Characters
Main Characters
* Bigger Thomas – Bigger Thomas, the main protagonist of “Native Son”, is a twenty year-old black man who lives in a one room apartment, located in the Black Belt of Chicago with his mother, brother, and sister and is sent by his mother to work for the owner of their apartment, Mr. Henry Dalton, in order to straighten him out and make more money for the family so that they might not have to live in the conditions they do for much longer. His girl’s name is Bessie and he travels with his “gang” that includes Gus, G.H., and Jack; during his trial for the rape and murder of Mary Dalton, he hopes and believes that his gang will take care of his family.
* Mary Dalton – The daughter of Mr. Henry Dalton and Mrs. Dalton, Mary Dalton is a rebellious, young white woman who supports the equalization of whites and negroes; she is beautiful to her boyfriend, a white man, and Bigger, a black man and her driver. Her boyfriend, Jan, is a Communist, so she sympathizes with the movement and wishes to see how black people live; her sympathy and curiosity antagonize Bigger, and eventually leads to her rape and murder, Bessie’s rape and murder, and Bigger’s death sentence.
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* Bessie Mears – As a young black woman living in the Black Belt, Bessie is a hard-working woman who gets only one day off a week due to her stressful schedule trying to earn a living. She is Bigger’s girl and, in the end, is raped and then bashed in the head with a brick by Bigger because he does not trust her to do what he wants her to; she loved Bigger and wanted him to do the right thing and for him to lead a happy life even until she died a painful, slow death.
* Mr. Boris Max – Mr. Max, a Jew, a Communist, and a lawyer, has never felt like he belonged anywhere in society, but he uses that feeling to help defend people like Bigger Thomas who are refused representation by anyone else. He is a good friend to Jan, and per his request, represents Bigger in...