Native Son Essay(Edited)

Nathaniel Burns-Sarno
English 10 Honors/ Mr. George
May 1, 2009
Native Son Essay Topic 3
Bigger Thomas: The Logic Behind the Lunacy
The world is comprised of three groups of people; the ones whose actions make them seem good, the ones whose actions make them seem evil, and the ones whose actions make them seem between good and evil. In order for either of these three to survive, the other two must exist. There can be no good without evil, just as there can be no evil without good, and no one between good and evil without good and evil to begin with. These three groups of the world seem to be at a constant war with one another, as their views tend to conflict with each other. The evil prey on the good, and the good fend off the evil. Those between good and evil are often tempted by both sides, and thus try to push them away. Both good and evil are at an equal force. However, those who are good are often favored over those who are evil. Good deeds bring about rewards, while evil deeds bring about punishment. So, the question is; Why would anyone choose a life of evil over good? The answer is a simple one: Good and evil are simply a matter of one’s point of view. We can easily judge someone who has committed a crime to be evil. However, they themselves would have seen their crime as an act of good. There is no purely malicious deed. That is, no deed done based on malice alone. A person will do something only if they believe it to be the right thing (at least during the time that they are doing it). With enough thought, criminals can easily justify their actions, and even if their excuses fall upon deaf ears, they can never be proven as being universally wrong(only politically so). Any act can be defended, no matter how heinous. Therefore, no action committed by Bigger Thomas, the main character of the novel Native Son, by Richard Wright, can be deemed evil. Even crimes as horrible as murder, attempted ransom, and running from the police can be justified.
Bigger Thomas murdered two people in the novel Native Son. The first person he murdered was Mary Dalton, the daughter of Mr. Dalton, Bigger’s employer. The murder took place on the night that Mary and Jan, Mary’s boyfriend, took Bigger out for a night on the town. During the excursion, Bigger, Mary, and Jan all drank a lot of alcohol and became drunk. Mary, being too buzzed to even stand up on her own, required Bigger’s assistance in getting to her bed. After Bigger helped Mary to her bed, Mrs. Dalton, Mary’s blind mother, came upstairs to check on her. Bigger knew that if he was found in Mary’s room, he would be accused of rape simply because he was a black man. Unfortunately, due to her drunken state, Mary was unable to keep herself quiet. In a panic, Bigger placed his hand over Mary’s mouth to silence her. When Mrs. Dalton left the room, and Bigger was able to remove his hand from Mary’s mouth, he found Mary to be dead. Bigger automatically knew what would happen if people found out about him accidently murdering Mary. He knew that the consequences for his mistake would be ten times worse than the punishment that would be bestowed upon a white murderer. “She was dead and he had killed her. He was a murderer, a Negro murderer, a black murderer. He had killed a white woman. He had to get away from here”(Wright 87). Bigger knew that he had done wrong, and would be seen as a murderer. However, his murder was only a technical one, one that would certainly not be punishable by death if a white man had done it. Knowing that he had to avoid anyone discovering his “murder”, Bigger chopped up Mary’s body and threw the pieces into a furnace. While this act is certainly more heinous than the actual murder, it is easier to justify. Bigger was simply doing what he could to continue his life, as his death would not fix anything.
The other Murder Bigger committed was the murder of Bessie, his girlfriend. The act of killing Bessie was done for the same reason as the act of burning Mary’s corpse; to cover his tracks. He needed to keep Bessie quiet in order to avoid being put to death. She had to die for him to survive. It was simply survival of the fittest.
After murdering Mary, Bigger created a ransom note and sent it to the Daltons, claiming to have kidnapped Mary and offering her return in exchange for riches. While a despicable act when seen through the eyes of the “good”, one must consider Bigger’s position in the world he was living in. As a black citizen(and I use the term loosely), Bigger was given nothing. He was forced to live in a confined area of poverty, and taunted with the images of the world on the other side; the white world. He had done nothing to deserve the lousy hand life had dealt him. The only crime he had committed to end up there was the crime of being black. It is only natural that Bigger would feel entitled to some of what the white people had. So, with Mary’s death and word out of her disappearance, Bigger saw the opportunity to make a better life for himself. He knew that the Daltons were rich enough to gain back whatever they had lost, so they were the perfect target. They would not suffer for having lost money, and Bigger would thrive for having gained money. The only thought Bigger had in his mind while writing the ransom note was getting out of the hell that he called a home, and entering something much greater.
When all signs of Mary’s murder pointed to Bigger, Bigger went on the lamb, even going as far to fire his gun at police in order to avoid his capture. While certainly an illegal act, one cannot say that the thought of doing so would not enter their own minds, if placed in that situation. Bigger attempted to kill in order to avoid being killed. Once again, survival of the fittest. While it can often be viewed as a barbaric principle, keep in mind that Bigger was uneducated, and had to work on instinct alone. No one should have been surprised by that.
Bigger’s actions led to his downfall, but they are not without reason. Everything he did, while performed rashly and without thinking first, is understandable. He did what he thought to be the wisest choice, which I’m sure anyone would do in a similar situation. In fact, it is clear that had the “white world” given Bigger more in life, none of these tragedies would have taken place. In a way, the “white world” is just as much at fault for Bigger’s crimes as Bigger himself. Bigger’s view of right and wrong would not have been so contradictory to their own if they would have treated him properly. Bigger cannot be blamed for thinking what he did to be right. His views were forced on him the moment he was born.