SECTION F: NON - AFRICAN PROSE RICHARD WRIGHT: Native Son How does fear influence Bigger Thomas’ actions in the novel?

Answer Details

Fear is the ruling emotion of Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright's Native Son. It is so central that Wright titles the first book of the novel 'Fear.' Bred by a lifetime of racial oppression, this fear governs Bigger's mind and drives him to the violent, self-destructive actions that shape his tragedy.

Fear as the product of oppression. From the start Bigger lives in dread of the white world that hems him in. Aware that black people are confined, watched and punished, he carries a constant sense of threat. This background fear makes him tense, defensive and prone to aggression even among his own friends.

Fear turned into cruelty. Before the planned robbery of Blum's store, Bigger's own terror of confronting a white-owned shop makes him mask his cowardice by bullying Gus and picking a fight. His violence here is a direct expression of fear he cannot admit.

Fear and the killing of Mary Dalton. The decisive act of the novel springs from fear. Having helped the drunken Mary to her room, Bigger is trapped when her blind mother enters. Terrified of being discovered alone with a white woman and of the deadly consequences that would follow, he smothers Mary with a pillow to keep her silent, killing her by accident born of panic. Fear, not malice, makes him a murderer.

Fear driving concealment and further violence. The same fear then compels him to burn Mary's body in the furnace, to lie, to concoct a ransom scheme, and finally to murder his girlfriend Bessie, whom he fears may betray him. Each new crime is an attempt to escape the terror of exposure, dragging him deeper into ruin.

Fear and his capture. Hunted through the city, Bigger acts throughout in the grip of dread until he is caught. Only later, awaiting death, does he begin to understand and partly master the fear that has driven him.

In conclusion, fear influences almost every action Bigger takes, from bullying Gus to the killing of Mary and Bessie and his desperate flight. Wright shows that this fear is the creation of a racist society, and that it turns an oppressed young man into an instrument of violence and self-destruction.