Native Son was one of the first 20th century novels to point-blank, address the stigma of being black in America and the effect of that stigma on the psyche. Native Son tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black youth living in utter poverty in a poor area on Chicago's South Side in the 1930s.Wright portrays a systemic causation behind the crimes Bigger commits, a kind of that points to the categorical way in which African Americans were (and often still are) presumed guilty. Bigger's lawyer, Boris Max, makes the case that there is no escape from this destiny for his client or any other black American since they are the necessary product of the society that formed them. "No American Negro exists," wrote James Baldwin, "who does not have his private Bigger Thomas living in his skull."

An exceptionally clean first edition with tight boards and stable binding. Includes the original dust jacket which features some light chipping, with the title piece missing from the spine. Protected by a Mylar cover.