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Symbolism In Richard Wright's Native Son

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In Richard Wright’s novel, Native Son, symbolism was involved through the entirety of the story and was very essential to the work as a whole. An example of this essential symbolism comes during the start of the novel. The rat in the apartment serves as a very important symbol throughout the story. The audience clearly sees many similarities between the rat and Bigger himself. When looked at very closely this scene involving the rat, it becomes clear that the rat is symbolizing the emotions of Bigger and what he is feeling about his purpose in the society that is around him. The author, Wright utilizes this scene with the rat to describe the character of Bigger from an emotional and physiological point of view.

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