Theme of Fate in Native Son

Wright is not merely a black man writing about a black man living and suffering in a racist society. The author is also a man more than sympathetic to the Marxist perspective, so that his argument against racism is also an argument against the socioeconomic and political structures which promote racism. This is quite a mountain of evils to pit against one man, as Wright has done with Bigger Thomas in America, and it is therefore no surprise for the reader to discover that the specific, physical fate which Bigger experiences is death, specifically execution for murder.

However, the death of Bigger is not the fate upon which Wright means the reader to linger. The fate of Bigger is one of dignity and courage and defiance, not surrender no matter what the odds against him. His fate is to take action against the enemy of capitalistic, white, racist society, no matter what the consequences.

For a strong black man in such a society, Wright suggests, perhaps murdering a white person or two---even accidentally---is all that

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It is not an accident that much of the expression of black males in this racist society continues to be violence-related. Bigger's fate, as defined by Wright, seems to have been inevitably related to such violence, simply because the combination of Bigger's strong character, his blackness in a white racist society, and no outlet for his rage, allowed for no other expression. What differentiates Bigger from others in the same situation, however, is that he rises above the crushing circumstances of his life and arrives finally at a place where he achieves enlightenment which transcends even his own imminent execution. It might be argued that there is a strong suggestion from Wright that Bigger's fate, with respect to enlightenment, would not have been possible without the racist factors at work throughout his life. In other words, the possibility is that Bigger's character and soul were strengthened and purified by the oppression he experienced. However, Wright is clearly not praising white, racist, capitalist society and its brutal mistreatment of blacks. To the contrary, he is saying that despite the racism in American society, such courageous, strong, good men as Bigger Thomas are able to rise above their circumstances and a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Bigger Thomas, Hey How're, Thomas America, Wright Bigger's, Native Son, racist society, white racist, white racist society, bigger thomas, fear hatred, , bigger's fate, York HarperPerennial, fate wright, wright means, world feel, fate bigger, racist america,
Approximate Word count = 1624
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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