The Representation of African American Women in Native Son Demetria Michelle Mack 11th Grade

In the Native Son, Richard Wright cultivates supporting characters as threats to the main character Bigger in ways that range from being highly significant to extremely minimal. In analyzing the way the African American women are represented in the novel we see a common negative feeling shared by Bigger towards them. Feminist scholar Trudier Harris argument that the black women in this story are portrayed as a “stifler's for Bigger's dreams for freedom and success” is something that entirely true and is sexist as well as demeaning on Wright's behalf.

Beginning with Bigger's interactions with his mother, readers are able to recognize Bigger's feeling that his mother’s sole purpose is to scowl at him and ridicule him for his shortcomings. He has constant feeling of hate towards his mother and feel as if she is the reason that he isn’t destined for greatness because it is her “foul attitude” towards him that keeps him in a state where he is mentally oppressed ultimately making him settle for being physically oppressed as well. In the novel Bigger always describes her as if she is a bother to him and nags a lot about the things he lacks. In the little moments that Ms. Thomas is shown in the story she always portrayed as having some...