Abstract
This paper is a study in Depth Psychology, using the ideas of C. G. Jung. It deals with the mental state of Bigger Thomas, the hero of Native Son (1940) by Richard Wright. To some extent, the crimes committed by Bigger in this novel are related to his status and place in American life. However, Wright describes not only the usual shortcomings dealt with in proletarian fiction but also Bigger' s psychological progress. Bigger establishes his own ideas about his life and world, and achieves selfrealization. He searches for freedom. He realizes the need to fight against the circumstances that limit men like him. In the earlier parts of Native Son, Bigger cannot find any way to break free of the cultural chains that oppress him, and he murders two women. Obviously, this is wrong, but it gives him a sense of absolute freedom, because it enables him to exercise his own will and to create a new and original world. Bigger has the character of an outsider, and an urge to seek for "the meaning of life". He has to fight against himself until he awakens to his own consciousness through a contact with his attorney Max and find a means of expression for himself. After meeting Max, Bigger for the first time comes to feel the reality of a direct connection with others. Once he has acquired this new way of thinking, he wants to express his ideas to the rest of society. It is a 123practical message of hope and truth for other people and a source of power for the reforming of culture. He has discovered a treasure of selfrealization in his inner mental world. Ironically, just as he has become convinced of a state of union in the world, he has to go to the electric chair.
