The Gothic Monster (Making) in Richard Wright’s Native Son
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Ostrava Journal of English Philology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | Ostrava Journal |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.15452/OJoEP.2025.17.0006 |
| Keywords | Native Son; Richard Wright; African American literature; dehumanization; Africanist Savage Villain; American Gothic |
| Description | Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940) uses various features of the Gothic genre to talk back to stereotypical portrayals of African American people by disclosing how the social and economic impoverishment of minoritized African American communities influences individuals within American society. The protagonist Bigger Thomas stands trial throughout the novel: for rape, for murder, and for being a Black man. This article explores how the novel’s social realism is intertwined with the Gothic and through which means the Gothic presents itself in the novel. |
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