Best of Miami Portfolios 2001 - Units.muohio.edu

the entire novel, but she remains blind to the problems of the world, just as Wright believes that
religion blinds people from the real problems of society by consuming their attentions.
One of Wright’s key points through his character portrayals enforces the idea that atheist
Communists live better lives and possess better qualities than those who profess to live religiously.
The Daltons, a religious, respectable family, own a furnace that “hiss[es]” (143) steam. This
suggests that the masses bury their dark secrets, like the furnace in the Dalton basement, and use
religion as a cover. Mr. Dalton sees his donation of “a dozen Ping-Pong tables to the South Side
Boys’ Club” (340) as a noble gesture because his mind is clouded by religion; in reality, the useless
ping-pong tables provide Bigger with neither protection nor a means to keep himself from trouble.
While Bigger is hunted for his crime, it becomes evident that those who claim to be religious are
not really religious at all; it is the churchgoers that want to slaughter Bigger for his actions, which
is a form of revenge based on the Old Testament “eye for an eye” philosophy, and not on the dogma
of “love thy neighbor.” Atheists like Jan side with Bigger, not because they condone his behavior,
but because they respect human life; the religious, on the other hand, await the spilling of Bigger’s
blood. Jan’s gift of cigarettes and the counsel of the atheist lawyer Max, whose name bears a
striking similarity to that of Karl Marx, benefit Bigger more practically than the preacher’s gift of
a wooden cross. Because the gifts lack attachment to religion, the nicotine calms Bigger’s nerves
while Max attempts to save his soul. “Th[e] black folks go to church every day of the week,” (293)
but they remain destitute within the confines of the run-down Black Belt, asserting that their prayers
remain unanswered and they remain unhappy because they focus too much on praising a
nonexistent God and not enough time on practicing Communism.
Wright’s portrayal of religion and his use of religious imagery throughout Native Son
promote the major theme of Communist support throughout the novel because atheism stands
synonymous with Communism. The atheistic Communists support the right to life and equality,
and the religious capitalists persecute and abuse the poor in order to create a sound monetarilybased
community. Yet, the capitalist government punishes Bigger contrarily to religious beliefs:
although he comes before his judge at court and admits his faults, as all will stand and confess
before God on the Day of Atonement, Bigger Thomas is sentenced to death, not salvation. “Men
die alone” (496), as Max informs Bigger, because God-loving capitalists are driven by personal
gain and dispose of those who disrupt the system, sentencing them to death, leaving them to waste
away without showing them the love of their “God.”
Works Cited
Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1940.
42