Richard Wright's Native Son, that character of Bigger is at times both a victim and a sacrificial figure. The horrible events of his life are shaped by the hopelessness and racism of his environment. As such, Wright manages to create a form of compassion for Bigger, a man whose life was largely predetermined by his environment. Eventually, Bigger realizes that a violent attack against white society was the only option available to him, in the overwhelming despair and hopelessness of the inner city. Wright manages to create a feeling of compassion and understanding, if not for the horrible acts of Bigger himself, but for the racism and hopelessness of his situation.

Richard Wright was born in 1908 in Adams County, Mississippi into a life of poverty and racial discrimination that would eventually color his writing. He was the eldest of two boys, and knew from the age of 15 that...
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