Troubled Consciousness as a Result of Repression in Richard Wright’s Native Son

Abstract

Consciousness is a widely discussed subject among scholars, most notably Sigmund Freud, Max Velmans, and Rocco J. Gennaro. Consciousness is subject to numerous influences, including repression, which could be either social or mental. This research studies troubled consciousness due to repression in Richard Wright's novel, Native Son, in which the main character, Bigger Thomas, suffered from racial segregation in an all-white American authority. Therefore, he committed two murders as a direct result of repression, which is remarkable as he was trying to ignore the facts that he is black, inferior, and weak by building a massive wall between himself and a vast sea of long-repressed emotions, yet cracks grew wider and wider, that it flooded, taking on its way all the efforts Bigger has been exerting. The followed method in this study is the analytical approach in order to reach a clear understanding of the various influences on consciousness. The study is realized in three chapters: Chapter one is mainly theoretical in which it is going to tackle the definition of consciousness, the representation of consciousness innarratology, and the relationship between literature and psychology. Chapter two revolves around the influence of mental, social, and family repression on consciousness. Finally, chapter three discusses the effects of destructive emotions on the state of mind of the main character.