Theme Of Bessie In Native Son

Though the character of Bessie Mears made limited appearances throughout Native Son, Richard Wright implicated her as a representation of the common attitudes and experiences of African Americans during the time period. There is also an element of tragedy to Bessie’s character, as she faced double oppression for being both African American and a woman. Bessie is a forgotten character in the novel and she serves a purpose for Wright, as opposed to being viewed as a person. Instead, she is a symbol that strengthens the opposition and separation between Bigger’s personality and actions from those of of his equally-oppressed friends and family. The thought of a character being used as a symbol and not being seen as human may seem counterintuitive,

Later on, he says “I wasn’t in love with Bessie. She was just my girl. I don’t reckon I was ever in love with nobody. I killed Bessie to save myself” (352). Both of these statements made by Bigger showed his lack of empathy and consideration towards Bessie. She had loved him and felt that he could give her solace in the dark despair of her life. This rejection of Bessie by people she loved was a technique that Wright used to make her character seem less human. She is stripped of any human worth in order to make her a tragic

Whether it was whiskey or Jesus, most people in that oppressed society used these as coping mechanisms. These people constantly had to live in fear of white society and not being able to provide for themselves or their families. Bessie was not given her individuality because she represented a much bigger group of people than anyone else in the novel. Her character was tragic in the sense that she could never rise above her circumstance. Unfortunately, many African Americans in her position experienced the same problems and they, too, could not surmount the numerous obstacles they faced.

Throughout Native Son, Bigger was the main character and was given most of the attention because he stood apart from the rest of his race by murdering a white woman and by defying the social norms placed upon him by white society. Though he did all of those things, Bessie deserved notoriety more so than she received. She represented the most vulnerable members of society by living her life under the social constraints that were placed upon her entire