"Separate but Equal"

Richard Wright protests many points in Native Son. However, I believe that the overarching belief being protested is the “separate but equal” ideology. Throughout the book, Wright continues to make a clear distinction between white “things” and black “things” such as materialistic items and opportunities. At the beginning of the book, despite being brief we see a glimpse of Bigger’s secret envy to become a pilot, support his family and be successful during his conversation with Gus. But, he says that only white men get those opportunities.

Quick interjection before I continue with my point: When Mrs. Dalton asks Bigger if he wants to go back to school (with the intension of making it happen) Bigger declines the offer. My interpretation of this is that having never been presented with opportunity, Bigger doesn’t know when to take it. His entire life has been filled with rejection and when he experiences opportunity, he does the only thing he knows how to do, rejects it. There is also that sense of impossibility as well, what are your thoughts?

O.K. I’m back:  As for material possessions, throughout the entire book Bigger’s only real possession is his gun which he carries out of necessity. There is never mention of an object that is Bigger’s which he carries for sentimental purposes. The only object to his name is the gun, which wasn’t even supposed to be his (I believe it was for his entire family). Because of his family’s financial state, Bigger isn’t able to purchase any such objects which outlines further issues of potential unequal pay. Or simply the matter of limited resources/stores in the black belt compared to the white neighborhood (please share your thoughts these are just some of my ideas). Aside from the lack of opportunities and material possessions, Wright points out countless times of the outright inequality experienced in America. The fact that Bigger could rob black owned businesses without fear of punishment but if he chose to rob a white owned business, the ramifications could include a variety of harsh punishments. We see that even the law actively practices the “separate but equal” ideology. In the third book, we see that Bigger receives the death penalty for the murder of Mary Dalton. However, his murder and rape of Bessie are used as justification for Mary’s case. I believe that at one point in the book, Bigger explicitly states that the law doesn’t care what blacks do to blacks. But when a white person is involves, a full investigation is carried out. The case with Bessie and the businesses are just two of the many examples Wright includes to convey the message that indeed they are separate but in no way are they equal.  

Comments

  1. Leslie AnukwuAugust 27, 2018 at 3:09 PM

    I feel like you already know this/got to it, but there is more that Bigger is being deprived of. For instance housing (I don't know if this is a material/opportunity), his family has to pay substantially more than a white person for the same space. Meanwhile the Dalton's have enough money to throw at people they hardly even know, while simultaneously burning it to keep them warm. However, I like how you pointed out that Bigger didn't have that much in the way of possessions. I didn't really think of that till now. Good blogpost! :D

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  2. ZonaAugust 27, 2018 at 6:37 PM

    So I thought a little bit about your interjection about how Mrs. Dalton offers Bigger the opportunity to go back to school, and why Bigger declines. I hadn't thought of that passage like you had, and it's a really good explanation. I had a slightly different reading of it though. I thought that his rejection came from the fact that she was just another white person forcing him to do what they thought was "right", even though they would still have control over his life. Bigger doesn't see education as a way out of his poverty, because if his poverty is governed by racism, which doesn't go away with education, then why even try? And this relates to this idea of "separate but equal". I think that even if Bigger did get an education, he would be seperated and not equal, and still not have the same opportunities to succeed as a white person would.

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  3. Tue DoAugust 28, 2018 at 10:25 AM

    I think it's interesting that you focused on materialistic possessions in your blog post. Maybe you were already alluding to this, but I think its also interesting that Bessie is treated no more than an item, as evidence, in Bigger's trial. Not only do blacks get less "things", but they are also considered little more than "things" in her case.

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  4. UnknownSeptember 3, 2018 at 11:04 AM

    This is very interesting and I like your thoughts. Just a thought, you talk about "white" and "black" things and something that came to mind about your first paragraph, "white" and "black" opportunities? For example, I think Bigger sees success and "real" freedom as a "white" opportunity. Does that make sense? Just something to think about I guess. Going off of that, I really liked your side note about Bigger's rejection. I think that because he sees things like success as a "white" thing, he doesn't see himself being successful, despite his wishes. He wasn't able to continue his education because of his "black" struggles, so further education might be something that isn't accessible to him as a black person. He possibly sees it as pointless and, as you say, impossible for him to pursue. Great post :)

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  5. OliviaSeptember 9, 2018 at 10:04 AM

    I'm going to respond to the interjection: I agree that part of why Bigger declines the offer is because of his subconscious way of dealing with things, and his fear of rejection and being let down, or being sad in general. I feel like a lot of Bigger's behavior throughout the book can be summed up with the mentality of, "They can't reject me if I reject them first", which sort of helps explain why he goes on this ultimately self-destructive path later on. But also, he may have just declined because school doesn't mean anything to him. When you live in such an oppressive society and in a constant battle to just continue existing, I feel like you might not be super worried about getting an education.

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