Richard Wright and William Faulkner both examine the psychologies of excluded members of society.

Throughout his life, Bigger, had been bound by the stereotyping of a whole society. The man versus society conflict in this novel is what this book is focused around.. Bigger is constantly intimidated by the white man and what they stand for. He is content in his efforts to rebell against they 're castes. "Let 's play ‘white, ' Bigger said, referring to a game of play actingin which he and his friends imitated the ways and manners of white folks." During this scene Bigger plays the President who is ordering a cabinent meeting.

Bigger’s reasoning for putting the blame on the communist Jan Erlone was his knowledge that white people don’t like communists. Therefore, he knows the police as well as the white people of Chicago will be happy to convict a communist for the murder. Part of Richard Wright’s purpose in writing this book was to share the views of the communist party and show how unjustly members of the party were treated. Jan was arrested and put in jail based on Bigger’s lies and false accusations and Bigger even pulls a gun on him. Despite all this Jan tries to help Bigger and has Max, the communist’s lawyer, represent Bigger in his trial. Wright simultaneously shows the prejudice against communists and how they are good people.

Wright implies, suggest, and even says that Bigger Thomas is an embodiment of the black revolt against the injustices of white caste society and that this revolt often takes the form of crime against this same white society. Borne into a white society, hostile and indifferent, Bigger becomes the total embodiment of that city hatreds and prejudice against the black man.

    Analyzing character in a Faulkner novel is like trying to reach the bottom of a bottomless pit because Faulkner's characters often lack ration, speak in telegraphed stream-of-consciousness, and rarely if ever lend themselves to ready analysis.  This is particularly true in As I Lay Dying, a novel of a fragmented and dysfunctional family told through fragmented chapters.  Each character reveals their perspective in different chapters, but the perspectives are true to life in that though they all reveal information

Once again, even Whites that are more liberal and/or against racism fail to see Blacks as equals or as people they can identify with. This is shown when Mary Dalton asks Jan if he knows any Blacks, which he does not. This is also shown when Mary praises Blacks by saying “they have so much emotion” (88). Ian Afflerbach in his article “Liberalism’s Blind Judgment: Richard Wright’s Native Son and the Politics of Reception” argues that Mr. Max failed as Bigger’s lawyer, as he does not focus so much on Bigger’s character as he does on the condition of Blacks in America and the blindness of every person. (100) He even denounces the argument that Bigger is a product of injustice (99). Afflerbach says that when Bigger embraces the idea that he is a

Wright had a very troublesome childhood, but it also impacted the way he viewed the world around him. When he was young, Richard’s father deserted their family, and his mother had a sickness that continuously got worse. He was also forced to become independent from his grandmother as a child because she disagreed with his hobbies (Wright, Richard). Wright’s younger years caused a disruption in his home and his education. Richard Wright grew up in the

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

Short stories were another way that Richard Wright was able to depict the poor social conditions of African-Americans in the South. African-Americans during the time period of Richard Wright were oppressed and were treated with violence by the whites of America. African-Americans experienced racial prejudices and humiliation everywhere, for example in Uncle Tom’s Children, Richard Wright relates his experiences with racism through playing games with white children as well as, through the violence and bigotry that he experiences at work from his co-workers (Annadurai, Social par. 5). The short story format of Uncle Tom’s Cabin allows for Richard Wright to discuss and portray racism in a very impactful way. With each story addressing racism

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

In Sherwood Anderson’s “Hands,” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” both authors introduced main characters who are alienated in their respective societies. In Anderson’s work, Wing Biddlebaum is an outsider because he wants to escape from his society since he has been accused of being a child molester. Similarly, in Faulkner’s work, Emily hides from society since the prying eyes of the people who see her gaze and oppression. In this way, both characters are outsiders in their communities by the people’s eyes on them.

When analyzing Bigger Thomas, Richard Wright’s protagonist in the novel Native Son, one must take into consideration the development of his characterization. Being a poor twenty-year-old Black man in the south side of Chicago living with his family in a cramped one- bedroom apartment in the 1930’s, the odds of him prospering in life were not in his favor. Filled with oppression, violence, and tragedy, Bigger Thomas’ life was doomed from the moment he was born. Through the novel, Bigger divulges his own dreams to provide for his family and to be anything but a “nobody.” Although Bigger struggled to fight through obstacles to pursue his dreams for the future, his chase for a better life came to an abrupt

William Faulkner, a small boy, from a small town, without a high school diploma, accomplished way beyond what most most people in his circumstance could. Now often introduced as one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers or Nobel Prize winning novelist, Faulkner’s work is now some of America’s classics. When asking the question nature vs. nurture in regards to William Faulkner the answer is obvious, it’s nurture. Examining his life, one can see that Faulkner’s success and talents came from his surroundings and not through luck of the draw. This great poet and writer not only had the unwavering encouragement from his immediately family, but also countless friends that pointed him in the direction of success.

He does explain that oppression and racism affected both whites the oppressors and blacks the oppressed. He also explains how a white like girl, befriended a black man, and that a lot of what happened was because of the lack of understanding of the others culture. Yet, I feel that Mr. Wright’s emphasis was more on the struggles that the African Americans endured during the 1930’s. I feel he felt that this oppression and racism affected them the most so he tends to favor their plight more than that of the whites. Wright uses this quote to express how Bigger felt, “To Bigger and his kind, white people were not really people: they were a sort of great natural force, like a stormy sky looming overhead or like a deep swirling river stretching suddenly at one’s feet in the dark.” (109) Wright does not downplay the suffering that they endured at the hands of the whites. He depicts their poverty, in Bigger’s case the cramped rat infested apartment his family lived in. Wright uses this quote to express the living conditions, "Gimme that skillet, Buddy," he asked quietly, not taking his eyes from the rat. Wright tells of some of their racial struggles and inequalities like not being able to be educated, being forced to live in areas that were not as good as those the whites lived in but still over paying for them. It reads “black people, even though they cannot get good jobs, pay twice as much rent as whites”(248) Wright also declares that Bigger was not even allowed a fair trial to defend himself even though he was guilty of what he had done because of this racism. The headlines “NEGRO RAPIST FAINTS AT INQUEST was featured in the Tribune and in the article, Bigger is described as looking “exactly like an ape with “exceedingly black skin” (279). Wright allows the reader to know that he feels this misguided oppression and racism shows that both races lost the realization that all men are

His novel explores the healing process as well as the digression and push back of those in the South unable to compromise with the loss and renewal of life they had to make. The complex and alternating speakers and stories are laced together disruptive families that carry ties back to one another. The problems of intermarriages between blacks and whites, incest, the individuality being stripped from what people had known reaches peoples limits. Faulkner plays with these important moments, memories, ages and thoughts that prove his beliefs of this broken image of America.

Bigger Thomas an individual riddled with self doubt of his status in society will be analysed through his fear and inability to seek out his identity within 1940 's New York, Wright himself becomes our focus as we delve into his autobiography to understand how his uncovering of his identity allowed the development of his other characters and how his own masculinity was formulated and reinforced this. Finally, an examination into the character of Cross shall ascertain how the pursuit of freedom creates the 'other ' which separates him from both blacks and whites as he is unable to truly adhere to the expectations of each. By viewing each of these characters along with other minor characters an idea of how black masculinity is multifaceted and hard to distinguish due to opposing forces which externally and internally contribute to its creation. By forming an understanding of how each character attains their sense of masculinity then allows for a in depth consider how the portrayal of masculinity in Richard Wrights novels and how consequently they reflect the wider society in which they mirror. African American suffered greatly during and after slavery with scars remaining till today mentally as well as physically owing