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Native Son
Native Son (1941), a play by Paul Green and Richard Wright. [St. James Theatre, 114 perf.] Bigger Thomas ( Canada Lee) is an African‐American youth with a long record of trouble. He has grown up both frightened by and hateful of the white society he knows he is not a part of. Despite his record, a rich white man hires him as chauffeur. By accident Bigger kills the man's daughter and, in a panic, he burns her body and flees. He is captured, tried, and sentenced to death. While awaiting execution, his fears disappear and he becomes convinced he has played a small, but noteworthy role in destroying the security of the white world. Based on Wright's novel, the Orson Welles and John Houseman production, according to Burns Mantle, “builds steadily through a series of theatrical climaxes, and though it may be argued that theoretically these are the common climaxes of a conventional melodrama concerned with the career of a tough black, criminally inclined, they take on a new stature in this particular case.” Despite similarly exultant notices by most other critics, as well as Lee's bravura performance and Welles's brilliant direction, the play found a relatively limited audience.
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Cite this article
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Native Son." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Native Son." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-NativeSon.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Native Son." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-NativeSon.html |
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Native Son
Native Son, novel by Richard Wright, published in 1940. With Paul Green he dramatized it (1941), and also produced and acted in a film version (1951).
Bigger Thomas, a black boy, reared in the slum world of Chicago, is led by his environment into a life of crime. His patronizing reception by Communist associates of his employer's daughter, combined with other circumstances, throw him into a confused mental state in which he accidentally murders the girl. In the ensuing flight, pursued by a mob, he kills his own sweetheart before he is captured and condemned to death. |
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Cite this article
James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Native Son." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Native Son." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-NativeSon.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Native Son." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-NativeSon.html |
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