Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. In what ways
does Wright portray Bigger's day-to-day existence as a prison, even
before his arrest and trial?
2. Describe
the real estate practices that were applied to black families in
Chicago's South Side in the
1930s. With
these practices in mind, why is Mr. Dalton—an avowed philanthropist
toward blacks—a hypocrite?
3. Describe
Jan and Mary's attitude toward race relations. In what ways does
their more subtle racism resemble the more overt prejudice of other
whites?
4. How does
Bigger's desperate flight from the police symbolize his existence
as a whole?
5. As Wright
portrays it, how does the psychology of racial prejudice contribute
to Bigger's transformation into a murderer and a criminal?
6. Is Bigger's
trial a fair one? In Wright's portrayal, how does racism affect
the American judicial process? What role does the media play in
determining popular conceptions of justice?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Describe the psychological
and behavioral change that overcomes Bigger during the interview
with Mr. Dalton. Why does he change in the presence of Mr. Dalton?
In what way is it significant that Bigger goes to the movies before
going to the Daltons'?
2. What are some of the real
historical events that occur or are mirrored in Native Son?
How does Wright weave these events into his fictional narrative,
and how does this technique affect the novel as a whole?
3. What role does imagery of
vision and sight play in Native Son? Think especially
of Mrs. Dalton's blindness and Bigger's murder of Mary.
4. How does popular culture serve
as a form of indoctrination throughout Native Son?
