Chapter 1 - pages 3-12

"Good Morning"

This is the first chapter in Richard Wright's story
Native Son. In the beginning of this chapter Bigger
and is family are awaken by the sound of the alarm
clock. As they are getting ready to start their day
they are interrupted by a rat that has been harassing
them for a while. A big fuss is made and eventually
Bigger kills the rat. However instead of being praised
for saving his mom a sister from this rat, he is
yelled at for tormenting his sister. All of which
resulted in his mother telling him "Bigger sometimes I
don't even know why I birthed you!" which pushed him
over the edge and he had to get away, so the chapter
ends with him slamming the door on his family.

Interpretation

I think that Richard Wright started his book this way
to show right from the get-go what Bigger's life is
like. By giving details of the apartment and showing
that character of his mother, Wright gives us the
picture of what it is like to live in a poor, single
parent family in 1930s Chicago. Also this very first
chapter illustrates conflict with man v man, man v.
society, and man v. himself.