What do you think about the first 12 pages of Native Son?

English 102
ME
Prof. English


The rat scene awakens the reader to Bigger’s world. The use of onomatopoeia draws the reader into the apartment with a “shrill” “screaking” of the rat just after the “brinnnnnnng” of the alarm. The scuttle of the rat at daybreak comes as no surprise to the characters. The Thomas family seems in tune and aware of their environment and situation. The Thomas familiy's reaction to the rat helps to relate a tactile setting for the reader; here we are in a “black” room with “iron” beds and “brown” and “black” people dodging a “black rat” with “long, yellow fangs.” There lays before us a dark, early waking world with foot long rats and frying pan avengers. Wright saturates the story with more than just sound. Colors, vibrant and deliberate also provide the reader with a 3-dimensional experience. The rat scene prepares the reader for a tumultuous, fast-paced and colorful journey through the world as Bigger sees it. Or rather as the third person omniscience portrays Bigger’s view of the world.