In All My (In)gloriousness Native Son, Antiheroism, and Black Subjectivity

Abstract

Through a close reading of the character Bigger Thomas, protagonist of Richard Wright's Native Son, this thesis suggests that Black subjectivity particularly lends itself to the literary tradition of antiheroism. Furthermore, this thesis conducts an analysis of the history of antiheroism in American culture in order to examine the relative scarcity of Black antiheroes in American media, ultimately pushing for the use of Black subjectivity when writing antiheroes, and arguing that Black existence in America can be regarded as antiheroic in and of itself.