Bigger: A Literary Life

Bigger: A Literary Life 

By Trudier Harris 

Yale University Press, 2024 

Paperback 

Nonfiction 

Reviewed by Charlotte C. Teague 

After more than eighty years, Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940) is still relevant to the life that we live, and in her newest book, renowned scholar Trudier Harris shows readers why. Harris crafts an exceptional biography of Wright’s fictional character, Bigger Thomas, who readers typically either hate, pity, or misunderstand. Rarely has he been understood, according to Harris; however, she urges readers to reserve judgment or make reconsiderations of Thomas by examining his motivations and dissecting Wright’s intentions, societal expectations, social norms, and the historical and political climate of America as a foundation for reflection. 

Harris expects the following question to be asked: “Why Bigger Thomas, and why now?” In the aftermath of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Brown, George Floyd, and countless others, ideas about justice in America, especially those centering on Black men, are still a subject of discussion. It would be tempting to say that Harris’s book breathes life into Wright’s most controversial and complex character, but the truth is, Bigger Thomas has never been dead or even near death. He has remained a central figure in American literature since his birth. Though he has been characterized as a monster for his brutal acts in the novel, he is so much more than a basic literary character. Harris shows that his complexities lie in his motivations, beliefs, and dreams, and not necessarily in his violent actions; although, it is quite tempting for readers to only concentrate on his heinous acts.  

He is, as Harris notes, symbolic of the perceived Black naturalistic experience in America from Wright’s perspective, and the crafting of Bigger’s story is an opportunity for society to face the reality of the implications of the Black experience in the United States. According to Harris, “Bigger was thus born into a literary and social/historical world where the actions of Black males were circumscribed, monitored, and always considered potentially dangerous.” In fact, a lot of the past criticism that Harris outlines related to the reception of the novel and the central character shows that many readers were unwilling to deal with the larger implications of what has been characterized as Wright’s monster. This new book gives readers an opportunity to reconceptualize Bigger and consider that he is perhaps more like Victor Frankenstein’s monster, which suggests that he is misunderstood, as he is both a victim and victimizer, and the two should not be separated.  

Harris skillfully crafts a discussion that honors all the research and scholarship that has been published on Native Son in the last eighty-four years. Unlike most others, she gives the benefit of the doubt to both Richard Wright and Bigger Thomas by examining Wright’s creation through a modern-day cultural and intellectual lens. Harris explains that there are many layers to Bigger’s guilt and Wright’s intentions. For example, her analysis of Bigger’s few speaking lines in the novel enables readers to see Bigger’s humanity underneath the murders without the veil of judgment, though he has committed very inhumane actions. Harris’s book also presses readers to consider: what responsibility, if any, does society, racism, and other cultural norms have on the protagonist’s fate? Is America responsible for creating Bigger Thomas and all his modern literary and social offspring? These questions still seek to be answered, and in Bigger: A Literary Life, Harris takes readers on an intriguing journey and challenges us to judiciously contemplate the answers and respond. 

Charlotte C. Teague is an associate professor of English at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU), where she specializes in Professional Writing (Creative, Media, & Technical), Black Women Writers, and Protest Literature.