In Native Son, Richard Wright cultivates secondary characters as threats to the main character Larger in ways that range from highly significant to extremely minimal. Analyzing the way African American women are represented in the novel we notice a common negative feeling shared by Bigger towards them. Feminist scholar Trudier Harris' argument that the black women in this story are portrayed as "stifling Bigger's dreams of freedom and success" is entirely true and is sexist as well as demeaning on Wright's behalf. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Starting with Bigger's interactions with his mother, readers are able to recognize Bigger's sense that his mother's sole purpose is to frown at him and ridicule him for his shortcomings. He has a constant feeling of hatred towards his mother and feels like she is the reason he is not destined for greatness because it is his "disgusting attitude" towards her that keeps him in a state where he is mentally burdened causing him to finally settle down . for having been oppressed even physically. In the novel Bigger always describes her as if she were a nuisance to him and complains a lot about the things he misses. In the small moments where Mrs. Thomas is shown in the story, she has always portrayed some sort of animosity or anger towards Bigger, because Wright portrays her this way, he is reinforcing the racist and demeaning idea of the "angry black woman" stereotype ". . Additionally, Mrs. Thomas's only issue with Bigger is that he does not provide for their family financially, reinforcing the idea that women must depend on men and are unable to efficiently provide for their family. Although Bigger's interactions with his younger sister Vera are very brief, readers can add these interactions to the growing case that shows Bigger and Wright's underlying sexist attitudes specifically toward African American women. In the story Vera is depicted as a very scared character who also represents someone who is a nuisance to Bigger. The character of Bessie also fits into the similar personality Wright created for all the female characters in the novel. She torments Bigger and ridicules him about his flaws and mistakes. She shows great dependence on Bigger like all the other black women in the story, however, Bessie proves to not only be the weakest black woman, but also the weakest character in the entire novel. Throughout Bigger's plan to get money from the Daltons and escape from his crime, Bessie is portrayed as a crying wreck, doing nothing but sobbing and sobbing over the mess Bigger has gotten her into. “He ran to the bed, fell on it and sobbed.” With her mouth all twisted and her eyes wet, she asked breathlessly” (p. 225) While her reaction might be considered reasonable for someone in her position, I see it as Wright intentionally making her a weak character who doesn't know how to deal with problems in a way that will benefit them. For the sake of such character analysis, it is also important to consider what the relationship between Bigger and Bessie is based on: the satisfaction of each other's personal desires. Bigger only comes to Bessie when he needs comfort and sex and Bessie only seems to be involved with Bigger when he provides her with alcohol or money. Although the relationship is harmful to both characters, Wright frames the story so that Bessie is the weaker one who brings a larger sense of harm to Bigger's path. For example, in the novel we read: “Una.
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