Native Son (1940) – Richard Wright

The stature of Iceberg Slim as an author is shown by the company he keeps in his "Read On" list:

READ ON Donald Goines, Chester Himes, Walter Mosley, Richard Wright

There are some big names in black-American literature in that list. Richard Wright particularly, but I'm sure I recognise Chester Himes and Walter Mosley as well.

Rolling a die decided that I would read Richard Wright – and there would be no question which book I would have to read: Native Son, the story of Bigger Thomas.

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What a book. What a great book.

Very briefly, it is the story of a poor young black man, Bigger Thomas, and his brutal but un-malicious murder of a rich white woman. Naturally enough, Bigger Thomas represents Black America or every black American. The story in turn represents the reaction of black Americans under oppression.

At first glance, the character of Bigger Thomas does not paint a flattering portrait of Black America. Bigger is brutal and very stupid. However, the point that Richard Wright makes is that Bigger Thomas is inevitable. He is a consequence of the social injustice he lives under.

Wright doesn't seem to be very sympathetic towards Bigger. The novel certainly doesn't read like an apology for his actions. However, it is clearly society that is to blame. Others come under criticism as well, notably the hypocritical guilty white liberals who profit from segregation and the well-meaning but out-of-touch communists. Again however, their failings are a consequence of the racist divide in society – a divide that has to be closed, not bridged.