To be Lynched or Not to
be Lynched
By Crystal Eckles
What happens in a world where one race creates everyone else’s future? Some may fight back and some may get swallowed up. The main character Bigger in Native Son was doomed from the start because he was not given another route to take in life.
Lynching was one of the ways that black men were murdered during slavery, and partly because they at times supposedly raped a white women. This was a fear for some black men during the time, and the smart ones most likely made sure that they were never left alone with a white woman. The white woman to some probably symbolized a rope and fire. In Native Son the main character Bigger is put in a bad situation. Mary, a young white woman whom had been driving around, became heavily intoxicated, and Bigger decided to help her up to her room.
This scene quickly turns from Bigger just helping Mary up to her room to Bigger and Mary making out on her bed. Suddenly Mrs. Dalton, who is blind, comes in and proceeds to call Mary’s name. Bigger knows that Mrs. Dalton is blind and cannot see him, but he is so afraid of what will happen if he is caught in Mary’s room that he pushes Mary’s head into a pillow to keep her quiet. Soon he realizes that he has killed her.
At this moment Bigger had choices, but what is the number one possible outcome had he been caught in Mary’s room? He would be accused of rape and hung or he would be put on a trial where he would have a jury of all white men, then he would be found guilty and sentenced to death. Bigger panicked as would any other black man in his situation. The best thing for him was to shut her up. Not to kill her but to keep her quiet long enough for him to sneak out. After all he was just helping her.
The reality of lynching is harsh. It is not only addressed in literature, but it also plays out on the television screen. In the well-known 1997 movie Rosewood that is based on a true story about an all-black community in Rosewood Florida was distorted because of a lie. Viewers can see what Bagger’s outcome would have been. In the movie a white married woman has an affair. Her husband comes home early, and to avoid being caught by her husband, the lover runs out the back door while the wife runs out the front door screaming, “Help me. I’ve been raped. It was a nigga nigga nigga.” This starts a man hunt for an innocent African American man whom the viewers know did not rape the woman. This also starts the flight of all the African American people that lived in the town of Rosewood.
Could this have happened to the character Bigger in Native Son? Would the white community have murdered Bigger and chased every black person out of the town, shot up their homes and burned down their business? When looking at history, it is safe to say that it would have happened. When we look at instances like Rosewood Florida, the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, and the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, we see that the accusations of an African American man raping a white woman could destroy an entire black community.
Lynching is a harsh reality of the past for the victims and black people as a whole. While black men were being murdered for crimes not committed like rape, white slave owners were getting away with raping their slaves. Native Son is a political novel about what happens if a black man is placed in a situation like Bigger and he decides to kill to save himself. This is what happens when one race, the white race, holds all the cards.
Rosewood. Dir. John Singleton. 1997.
Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Perennial Classics, 1998. Print.
By Crystal Eckles
What happens in a world where one race creates everyone else’s future? Some may fight back and some may get swallowed up. The main character Bigger in Native Son was doomed from the start because he was not given another route to take in life.
Lynching was one of the ways that black men were murdered during slavery, and partly because they at times supposedly raped a white women. This was a fear for some black men during the time, and the smart ones most likely made sure that they were never left alone with a white woman. The white woman to some probably symbolized a rope and fire. In Native Son the main character Bigger is put in a bad situation. Mary, a young white woman whom had been driving around, became heavily intoxicated, and Bigger decided to help her up to her room.
This scene quickly turns from Bigger just helping Mary up to her room to Bigger and Mary making out on her bed. Suddenly Mrs. Dalton, who is blind, comes in and proceeds to call Mary’s name. Bigger knows that Mrs. Dalton is blind and cannot see him, but he is so afraid of what will happen if he is caught in Mary’s room that he pushes Mary’s head into a pillow to keep her quiet. Soon he realizes that he has killed her.
At this moment Bigger had choices, but what is the number one possible outcome had he been caught in Mary’s room? He would be accused of rape and hung or he would be put on a trial where he would have a jury of all white men, then he would be found guilty and sentenced to death. Bigger panicked as would any other black man in his situation. The best thing for him was to shut her up. Not to kill her but to keep her quiet long enough for him to sneak out. After all he was just helping her.
The reality of lynching is harsh. It is not only addressed in literature, but it also plays out on the television screen. In the well-known 1997 movie Rosewood that is based on a true story about an all-black community in Rosewood Florida was distorted because of a lie. Viewers can see what Bagger’s outcome would have been. In the movie a white married woman has an affair. Her husband comes home early, and to avoid being caught by her husband, the lover runs out the back door while the wife runs out the front door screaming, “Help me. I’ve been raped. It was a nigga nigga nigga.” This starts a man hunt for an innocent African American man whom the viewers know did not rape the woman. This also starts the flight of all the African American people that lived in the town of Rosewood.
Could this have happened to the character Bigger in Native Son? Would the white community have murdered Bigger and chased every black person out of the town, shot up their homes and burned down their business? When looking at history, it is safe to say that it would have happened. When we look at instances like Rosewood Florida, the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, and the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, we see that the accusations of an African American man raping a white woman could destroy an entire black community.
Lynching is a harsh reality of the past for the victims and black people as a whole. While black men were being murdered for crimes not committed like rape, white slave owners were getting away with raping their slaves. Native Son is a political novel about what happens if a black man is placed in a situation like Bigger and he decides to kill to save himself. This is what happens when one race, the white race, holds all the cards.
Rosewood. Dir. John Singleton. 1997.
Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Perennial Classics, 1998. Print.