Animal Symbolism in Native Son by Richard Wright Essay

	The second black cat is symbolic of the narrator’s guilt. The night after the narrator’s house caught on fire, he went to a bar where he saw black cat two. Black cat two resembled black cat one in every aspect except one. The finding of black cat two is symbolic of the night in which the narrator had came home from a bar toxicated. When the narrator began to leave the bar, black cat two began to follow him and this is symbolic of the guilt that follows the narrator. The narrator noticed that black cat two resembled

When red is present, it is never associated with a good situation. The color first appears as Bigger watches the sunset from his bedroom window, thinking about his interview with the Dalton’s. Then when talking with Gus, Bigger claims that whenever her thinks of white people he gets a sensation that a fire is burning in his stomach. This comment boldly foreshadows the upcoming events. Next, when Bigger enters the Dalton household, the white cat glares at him with its red eyes. After meeting the Dalton’s, Bigger meets Mary whom he refers to as a “hot kind of girl” (36). Mary also has bright red lips that differ from her milky skin and jet black hair. Also, the contrasting image of the white bones, in the black ashes in the flaming furnace continues to show the overlap of the three colors. After burning Mary, Bigger lights up a white cigarette and then runs off to Bessie. Thinking that she is going to be a hassle in the process, Bigger kills Bessie with a red brick. Last, Bigger signs the ransom note he creates “Red,” trying to create the illusion that a Communist killed

In the excerpt "Owls", by Mary Oliver. Oliver uses vivid imagery to communicate both sides of nature, the light and beauty; and the dark and frightening reality. Both parts terrifying when in excesses, but when each is balanced, they create nature.

Oftentimes authors will use symbolism through the characters in order to represent a larger encompassing theme. William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies is no exception to this pattern—as various characters in the book have such allegorical meanings. In the case of Jack, he could be said to represent the evilness in humanity, proven by three established concepts in the story: the true nature of his hunting tendencies, the progression of events that happen in his dancing rituals, and his interactions towards other symbolic figures. These three reasons, furthered by evidence shown throughout the novel, fit Jack into a role of symbolic evilness (add something here).

Wright uses Bigger’s psychological corruption to send a message to the reader. It offers a new view on the underlying effects of racism on the black community of the time period. Wright creates Bigger from the diversity he saw throughout American society. “I made the discovery that Bigger Thomas was not black all the time; he was white, too, and there were literally millions of him, everywhere... I became conscious, at first dimly, and then later on with increasing clarity and conviction, of a vast, muddied pool of human life in America. It was as though I had put on a pair of spectacles whose power was that of an x-ray enabling me to see deeper into the lives of men. Whenever I picked up a newspaper, I 'd no longer feel that I was reading of the doings of whites alone (Negroes are rarely mentioned in the press unless they 've

In Native Son, Richard Wright paces the plot through his varying sentence structure which differs depending upon the situation at hand. Through the use of short and succinct sentences, especially in dialogue, Wright displays Bigger’s timid nature towards white people. In the narrative, the use of concise sentences depicts fast motions and the simple observations of Bigger. For example, when Bigger carries the intoxicated Mary to her room, Wright describes, “He turned her round and began to mount the steps, one by one. He heard a slight creaking and stopped. He looked, straining his eyes in the gloom. But there was no one” (105) By using simple statements, Wright shows

Firstly, Bigger Thomas proves to be guilty because he was with Mary on the day she was last seen by anyone. Mary, Mr. Dalton’s daughter, frightens and angers Bigger by ignoring the social

William Golding kills off everything important to survival and by this he means that the world is doomed. So many significant objects are broken by the end of the book, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which is a novel about a bunch of inexperienced boys being trapped together on an island and are forced to find means of survival. There are a lot of symbols in this book that all represent the only way they can survive. Each symbol represents a piece of the world and how it functions. Without all of these pieces, the world can’t function. William Golding clearly shows that the world is doomed by one by one killing off all of the objects and symbols that keep them sane and alive.

Krakauer uses the symbol of a beast in Into the Wild to reveal that as Chris’ journey continues his inner beast continues to develop. To begin, the beast reveals Chris is “strong in Buck” (Krakauer, 38). As a form of resistance a beast will buck; it does not worry about who it may hurt but just kicks, throwing a rider off its back. In the same way Chris does not agree with society so he bucks and runs away, he had “an uncanny knack for making a buck” (115) “there was no way to stop him” (118) his leaving was “one abrupt, swift action… completely knock[ing] them [his family] out” (64). This is significant because this symbol reveals Chris rejects society and thus leaves his family to fuel his own desires. Just as a beast will buck to resist its master

In the beginning, when Bigger started working for the Dalton’s, he had to drive Mary Dalton, the daughter, to the University of Chicago. However, she wanted him to pick up her boyfriend, Jan, and head to a restaurant. When Bigger was in the car with Jan and Mary, “he was very conscious of his black skin...Jan and men like him” made Bigger feel insecure of who he was. (Wright 67) Even though Jan and Mary did not say anything that would insult his race, the presence of white people made him self-conscious. Being

Wrights depiction of Bigger through his use of figurative language techniques, reveals Bigger as an unstable and violent character, and to the reader Biggers character creates an uneasy

Kathryn Stockett’s, The Help, introduces two main characters in the novel who reveal their drastic experiences of the day-to-day life of an African American during the early 1960’s. These hard working ladies, Aibileen Clark and Minny, dedicate and spend their lives taking care of white families and raising their innocent children. Discrimination played a big role in the society during this era, and was considered normal; however, these tough and independent women took every day as a new challenge to look for the the best outcome. In the novel, Kathryn Stockett interprets nature imagery to symbolize the traumatic experiences and struggles each black minority undergoes.

She tells Bigger, “I think I can trust you” (Wright 64) in order to toy with his emotions and disobey his boss’ orders as Bigger, Mary, and Mary’s communist boyfriend Jan Erlone take the car out for a night in the loop. After a rousing evening on the town filled with booze and conversations about communism that left Bigger offended and ashamed to be black, it became Bigger’s duty to make sure that Mary was placed safely in her bed after being too intoxicated to stand on her own. Because Bigger strives to obey his boss, he feels inclined to personally place Mary in her own room in order to avoid trouble. This shows that Bigger Thomas took Mary to her bedroom with no intention of causing any problems in his new workplace reminding the reader that Bigger is not an evil human being, just a product of his environment. After being in Mary’s bedroom, Bigger decided to overstay his welcome due to his curious arousal with white women. To Bigger’s surprise, “a hysterical terror seized him” (Wright 85) as Mrs. Dalton makes an appearance in Mary’s bedroom to check on her daughter. Bigger automatically assumed that if he was caught in Mary Dalton’s bedroom at an odd hour of the night he would be immediately fired and accused of raping a white woman that could ruin his already tragic life forever. Due to her blindness, Bigger was not seen immediately, but he realized if Mary kept mumbling, Mrs. Dalton would make her way

Throughout the book Black Boy by Richard Wright sheds light on the interesting life of the writers personal memories. Richard is living in a community coming out of slavery as a first generation feeling freedom. His life starts off at a young age and spans through till his days as a successful writer. Many motifs throughout his life repeats in his writing topics. During his years fire is a common perspection expressed in many metaphorical ways and physical, this expression extends to his educational, religious, and psychological mindsets.

Richard Wright’s novel, Native Son, depicts the life of the general black community in Chicago during the 1930’s. Though African Americans had been freed from slavery, they were still burdened with financial and social oppression. Forced to live in small, unclean quarters, eat foods on the verge of going bad, and pay entirely too much for both, these people struggled not to be pressured into a dangerous state of mind (Bryant). All the while, they are expected to act subserviently before their oppressors. These conditions rub many the wrong way, especially Bigger Thomas, the protagonist of the story. Though everyone he is surrounded by is going through all the same things that he is, growing up poor and uneducated has made Bigger angry at the whole world. You can see this anger in everything he does, from his initial thoughts to his final actions. Because of this, Bigger Thomas almost seems destined to find trouble and meet a horrible fate. Wright uses these conventions of naturalism to develop Bigger’s view of the white community(). With all of these complications, Bigger begins to view all white people as an overwhelming force that drags him to his end. Wright pushes the readers into Bigger’s mind, thoroughly explaining Bigger’s personal decay. Even Wright himself says that Bigger is in fact a native son, just a “product of American culture and the violence and racism that suffuse it” (Wright).