Part three - Peripety

The turning point of the book is when Elizabeth finds out that the reason Mr. Bingley and Jane are being seperated is Mr. Darcy. Because Elizabeth becomes furious and this is the moment where Mr. Darcy chooses to propose to her without knowing how she feels. She rejects him and a heated discussion follows. After this incident Elizabeth recieves a letter from Mr. Darcy where he explains and corrects all her previous misjudments. The letter makes the horrible image she had of him go away and she realises that he actually is a good person. In the end they both agree that they had been misjudging eachother and end up together. This ending was predictable due to it being a love story but i like novels with happy endings so i was really sadisfied with how it ended. Especially because you got to find out what happened after they both got together, usually novels end just like that. The title Pride and Prejudice is perfect for the novel since both pride and prejudice play huge rolls in the plot. After i read the whole novel i picked up several messages, one of which is that you shouldnt have any predjudice because they might not be true and it might cause misconceptions. That women should marry for love instead of money was also a message.

The Conflicts

There are several conflicts in Pride and Prejudice, some are external and others internal.

External conflicts

Elizabeth is quite different compared to her sisters, she has very strong opinions and she shows them very clearly. She disagrees with her mother in various matters and one in particular is the matter of marrying for money. Elizabeth believes that you should marry for love and not the other superficial things such as looks, money and status. Whilst her mother only cares about the latter and try to marry off her daughters to men who are rich, noble or with high statuses. When William collins, Mr. Bennet's cousin comes to visit with hopes of marrying one of the Bennet daughters. When he hears that the eldest daughter Jane already is taken, he sets his eyes on Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet is delighted because Mr. Collins is a clergyman of fairly high status however he also is the heir to the Bennet estate. And if Elizabeth were to marry Mr. Collins Mrs. Bennet wouldn't have to worry about were to live is it were to happen that Mr. Bennet passed away. Nevertheless, Elizabeth refuses to marry him and rejects him when he proposes, Mrs Bennet becomes furious and says she won't speak to her daughter again if she doesn't marry him. But unlike her mother, her father, Mr. Bennet doesn't want to see his daughter unhappy and says that he wont see her again if she does marry him. However, one should not pity Mr. Collins because he recovers and becomes engaged with Elizabeth's close friend Charlotte Lucas. I put Elizabeth's beliefs of not wanting to marry for money in external conflicts due to the example above. But it could also fit under Internal conflicts because it is something internal.

Internal conflicts

I believe that the main conflict in the novel is the one between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy and their pride and Prejudice since the title is Pride and Prejudice. When Elizabeth has her first meeting with Mr. Darcy she gets the impression that he is very ''stuck-up'' and has too much pride, leading her to get a negative image of him. She has this image of him due to her being prejudice and assumes that all high noble people are like that.

Throughout the novel she develops complicated feelings for Mr. Darcy which she can't explain since she doesn't understand how she can like someone that behaves and are like Mr. Darcy. While she is unsure about her feelings towards him, various things happen that make her confused of hoe Mr. Darcy actually is.

Peripety - Native Son by Richard Wright

The turning point

Up to the turning point, everything has played out just the way Bigger has wanted. No one is suspecting him as the culprit during the investigation of the disappearance of Mary Dalton. He has moreover persuaded Bessie to act as his accomplice in his further, audacious bilking plan, as the Daltons are pleading for their beloved daughter to return safely and therefore are accepting the fabricated Communist ransom note. The ongoing event of Mary Dalton's unknown whereabouts has led to plenty of media coverage regarding the topic.

   And thus comes the point when society gains the upper hand - a journalist suddenly tries to empty the ash bin beneath the very same furnace that has incinerated the body of the missing subject. Bits of bones and remnants of Mary's jewelry reveal the true identity of the abductor and murderer of an innocent, white girl. As Bigger realizes that he has been exposed, he abruptly takes to flight and deserts the Dalton residence, in order to take shelter together with Bessie, whom he later murders violently because of fear of being apprehended.

   This is the point where the tables are turned due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, the situation and safety of the actual perpetrator of the crime - Bigger - turns from his advantage to his disadvantage. Secondly, the newspapers and the authorities go from reporting Communists as suspects to point out Bigger as the guilty one of this atrocious murder, which essentially results in the rest of the black society being even further bullied and blighted by the white authorities.

The ending

Bigger is eventually captured and put into jail after an extreme attempt of evading the manhunt. During Bigger's final stand, the masses of people and the press shouts out racial invectives and hence it is implied that the guilt is not solely Bigger's, but the whole "Negro" community's. Furthermore, the public comes across the premise that Bigger must have raped his victim before callously murdered her, even though they don't possess any proof of the calumny.

   During confinement, Bigger spends his days remaining silent, communicating only briefly with his folks and friends. Jan, still bewildered of his girlfriend's demise but understanding of Bigger's racial situations, visits Bigger in jail and forgives him. Jan additionally appoints him a defense counsel, the Communist representative Boris A. Max, to defend Bigger in court. Bigger and Max get along unusually well, and for the first time in his life, Bigger views a white person as an equal individual.

   Max exerts himself on Bigger's behalf and gives an effortful speech in the courtroom, hoping for the court to spare Bigger's life at least. He argues that the killings themselves of Mary and Bessie was committed by Bigger; however, the reasons, the intentions, the answers to the question "Why did Bigger Thomas kill?" were invoked in him by the racism and oppression from the public in the present time era. He accosts the Dalton family for being hypocritical, because they consider themselves to be philanthropic by economically supporting the black community while they are simultaneously encouraging the racial segregation of black and white people, by refusing to rent housings outside the designated Negro districts to black people. Max's speech in total is essentially a summary of all the narrated emotions and line of thoughts that Bigger has experienced during the whole book. Tragically, Max's efforts are in vain when Bigger is sentenced to death.

   During the last few pages of Native Son, before his death penalty is carried out, Bigger acknowledges  to Max that he accepts his fate, and confesses that he has realized he didn't want to kill but rather had to, and that would make his actions good. He finishes their conversation by asking Max to tell "Jan" hello, instead of "Mr Erlone", indicating that, though briefly before his execution, he finally sees even him as his equal.

The message

I believe the main purpose delivered in the book Native Son is to outline an image of the black people's sentiments toward a deleteriously racist society of 30's America. The manner that this image is conveyed is the narration of Bigger's thoughts and opinions towards different instances in the society, such as professions, family, specific city areas. It further claims that the present structure of racial inequality and injustice leads to people like Bigger being brought up and committing unprovoked and appalling crimes. By indicating that even these people have the capacity to change their state of mind, just like Bigger did during his very final moments in life, Native Son underscores the need of a revolt in the unjust society where its story takes place. This theory is supported by the fact that this book was written in 1940, and might therefore act as a tool to gain people's interest and engagement into more liberal or social political movements.

The title

In his speech, Max delivers his view of Bigger's actions and argues that they were predetermined by the society, who has embodied the consequences of racism and oppression in Bigger. Bigger is consequently a "Native Son"; his characteristics are formed by the race-oppressing American culture and society of the 30's, and he, as a black person, is born to be the killer he is about to become.

Conflicts - Native Son by Richard Wright

External conflicts

The most crucial theme that permeates Native Son is racism, or more specifically, the racial inequality between the black people and the white people. Hence, the struggle between the black society and  the white society is the most significant conflict depicted in the book. Bigger is the soul incarnation of the black community, because his outlook on people doesn't differ from those for other Afro-Americans - he regards himself and his fellow people oppressed by and inferior to white people and because of that, he feels fear and anger. In contrary, the white society is equally judgmental towards its counterpart; this is very clearly portrayed in the hunting of "the Negro rapist and murderer Bigger Thomas", where most white people take a hostile stance against black people, or colloquially, "Negroes". In summation, the main conflict in which the whole plot is based upon is the mutual racism between black and white people.

   Additionally, the tension between Bigger and Bessie is a noteworthy conflict. Bigger and Bessie have had an ongoing love affair before the events of Native Son. As a result of Bigger's savage actions, he uses Bessie's place as a sort of mental sanctuary, and even prompt her to become affiliated in further criminal plans, namely money extortion from the Dalton family. However, Bessie is not quite enlightened by Bigger's intentions, criticizes his immoralities, but eventually doesn't find the courage to stand up against him. Nonetheless, she remains reluctant towards Bigger and due to her defiance, Bigger is forced to kill her in order to tie up loose ends.
   Lastly, there is a verbal conflict in the third and final chapter of Native Son, which chiefly take place in the courtroom between the prosecutor and district attorney Buckley and Bigger's defense counsel; the communist Max. This conflict is accordingly a juridical one, where Max, a representative from the Communist Party, delivers a comprehensive speech in which he criticizes the judgmental mentality of the people to the judicial assembly, and condones Bigger's killings by describing them as the mere results of the reprehensible conditions of the black people in the society. As a response to this, Buckley inflicts guilt on Bigger personally and dismisses Max's arguments that the authorities and the society are to blame.

Internal conflicts

Due to the superior social state of the white society during the present time and place, Bigger is troubled with fear towards the whites - who seemingly try to control his life - along with shame for who he is and for his family's situation. His ambitions of becoming a person of importance is restricted by these feelings, and he is constantly struggling to surpress and deny them to himself. Nevertheless, when these emotions overwhelm him by his surroundings or by provocations, he responds with violence, not seldom directed to his fellows. Because of Bigger being afraid and ashamed, the reason to why he didn't feel guilt of his murder is implied; by killing a white woman, he defied his former constrictions of fear, and thus found peace within himself because for the first time in his life, he was the one in charge of his own actions, not the whites.

Exposition - Native Son by Richard Wright

The introduction

"BRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNG!

   An alarm clock clanged in the dark and silent room. A bed spring creaked. A woman's voice sang out impatiently:

   'Bigger, shut that thing off!'"

By solely being introduced to the first three sentences of Native Son by Richard Wright, one cannot specifically discern any particularly odd, story-shifting occurrence from this. No, this introduction would rather more likely describe a mundane, matin event for a household, questionably an accommodating and affluent one, indicated by the creaking bed spring and perhaps the impatient mother with the scolding and demanding cry. Unsatisfied with the first taste of this considered "masterpiece" and eager for further revelations to unwrap, I let myself in for the continuation of the novel.

The plot

The name of the first chapter is acting as an embedded theme of the initial part of Native Son, namely "Fear". Bigger Thomas lives poorly with his mother, his sister Vera and his brother Buddy in a narrow one-room-apartment in South Side, a segregated district of Chicago where most inhabitants are Afro-American, just like Bigger and his family. The story is set during about the 1930s, and mutual racial expectations between black and white people were always present within many people. And notwithstanding that it causes a great deal of social problems; to Bigger, the prejudices and racial anticipations affects him at a psychological stage and invokes emotions of anger, hatred, and most importantly: fear.

   Bigger has a gang, consisting of his friends Gus, G.H. and Jack, with whom he often commits robberies and other petty crimes. They plan to rob a white man's store (their first crime targeted at a white man), but the party quickly fall out due to Bigger accusing Gus of being scared and threatens him, but in reality, it is Bigger who feels fear towards the criminal act they are about to carry out.

   Bigger later heads for a job interview at the Dalton's, a fine, white household located in a wealthier part of the city, to work as a private chauffeur. He there finds himself alienated by the white, rich environment and especially so when he barely understands the comprehensive language spoken by Mr Dalton and his blind wife, Mrs Dalton. Bigger is introduced to their daughter, Mary, and is soon assigned to his first task of his employment, which is to drive the daughter to the University. However, Mary meets up with her communist friend Jan instead, and insists on Bigger driving around town, eating and drinking rum with them (to Bigger's repugnance). Mary is later taken home, amply drunk and dragged into bed by Bigger. While Bigger still is in Mary's bedroom, Mrs Dalton is found wandering at night and reacts to the fuss from the bedroom, and enters. Although Bigger knows she is blind, he is terrified of him being sensed and consequently dismissed from his newly-acquired employment. In fear of this, he silences Mary's grunts by covering her face with a pillow, accidentally suffocating her (Mrs Dalton smelt the scent of alcohol from Mary, and quickly retreated). To get rid of the body, he decides to place it in the mansion's heating furnace and let it burn up, and subsequently hopes that people will initially think she has left Chicago, and after a while has passed, suspect Jan for the disappearance of Mary Dalton.

The characters

Bigger is the dark-skinned, prejudiced main character who disdains white people and the society upon which these people have built. This distaste has erupted from casually envying the affluent lives of white people who own fine cars, live luxuriously in large mansions outside of South Side, and have the chance of becoming anything they'd like. The consequent feeling in Bigger's character is fear; fear towards the white ones, as Bigger and his gang exclusively rob stores owned by black people because they're too afraid to commit crimes towards a white person. The subjects of Bigger's fear is not limited to the white society but also include his own gang, as well as his incapability of changing his lifestyle in order to improve his family's decadent state. When the fear inside of him overwhelms him, it takes hold of his actions and he responds with irritation and violence. His act of murder on Mary is later narrated as being the most meaningful act of Bigger's whole existence, indicating his general insignificance to the racist society he is living in.

   Mary is the adolescent daughter of the Dalton family and unlike her parents, she is a revolting communism-supporter who self-consciously wants to upend the views on racial difference between black and white people. She quickly aims to befriend Bigger just for the simple reason that he is a black person, and she pleads for him to show her how people like Bigger live. Her intentions are good in essence by showing such kindness; however, unwitting to herself, this leads to Bigger being surprised, bewildered and uncomfortable. By drawing yet more apparent distinctions between white and black people, this leads to a sort of subtle racism in which Bigger dislikes just as much as ordinary racism. The flaw in Mary's conception is that she merely assumes that Bigger will accept her friendship, and thus fails to see their newly-found relationship from Bigger's perspective.

The title

The title "Native Son" puzzles me, because it isn't mentioned in at least the first part of the book. Although, I can assume that it has a connection towards the fact that Bigger is black, a "Negro", which arguably will be a crucial aspect in terms of the nature of his crime - of killing a white, innocent girl. He is a descendant of the oppressed Negro slaves, who since centuries aback has been fed with hate and disdain, which have developed into fear of the white power in the native Negro people. This same fear has later been carried through generations and consequently passed on to all the native sons, among those Bigger, which uses this empowering sentiment to commit this malevolent crime of his.