this, Richard Wright provides a direct commentary on the state of the Communist Party in the 1930s. A known red sympathizer, he obviously had some thoughts and critiques on people within the party. From the introduction of Jan in book 1, to the implicitly socialist character of Max in book 3, Wright begins to create a "handbook" for well intentioned Communists. When the book starts, Jan and Mary intend to help Bigger and befriend him. Jan even makes attempts to lure Bigger into the Communist party. Possibly a nod to people Richard Wright met while involved in the real-life communist party. Jan and Mary however, while well intentioned, only make Bigger uncomfortable and confuse him, eventually leading to Mary's unfortunate demise. Throughout Native Son, Richard Wright provides a background to African-American life and struggle that Jan and Mary didn't have, eventually leading to the more enlightened communist speech that Richard Write presents through Max the lawyer.
Native Son, presents a crime and an explanation for a crime, while also attempting to modify and enhance public perception of the lives of African-Americans. Richard Wright's goal is to shed light on an issue that many in America were blind to, while others who wanted to help, did not have the background to truly understand the problem at hand. Jan and Mary stand in as a critique of naive communist ideals and approaches. By the end of the novel through Bigger Thomas' experience, he not only humanizes but rationalizes him, and in turn analyzes the actions of Jan and Mary. Jan is an example of what Wright hopes to achieve throughout the course of the novel. He starts out preachy, naive, and ignorant of Bigger's struggle. By the end he has begun to understand Bigger, and is a representative of the growth Wright hopes to see from fellow reds.
While Native Son is a book that critiques society's treatment and understanding of the African-American people, Wright goes deeper to the point of criticism of the red movement. However, just like his critique of society, he also hopes to provide an example of how to properly approach the problem. That's why I choose to see Native Son as a sort of guide for liberals, who hope to successfully reintegrate society and develop a more egalitarian social structure. While Wright sees their attempts as well-intentioned, he also believes that their ignorance hinders them. Native Son was created to curb that ignorance.
Native Son, presents a crime and an explanation for a crime, while also attempting to modify and enhance public perception of the lives of African-Americans. Richard Wright's goal is to shed light on an issue that many in America were blind to, while others who wanted to help, did not have the background to truly understand the problem at hand. Jan and Mary stand in as a critique of naive communist ideals and approaches. By the end of the novel through Bigger Thomas' experience, he not only humanizes but rationalizes him, and in turn analyzes the actions of Jan and Mary. Jan is an example of what Wright hopes to achieve throughout the course of the novel. He starts out preachy, naive, and ignorant of Bigger's struggle. By the end he has begun to understand Bigger, and is a representative of the growth Wright hopes to see from fellow reds.
While Native Son is a book that critiques society's treatment and understanding of the African-American people, Wright goes deeper to the point of criticism of the red movement. However, just like his critique of society, he also hopes to provide an example of how to properly approach the problem. That's why I choose to see Native Son as a sort of guide for liberals, who hope to successfully reintegrate society and develop a more egalitarian social structure. While Wright sees their attempts as well-intentioned, he also believes that their ignorance hinders them. Native Son was created to curb that ignorance.
Very interesting idea. I like your idea that Jan's journey to "enlightenment" is like a guide to liberals for becoming more aware of the situation. Looking at the bigger picture, however, do you think that Max and Jan are viewed as the heroes by the end of the novel and that everyone else, the "blind," are the bad guys? In my opinion, it's really unclear because of the fact that Wright criticizes them near the beginning of the novel for being ignorant yet by the end of the novel they are the only (unsuccessful) force between Bigger and the Electric chair. Wright could be just saying that if liberals become enlightened of the situation, they just become a totally different version of blind. They might start to understand Bigger Thomas, but now they think that they are the only thing which can save black people, just like a white savior story. The fact that Wright portrays Jan and Max almost as white saviors causes ambiguity around the question of whether or not liberals are really in fact the "good guys." I wonder what you think about this question?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that Jan and Max learn a "different version of blindness". Max's speech is certainly problematic in how attempts to speak for Bigger while catagorizing him as a racial label rather than a human being. Then, in the final scene, Max is unwilling to seriosuly engage with Bigger on the life-or-death questions that he wants to discuss, which shows that he only values Bigger as another case on his to-do-list. This blindness plays into a "white savior" rhetoric that is present in many of the communist characters.
DeleteI would argue that Jan's version of communism stays the same throughout the book. In the same way that Bigger is invisible to Jan and Mary, Jan and the communist party are invisible to Bigger due to a series of stereotypes. The only exposure that Bigger has had with the communist party is through movies and third party interactions. I would say that communism provides insight into the flaws of capitalist society, rather than the flaws of the red movement.
ReplyDeleteTo add another dimension to your classification of "Native Son" as a guide for liberals, you could think about how Wright portrays liberals like Mr. Dalton. He mocks wealthy liberals like Mr. Dalton who donate money to the NAACP to clear their consciences while simultaneously charging higher rent in African-American neighborhoods. Wright is also encouraging people like this to see the irony and backwardness of their actions, and "Native Son" is also a handbook for liberals in this sense.
ReplyDeleteI noticed these characters you pointed out and how they were related to the Communist party, but I never thought about Native Son as a handbook for how these people should be acting and what the best response is to current problems. Expanding on your idea, I think that not only was Native Son a guide for leftists, but also just a guide for everyone. That being said, most of the people and aspects of society that were the roots of the discrimination probably wouldn't adhere to the recommendations Wright makes. This plays into Native Son's background as a protest novel. Wright used it to guide the people who were already on the right track, people like Max (and Dalton to some extent), and he used it to bring awareness to those who are far from the correct path (the media, racist people in general, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI think that your argument here is really correct, and is maybe best exemplified by Max himself. Max seems to be, for Richard Wright, the near-ideal member of the communist party. While we find ourselves uncomfortable with Max's assumptions about Bigger's life and desires, he certainly goes much farther than any of the other communist characters in attempting to find out what those desires were and what that life had been like. His attempt at understanding results in Bigger Thomas being far more forthcoming and friendly towards him than towards pretty much every other character in the novel, even though Max fails to save his life in the end.
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