CHAPTERl
INTRODUCI'ION
1.1.Background of Study
Talking about American history of white-black relations. one cannot overlook
the dreadful chapter of racial discrimination against blacks that went on for generations
aU across the
country,
Racial discrimination against blacks in colonial America dated
back to 1619 through the ptlletice of importing African captives to Vrrginia colony to
worl.: as slaves, Seen as profitable, the practice of slavery soon spread to other colonies
as welL The African slaves brought to the cobrnies were either abducted, bougb! from
slave dealers, or captured like pnsoners ofwsr (McQuade eta1999: 327}As a slave,
they underwent a very miserable life; their rights were denied and they were "deprived
of everything that [had] a tendency to make life even tolerable" ("Black Petition for
Freedom", 1999: 335).
Althoogh slavery was formally abolished in 1865 through the ratification of the
13th amendment of United States Constitution, racial discrimioation against blacb. did
not come to an end, Indeed, it continued in the form of segregation - the so-called
"separate bot equal" ("Piessy v, Ferguson", 2006), Blacks were segregated in public
places and facilities, snch as at restauraors,
transportstions, and many
more,
Moreover,
parks, besches, public
to estsblish white
phones,
dominance and
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The deeply entrenched racial disaimination inevitably
brougb!: devastating
impacts on the victims' lives. A prominent U.S. civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. profoundly expressed in his book
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or
Community (1967) the overwhelming gloom and despondency the! dominated blacks'
iives in Am.erlca:
Being a Negro in Ameri<ll ,_,., trying to smile when yoo want to ory. It
""""' tmng ro bold on to physical life amid psychological death, It meaus the
pain of watching yoor children grow up with clouds of interiority in their
mental skies. It means having your legs cut off, and then being comiemned for
being a cripple (cited in E!l<llrta encyclopedia, 2006).
The degrading treatments that blacks went tbtough affected not only their physical world
but ai<O their psychological world RJchard Wright, in his 1940 essay, "How 'Bigger'
was Born", pointed out that he saw the "undeveloped
negative" out of anger and
bitterness in blacks' lives (Wright, 1993: 440) Furthermore, quite a few blacks turned
violent as the effect of the pressure It is such condition thet Wright attempted to depict
in his novel Native Son through the character Bigger Thomas.
Accordingly, in this
thesis, the writer would like to analyze the impacts of racial discrimination on Bigger
Thomas' personality and hehavior
Set in the 1930s, Native Son tells a story of Bigger Thomas, a poor, young black
man who lives with his family in the slum area of Chicago's South Side. The story
depicts Bigger's life and interaction with his family and friends, exploring his feelings,
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As the stocy progresses, Bisger indulges himself in more crimes against whiles, and is
eventually imprisoned and senteRced to death.
The writer chose to analyze Wright's Native Son because she finds the novel is
unique, in a sense that the main character (Bisger Thomas) is portrayed as a violent and
defiant man, with the purpose of showing that the main character is an "American
product" of racial discrimination Wright, 1993: 446). Furthermore, Wright presents the
character and the stocy so skillfully that she was carried away by the characters'
emotions"
1,2, Statement of Problem
In this thesis, the writer would like to discuss the impacts of racial discrimination
on Bigger Thomas' personality and behavior, inelnding how the mechanisms of Iego,
superego, instincLt, anxiety, and e;:o defense work in his conscious and unconsciousness.
1.3.Seope and Umitation
The writer will limit her analysis on how the racial discrimination affect Bigger
Thomas' personality and behavior in Richard Wright's Native Son. She will analyze the
novel by using Freud's Psychoanalytic theocy, focusing on the structure of personality,
instincts, anxiety, and ego defense mechanisms.
In addition, she also uses data on
practices of racial discrimination against blacks between World War I and the Great
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1.4. Goal and Function
The goals of tbls thesis are to find oot the impacts of radal discrimination on
Bigger Thomas' personality and behavior and to describe the interplay of id, ega,
superego,
Instincts, anxiety, and ego defen.<e mechanisms in his conscious and
unconsciousness_ The function of this thests is to give readers some insights into
practices of racial discrimination against blad<:s in America, especially in the 1930s, and
into bow these practices may affect the victim as representnd by tbe cbaracter Bigger
Thomas.
1.5.Resean:IJ Mt>thods
Tbe writer uses both qualitative and library researeh in analyzing the novel.
First, she reads the novel several times
to
better understand the character Bigger
Thomas. Afterwards, she colle<:ts the theories and supporting data needed to support ber
analysis. 1n collecting Freud's Psychoanalytic theories, she visits the library of Bina
Nusantara University, Atmajaya University, and University of Indonesia. Infunnatioll
about the historical background of the novel, especially about the practices of racial
discrimination in the United States during that period, is gathered by visiting
Information Resource Center (US. Embassy} and Miriam Budiarjo Resootce Center
(University of Indonesia). She also browses the internet to lind additional infortlllllion.
Then, she conducts the analysis using the theories and data gathered.