Best of Miami Portfolios 2001 - Units.muohio.edu

unheeded. Mrs. Thomas later exhibits Wright’s belief that religious individuals are neither selfless
nor giving when she prays before Bigger’s execution, asking “the Lord if [she] did everything [she]
could for [him]” (345) instead of praying for Bigger’s soul. The preacher’s prayers invoke a
negative, persecuted feeling within Bigger, causing him to realize that “[t]o those who want to kill
him he [is] not human, not included in [the] picture of Creation” (328), which is the opposite of the
comfort that is intended and provides the idea that religion is a form of self-persecution, where one
devotes everything and receives nothing.
Colors also serve as a vessel through which Wright displays his ideas regarding God.
Primarily, the Virgin Mary’s colors, blue and white, appear together in situations that denounce the
importance and existence of purity and holiness. The message “Use Speed Gasoline” (17), written
upon the deep blue sky with white smoke, quickly disappears, which represents Wright’s belief that
God is a false entity with an existence that is polluting and manmade, a figment of stability that
someone created long ago to sell to the otherwise unstable. A “hazy blue light” shines within Mary
Dalton’s bedroom, causing her “white bed,” “white teeth,” (96) and “white dial[ed] alarm clock”
(101) to be the only objects visible as Bigger molests her. Despite the erratic faith of Mrs. Dalton,
God neglects to protect her daughter from Bigger’s lustful desire for “sins of the flesh.” The use of
these colors within the bedroom of Mary Dalton also belittles the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her
namesake, Mary Dalton, is clearly not innocent and pure of heart; she drinks alcohol, lies to her
parents regarding her whereabouts and her relationship with a Communist, and partakes in acts of
fornication with Jan, her lover, while Bigger chauffeurs them around town.
Another use of conventional religious symbols to highlight the evils of society is that of
reverent numbers. Bigger’s three friends, Jack, Gus, and G.H., represent the Holy Trinity because
they cannot save him, just as neither the Father, Son, nor Holy Spirit can save him. Likewise, “three
white men” (309) surround Bigger after his chase, who symbolize a persecuting Holy Trinity and a
vengeful God that assaults rather than assists believers. The repetition of the number two compares
Bigger’s situation to the Bible. Bigger, like his “savior,” Jesus Christ, is crucified between two
men; he sits “between two white people” (79), Jan and Mary, in the diner, where he does not belong.
The idea of the persecution of Bigger and Wright’s belief that the death of the supposed Christ does
not redeem the souls of his followers is again portrayed when Bigger finds himself “mov[ing]
consciously between two poles” (170), which represent the two pieces of timber fastened together
to create Christ’s crucifix, alluding to the fact that Bigger is destined for martyrdom.
An overwhelming lack of God within the lives of the characters in Native Son is also
evident through their sacrilegious actions, which support Wright’s atheism. Bigger and his friends
emphasize Wright’s atheistic views by laughing when Gus announces that “God’ll let [Bigger] fly
when He gives [Bigger] his wings in heaven” (17), implying that Bigger will never receive wings
because there is neither a God to provide them nor a heaven to which he will go. The pipe organ,
which is normally associated with Church hymns, plays in the theater where Bigger and Jack spend
their afternoon and represents Wright’s disbelief in God when its music “die[s] away” (32) and
Bigger and Jack continue to masturbate, symbolizing the “sins of the flesh” and evils that exist in
the world because people depend on a God who, like music, is intangible. Mrs. Dalton represents
Wright’s perception of the utmost religious, as her form is draped in pure, white fabric throughout
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