An Absurdist Reading of Richard Wright's Native Son

Abstract

    Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940) stands as one of the most important  and impactful illustrations of the plight of African-Americans against institutional and societal racism. Wright depicts his main character, Bigger Thomas, as being an aimless and purposeless being largely defined by a White-dominated society. It is only after working for an affluent family and becoming closer to White people that he begins to question his place in the universe and the predefined notions of what it means to be a Black person in America. The two gruesome murders he commits profoundly make him reassess and redefine both himself and his surrounding environment. Bigger gains a stronger understanding and feeling of companionship towards people of his race. By all means he is a rebel who revolts against all and every preconceived notion of what defines him as a black man. His unapologetic attitude, his relentless clutch to life and his rejection of both religion and hope makes him an ideal absurd hero in a chaotic world where all odds are stacked against him. This new found attitude and consequent profound knowledge aquired as a result perpetuate Bigger as one of the strongest examples of a Sisyphean character in modern American fiction.