Is The Black Man A Victim Or A Victimizer Of "Rape"?
             Rape is a primary source of fear in Richard Wright's Native Son. Through the main character of the story, Bigger Thomas, Wright reveals the idea that black men in the 1940's feared the thought of being associated with "rape", which is a result of racism and white-superiority. But, even though Bigger is afraid of such a situation, he eventually does commit "rape", which brings about his downfall and, eventually, his death.
             In Native Son, Richard Wright's protagonist, Bigger Thomas, is a young, fearful, and violent black man, through which he shows the struggles that a black man must endure to support his family and get by in life. Bigger's fears are the results of living in a racist, white-dominated society. Bigger, as well as the other blacks, live in the "black belt" of town, in poorly conditioned buildings and small apartments owned by the whites. They often have low-paying jobs and are the victims of white abuse. To emphasize the economic and social crisis between the blacks and the whites, Wright often uses reoccurring metaphors. Throughout the story, he often repeats Bigger's fear of being accused of rape or even being molested himself. This is first seen when he goes to the Daltons' to interview for the job and decides to take the gun with him:
             Inside his shirt he felt the cold metal of the gun resting against his naked skin; he ought to put it back between the mattresses. No! He would keep it... He was going among white people, so he would take his knife and his gun... Then he thought of a good reason why he should take it; in order to get to the Dalton place, he had to go through a white neighborhood. He had not heard of any Negroes being molested recently, but he felt that it was always possible. (48)
             This shows that the blacks can be, and have been, victims of white abuse, which is related to "rape". Bigger feels that he needs to protect himself from the whites, w...