Native Son Characters

Bigger Thomas

Bigger Thomas lives a life so small, it’s claustrophobic. It's stifling. It's...

Mr. Boris Max

At the end of Native Son, a book that can make you say "Humanity is jacked up" and crawl under...

Jan Erlone

We admit it: we started out wanting to punch Jan in the mouth. By the end of the novel, though,...

Mary Dalton

Mary Dalton, the only daughter of a wealthy capitalist in Chicago, rebels the only way she knows...

Bessie Mears

Bessie, Bigger’s girlfriend, works so hard that all she wants on her day off is to get...

Mrs. Dalton

Mrs. Dalton is a wealthy blind woman who takes an interest (in a pandering, hobbyist sort of way)...

Mr. Henry Dalton

Mr. Dalton, Bigger’s employer, positions himself as a liberal, progressive white citizen of...

Mrs. Thomas

Bigger’s mother nags him all the time. She won’t leave Bigger alone about the job, no...

Peggy

Peggy is the Daltons’ bustling Irish housekeeper. She clearly believes part of her job is...

Buddy

Buddy is Bigger’s loyal little brother, who wants to be just like Bigger.

Vera

Bigger’s little sister, Vera, lives with the same kind of fear and shame that Bigger...

Mr. Buckley

Buckley, the State’s Attorney, uses devious tactics to gain a confession from Bigger....

Mr. Britten

Hired by Mr. Dalton to investigate his daughter’s disappearance, Britten is prejudiced...