In the novels Native Son and Narcissus and Goldmund, both main characters set out to explore their own world as they are destined to fulfill their fate. In Native Son, An interesting aspect of Native Son develops from the many levels of conflict occurring simultaneously in the book. On a superficial level, personal conflicts arise, but deeper conflicts about race, social status, and political viewpoints drive these superficial conflicts. When the book opens Bigger has an argument with his mother, and then his sister, about getting a job. Confrontations like these happen constantly throughout this novel, but neither Bigger nor the other characters grow from these conflicts. He always have some sort of fear within him. The characters act out in rage due to stress caused by social circumstances. Bigger's violent temper gets him into various conflicts with his crew, a man on the roof whom he attacks, and the fellow who owns the pool hall.
Although these actions demonstrate acts of rage and fear, they do not portray the true motivation for Bigger's actions. The causes of Bigger’s personal conflicts stem his fear of repercussion for his actions as a black in a white dominated society. His fear of the consequences of being discovered with a drunk white woman, drive Bigger Thomas to smother Mary Dalton. This fear arose because of the non physical barriers, set up by society, between white and black people. This tension made Bigger angry while he was forced to secretly drive Jan and Mary around in the car and finally made him snap. Like Bigger, the entire city demonstrates conflicts based upon fear brought about by racial segregation. During the progress of the man hunt, blacks and whites go at each other’s throats. These various conflicts all stem from fear and racial hatred. Although Richard Wright portrays the segregation of the blacks, he does not omit the segregation of various social groups such as the communists. In contrast, Jan and Max's efforts to save Bigger stem from a struggle for equality. They too feel the constraints of oppression, but have a philosophy and social position with which to rebel. This had interfered with Bigger’s fate for a long time. The fate for him is defined as of one of dignity and courage and defiance. He learns never to surrender no matter what the odds against him. His fate is to take action against the enemy of capitalistic, white, racist society, no matter what the consequences. According to Wright, Bigger’s fate seems to be inevitably related to violence, because the neighborhood that he lives in is often defined as ghetto. Bigger is influenced and set to fit into the society of blacks that do their usual normal routine such as trying to have no relation to the whites, etc.
Similarly, as we progress in this novel, we learn how Bigger tries to run away from the harsh reality to a world of his own. A world, where he is the only one in control of his actions. This tells us that Bigger already knew that he was under the white’s power, so he goes into his mental state and imagines a world of his own to go through his depression. The narrator says, “He shut their voices out of his mind. He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help them”, this reveals that Bigger hated his family because he knew that they were already in trouble and he was powerless to help them. Deep within him, he feels pain and he is unable to stop it. This motivates Bigger to go out and find his real self, what he is really made for. He thinks that once he has found his true self, he will be able to support and change in person as a whole.
In Narcissus and Goldmund however, there was a part where Goldmund experienced the plague. Most of the people died and he was immune to it because he ate moldy bread. Before the summer, he was done living in the hut and decided to go out and explore some more. This is when Goldmund’s fate began to rise. His goal was to find his master and discover the meaning of his life. With a neutral attitude, he traveled, taking berries here and there to eat, and suddenly realized that after he left, all of his thoughts and desires were already far from his home. There was a quote, “He listened intently. The sound of fear repeated itself”, this is the when Goldmund experienced fear for his first in the unknown, but that did not stop him from fulfilling his fate. Things had changed after he was at his first stop when he felt fearful. Lene, his lover, was being attacked by an unknown stranger and fortunately Goldmund was there at the right time to rescue her. He had killed the attacker, and it left a deep passionate desire to participate in the revenge and to kill anyone who bothers to get in his way. This was one step closer for Goldmund to fulfill his fate. He has learned to kill and it makes him to kill easier in the future, which will then lead him to Master Niklaus, and that will lead him to the next move for his determination.
As you can see, Bigger and Goldmund are both similar characters that experience fear at the same time trying to fulfill their fate. Bigger is mentally separated from the white people and has a hard time getting along with them. Nevertheless, he is still prone to go out and find freedom from the whites, his family, or even himself. Goldmund on the other hand, still wonders what he should do in the future as he wanders around wondering what he will do. Both characters act the way they are depending on their society.
Works Cited
Hesse, Hermann. Narcissus and Goldmund. New York City: Bantam Books, 1968. Print.
Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York City: HarperCollins, 1993. Print.
