Native Son Rhetorical Analysis
Lexi Phelps
3 April 2017
ENG 252-01
Richard Wright Response Paper
In the New York Times article written by Ayana Mathis and Pankaj Mishra, Mathis writes, “Bigger Thomas, the protagonist of Richard Wright’s “Native Son,” cannot transcend blackness, and his blackness, in Wright’s hands, is as ugly and debased a thing as ever was” (Mathis). Although Richard Wright’s portrayal of Bigger Thomas contributes to the commonly-known stereotypes surrounding African American men, Mathis’ stance on “transcending blackness” is completely inaccurate. The idea that blackness must be transcended is a common misconception, one that is also made by other early African American writers. Richard Wright, in his “Blueprint for Negro Writing,” talks about how other African American writers are reluctant to …show more content…
Bigger Thomas was not the way he was because he was black, but rather because he had been so psychologically tormented by society that it altered the way he perceived himself and those around him. Bigger’s role in Wright’s “Native Son” was not to further perpetuate stereotypes surrounding black men or to “transcend blackness.” Bigger’s role was to show a white audience how their actions and beliefs can negatively alter someone else’s life. It is true even today – when you constantly tear someone else down, as an individual or an entire group of people, that person or those people may actually start to believe the things that are being said about and to them. They might start to act the way that is expected of them by those who view them negatively. Wright’s goal is to express how white people can transform black people into their negative stereotypes of what it means to be black. By doing this, he hopes to encourage more sympathy and understanding between white people and black people, not to perpetuate those negative
3 April 2017
ENG 252-01
Richard Wright Response Paper
In the New York Times article written by Ayana Mathis and Pankaj Mishra, Mathis writes, “Bigger Thomas, the protagonist of Richard Wright’s “Native Son,” cannot transcend blackness, and his blackness, in Wright’s hands, is as ugly and debased a thing as ever was” (Mathis). Although Richard Wright’s portrayal of Bigger Thomas contributes to the commonly-known stereotypes surrounding African American men, Mathis’ stance on “transcending blackness” is completely inaccurate. The idea that blackness must be transcended is a common misconception, one that is also made by other early African American writers. Richard Wright, in his “Blueprint for Negro Writing,” talks about how other African American writers are reluctant to …show more content…
Bigger Thomas was not the way he was because he was black, but rather because he had been so psychologically tormented by society that it altered the way he perceived himself and those around him. Bigger’s role in Wright’s “Native Son” was not to further perpetuate stereotypes surrounding black men or to “transcend blackness.” Bigger’s role was to show a white audience how their actions and beliefs can negatively alter someone else’s life. It is true even today – when you constantly tear someone else down, as an individual or an entire group of people, that person or those people may actually start to believe the things that are being said about and to them. They might start to act the way that is expected of them by those who view them negatively. Wright’s goal is to express how white people can transform black people into their negative stereotypes of what it means to be black. By doing this, he hopes to encourage more sympathy and understanding between white people and black people, not to perpetuate those negative