Native Son Study Guide

On the surface, Native Son tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a young man shackled by poverty and racism in 1930s Chicago, whose unintentional murder of a white woman and subsequent actions touch off a city-wide manhunt that leads to capture, conviction and the death sentence. Yet, the undercurrents deliver the real tale. The novel is more than a lurid action tale of murder and mayhem; it is a clarion call for a deeper understanding of how the failure to address the problems caused by years of systematic oppression can lead to bitter rebellion and desperate violence. (read more)