Native Son

Native Son is set from the point of view from a young black man named Bigger Thomas. The book was set during the 1930’s which is crucial to know because of the way people of color are treated in the book. When I read this book the message, I got was that anybody has the potential to go rogue when they are scared. Bigger makes some questionable decisions which leads to a domino effect of bad decisions. I can see how many people find this book to be one of the greats but this type of book isn’t my style. The message of the book was great but for me it was hard to keep on turning that page. It felt like the buildup to some moments were too long and that the book was slow. When the book was at its intense moments it was also just downright creepy and it put descriptive horrors in my head.

This book features a flat, one dimensional character that the author attempts to use as a metaphor for the black community in the early 1900's. He succeeded in making people view black people as violent and primitive people, who only want to be left alone. The main character does reprehensible things, such as raping and murdering his lover following the accidental murder of his employer's daughter. The author does not condone these actions, rather he justifies them under the pretense that "white society" has bred this violence in him. He misrepresents black culture to blame white people on the sufferings on all black people, which is a message no child of any race or ethnicity should be taught.

Native Son has a plethora of messages regarding racism, discrimination, prejudice, and growing up. However, it only serves to enforce the stereotype against African Americans. Bigger Thomas is a classic character, high levels of testosterone, mental instability, and a lazy ethic. The book itself shows the amount of impact that genetic/situational factors have on a young African male. There is a lot of ridiculous violence, and the novel touches on many sensitive racist topics. Overall, I felt the book was just ludicrous on so many levels. I'd have to say that Bigger most definitely deserved the death penalty, and even that was merciful for someone of his status.

This book is required summer reading for my English III AP class (11th graders, ages 15-17), and I found it really disturbing. It includes fairly graphic descriptions of rape and murders, including one scene in which the protagonist tries to shove the body of his first victim into the fire, then saws off her head and uses it to push the rest of the body into the furnace. This book definitely has literary merits, but is disturbing, and not for the faint of heart.

The book native son depicts an African American male who faces the troubles and trials of living in a white society being discriminated, looked at different, and viewed worse than others. Biggur makes many bad decision due to the fact of what would happen to him if he was seen with someone or being somewhere he shouldn't be. He must go through life brushing discrimination off his shoulders, and for a young male it would be a very difficult challenge.

First, let me explain the "positive message". This book is the one that convinced me the death penalty is wrong. I think that this message is incredibly important. I do not really have much more to add because the site review has pretty much got it right, but I think that it is OK for younger audiences as well. The third book gets bogged down in judicial proceedings that might confuse younger readers, but with the right explanations I'd say it's fit for anyone. I disagree that it is for older teens, because the sooner people learn about racism, the sooner they can stand against it. Teenagers who are 15, 14 ,13... they can suffer from racism, so why not have them read about it, and understand it.