Free Native Son Essays: Actions Define Character :: Native Son Essays

Actions Define Character in Native Son   Richard Wrights novel, Native Son, consisted of various main and supporting roles to exile an effective array of personalities and expression.  Each characters actions defines their individual personalities and belief systems.  The main character of Native Son, Bigger Thomas has a variety of personality traits cause by his panic, quick temper, and tremendous intellect.   Bigger, whom the novel revolves around, portrays various personality elements through his actions.   Many of his actions suggest an overriding response to fear, which stems from his exposure to a uncouth social climate in which a clear line between acceptable behavior for whites and blacks exists. His swift anger and his deleterious impulses stem from that fear and becomes apparent in the opening scene when he fiercely attacks a huge rat. The same murderous impulse appears when his secret dread of the delicatessen food robbery impels him to commit a vicious assault on his wizard Gus.  Bigger commits both of the brutal murders not in rage or anger, but as a reaction to fear.  His typical fear stems from  cosmos caught in the act of doing something socially unacceptable and being the subject of punishment.  Although he later admits to Max that Mary Daltons behavior toward him made him hate her, it is not that hate which causes him to smother her to death, but a feeble attempt  to spoil the detection of her mother.  The fear of being caught with a white woman overwhelmed his unwashed sense and dictated his actions.  When he attempted to murder Bessie, his motivation came from lifelike fear of the consequences of letting her live. Bigger realized that he could not deplete Bessie with him or leave her behind and concluded that killing her could provide her just merciful end.   The emotional forces that drive Bigger are conveyed by sum other than his words. Besides reactions to fear, his actions demonstrate an extremely quick temper and destructive impulse as an integral part of his nature.  Rage plays a discern part in his basic nature, but does not directly activate the murders he commits.  Rage does not affect Biggers intelligence and quick opinion and it becomes evident during the interview with Briton.  The detective makes Bigger so angry that the enquiry  becomes a game to Bigger, a game of logic and wills, of playing the yokel-like negro, and telling the man exactly what he wants to hear.