Native Son Essay

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Native Son Native Son is a social and economic warning that focuses on American race relations in the years leading up to and including the 1930's. The stage is set in 1930's Chicago's South Side, where a practice called “red-lining” was in full effect. There are three main characters, Bigger Thomas aka Native Son, the black protagonist and “hero” of the story, Mary Dalton, the white female murder victim and Max. A Boris, Bigger's legal defense, a white American communist. Minor characters include Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, Mary's parents; Jan Erlone boyfriend of Mary; Bessie Mears, Bigger's girlfriend; Mrs. Thomas, Bigger's Mother; Buddy Thomas, Bigger's younger brother; Vera Thomas, Bigger's younger sister; G.H., Gus and Jack, Bigger's cohorts; Mr. Blum, a white shopkeeper; Britten a Private Investigator; Buckley the State Attorney, (Prosector); Peggy a white employee of the Dalton's. Mr. Wright has quite the statement to make in his 3 book Novel Native Son which is full of symbolism as well. Let me begin by telling you about the conditions of 1930's Chicaco's South Side (explaining “red lining” as well) then an in depth look into each Major and Minor character. The Southside of Chicago was a large ghetto that was racial mix of a minority of poor to middle class white business owners and a majority of black poor and working class of black Americans. In this section of Chicago in 1930's a housing shortage was created by “red-lining” a practice created and enforced by banks and real estate mogul's which restricted the areas in which non-whites could live. This practice also caused rent rates to be twice the cost of their white counterparts in housing conditions that were either condemned or close to condemned conditions (poorer conditions with temperatures below zero with common snowstorms in winter and baking heat in the summer). Due to these climate, social

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