Richard Wright was an African American author born in 1908 in Mississippi. Some of his most famous works include the novel Native Son (1940) and the autobiography Black Boy (1945). Native Son tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a poor black man living in 1930s Chicago who commits murder. Bigger feels fear, stereotyping, and a lack of self-worth due to the racial prejudice he faces in society. Wright drew from his own experiences of growing up in the Jim Crow south and later joining the Communist party for the themes and characters in his writing.

1. Richard Wright Native Son

2. 1908-1960 Born in Mississippi Mother was well educated and his father was illiterate Wright rebelled against religious discipline Became a member of the Communist Party in 1934 Began writing for the Communist Party and later ventured to write his own novels

3. Uncle Tom’s Children (1938) Native Son (1940) Black Boy (Autobiography on his youth, 1945) The Outsiders (1953) Eight Men (1960) American Hunger (Autobiography on his involvement in the Communist Party, 1977)

5. Bigger Thomas is a poor, uneducated, twenty-year-old black man in 1930s Chicago. He has grown up under the climate of harsh racial prejudice in America. In need of money, he takes a job with a white man named Mr. Dalton. During his first 24 hours of employment Bigger murders Mr. Dalton’s daughter Mary. As a result, Bigger goes on the run and encounters more problems. Ultimately Bigger is sentenced to death in prison and comes to his own self-awareness, even if no one else understands him.

6. Fear Stereotyping Self-worth/Self-consciousness Shame Blindness Numbness Hopelessness Society Driven Escape

7. What is the basis for Bigger’s fear? Bigger has a large chip on his shoulder in regard to race. How do you think this chip has contributed to his life as a criminal, which eventually leads to murder? What do the Communist undertones represent in terms of theme? How does Wright’s life parallel Bigger’s?

8. The Mississippi Writer's Page: Richard Wright Native Son Lyrics