Native Son: Narrated

One of the most striking and distinctive features about Native Son is the uncensored, unflinching narration. Bigger's life is described in immense detail, from the moment he wakes up, to killing Mary, to his time in trial and his jail cell. This type of incredibly thorough narration is used throughout the novel, except when it comes to moments with dialogue. In those cases, the narration starts to vary. I noticed that there are roughly three categories of dialogue narration, I’ll call them “heavy”, “medium”, and “light” narration.

I’ll start with heavy narration. This is the most striking, and the one that we spent the most time in class discussing. This “heavy” narration is separate from the flow of the plot, a step back from what is going on, where we see Bigger's conscious (and subconscious) fully at work. Heavy narration is primarily used in situations where Bigger is uncomfortable. A good example is Bigger in the Dalton’s home for the first time on page 46. There, he is confused, and feels out-of-place. His confusion requires him to think through every action, hyper-analyze every movement, and be incredibly self-aware about what he’s doing and what it could mean. In general, he acts this was around unfamiliar white people in situations he can’t control (namely the Dalton home, the car with Jan and Mary, and the court).

            Medium narration is where there is narration between the lines, but it is not very far removed from the dialogue, just a layer of Bigger’s thoughts about the conversation. It’s used where Bigger feels semi-comfortable: either places where he is surrounded by black people but the situation is tense and unfamiliar, or with white people but he has some amount of control. The first fight with Gus (on page 27) is tense and unfamiliar, but he doesn’t actively fear for his life, just maybe his pride. He doesn’t have to so carefully think through every move. With Britten’s interrogation, although he is surrounded by white people, he has a plan and a cover story, so he feels at least somewhat in control of the situation.

            Finally, light narration is places where there is zero to no narration during a conversation. It’s used where Bigger feels completely comfortable or in control of the situation. With Gus on page 19, as he “plays white”, he is filling a fun and familiar role, with little stress about judgement or fear for his life. On 144, when he tells Bessie about the ransom plan, although the mood isn’t as lighthearted, he is in total control of Bessie and the situation. Limited narration feels immediate, present-tense, and easy. Bigger doesn’t struggle with his role in his setting, and he doesn’t have to think through his actions, he just does them.

With the differing narration, Wright chooses what distance to puts us from the events. The less narration, the clearer and more immediate the events, while more narration makes scenes slower, and the readers more removed from the action. Wright does this in a very subtle way, and once I noticed the pattern, it was interesting how often he used this technique. It is incredibly effective at conveying Bigger’s anxiety in different situation, especially around white people.