I know we don't have a journal topic for this week, but Native Son, written by Richard Wright, is driving me nuts and I need to get some things off my chest about this wonderful, but gut-wrenching novel.
First off, this may just be because I was born in a time away from segregation and lynching and the white on black racism, but I do not understand it. I was raised up in a Christian household, so I believe that we were all made of the dust of the earth, like it says in Genesis. So someone has a different skin color than me, big woody-doo! If God decided to make me out of dust near White Sands, New Mexico and the guy sitting next to me was made from mud, or red, Texas dirt, or what ever color, why does it matter? You can't change the way you were born, and if we want to get extremely technical, none of us are the exact same color because nothing is a perfect match in this world. Even identical twins have differences.
Now on to my frustrations with the book. I have such conflicting emotions! Bigger is a horrible, horrible, terribly awful human being. I am no professional, but from the article I read on http://bipolar.about.com/od/glossarys/g/gl_sociopath.htm, I would say that Bigger is a sociopath. He has no remorse for the first woman he murdered, he lacks empathy for when he rapes his girlfriend, keeping him from having a functional relationship. Despite the anger and resentment I feel toward Bigger and his crimes, I don't want him to receive the death penalty, because it isn't for the right reason. Bigger is being executed because they want to make an example of him to the black community. Bigger should be executed because he has two counts of murder and one count of rape. They don't care about Bigger's raped and murdered girlfriend until they realize that it could help them in their case. This frustrates me beyond no end! If he is going to be tried, I want him to be tried properly and fairly, not because he is black. That is not what justice is meant to be. Lady Justice is blindfolded because she is supposed to be unbiased to race, gender, and anything else that sets us apart. Yet Bigger is not even given a chance, because he is black. I know different times hold different beliefs, values, and norms, but this...this just flips my lid. Being fair and civil to one another should not change due to the time and place.
Thank you for listening. My apologies for being angry and demanding justice from fictional characters.
Thanks for sharing, Kelsey--I think this is very much in keeping with what we've been talking about in terms of intellectual/qualitative/practical interest. Our individual moral ruler for the character is (or may be) different than American society as portrayed in the book--thus, we not only have to examine our own practical interest, but it's that practical, moral interest that actual justice and not false justice be done.
ReplyDeleteIdeals and reality often compete--they certainly do in this book in myriad ways. It's okay to demand justice from (and for) fictional characters--it means they and we are human.