RECONSIDERING WHITE LIBERALS IN NATIVE SON RECONSIDERANDO A LOS BLANCOS LIBERALES EN NATIVE SON
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Abstract
This paper examines the novel Native Son (1940) by Richard Wright (1908-1960). When the main character, Bigger Thomas, walks out of Chicago’s Black Belt to work as a chauffeur for the Daltons, a family of white liberals, and kills their daughter by accident, he interacts with numerous white characters. Bigger’s perspective dismisses the Daltons and other white people as particles of a huge mountain of hate. The only exceptions to this are Jan Erlone and Boris Max, the two communist characters who succeed in establishing their humanity to Bigger and win his trust. This article reconsiders white liberals beyond the way they are presented through Bigger’s dominant perspective and the way they are generally seen by critics.
Keywords: white liberals, Richard Wright, Native Son, race relations
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