American+Experience

//Native Son// by Richard Wright, took place during a time when blacks were not yet truly accepted in the white community, therefore Bigger did not have the American experience that most people dream of today. The book says that Bigger was destined for jail from the start. People today do not usually associate jail with their dream and what will happen them in their future. Bigger grew up in a gang of friends that did not have good influence on him. His mother did not approve of the gang he was in, but did not question the extra money when it came. That proves that Bigger did not have that great of a role model in his life. Bigger had a lot expected of him because he was the oldest sibling. It was Bigger’s job to bring in the money for the family. He had many pressures in his life and that caused him to make some wrong decisions in his life. Bigger did not have the same expectations for his personal American experience because no one expected anything of him. The whites expected him to end up in jail while the blacks expect him to lie to stay out of jail. Bigger did not think much of himself therefore he did not accomplish things for himself. Bigger did not set up expectations for himself so he fell into a routine of what everyone else expected out of him. His dream was to stay out of jail; unfortunately his dream did not come true. Mary, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton daughter, was held to high expectations because she came from a wealthy white family. Although she rebelled and interacted with the Reds, her parents had high expectations for her. Mary was the fruit of respected elders in the community. Mary was setup to go to college and have a perfect life for the rest of her life. Mary was able to have a better American experience because she was white and wealthy. No one expected her to drink and hang around with the Reds, but her parents were wealthy enough to know they could get her on the right track. Mary would have had the expected American dream, while Bigger’s American dream would not have been nearly as great. Bessie, Bigger’s girlfriend, seemed to expect more of herself even though the community did not expect much of her. Bessie worked hard at her job as a waitress and tried her best to be an honest person. The world around her may not have expected much, but she set a high standard for herself. Unfortunately she was black and poor. No one expected anything out of her, but she tried her best with what she had. Bessie achieved what she could. It was difficult to have high expectations for herself because of the higher white and wealthy class above her. Bessie worked the hardest to achieve a good American dream, while Bigger just followed in the footsteps that were expected out of him. Mary did not work for anything according to her American dream; rather everything was just handed to her. Each of the characters could have had an amazing American dream even with the color differences. They did not achieve their dreams because Bigger stepped in the way. Bigger was stuck following what everyone else expected he would do. He got caught up in his life, and did not think about what others want. Bigger went for what he thought he needed to do without thinking. He did not worry about what was good for him, his family, Bessie, Mary, and the Daltons. When Bigger killed Mary and Bessie, he took away their opportunities to do what they wanted to do in life and with their American dream.