 thank you very much the book native son by Richard Wright was challenged as a part of the reading list of all of advanced English classes at Northwest High School in High Point not Carolina in 1996 because guess what it's actually graphic and violent I'm going to read selections from this book book three of native son which is entitled fate the protagonist Biga Thomas is a young African-American man who is hired as a chauffeur by a rich white man he drives his employer's daughter Mary to a political lecture he takes Mary and her friend Jan to a restaurant where Mary gets drunk Biga takes her home and carries her to her room when Mary's blind mother enters the room Biga accidentally mothers Mary while trying to keep up from revealing his presence later Biga kills his girlfriend Bessie in that she will reveal his guilt he is captured by the police put to trial and sentenced to death the following is part of the conversation with his lawyer max just before his execution and bring the selection from 355 to 358 now they say that native son is disturbing but the complete thing and the point of the book the starves and teaches us the novel forces us to look at the crippling deadly effects of oppression and racism in this country and as they instill fear and lead to desperate arts so here goes native son the accepts mr. max I thought of myself after that night and I saw other people too and then mr. Biga's voice died he was listening to the echoes of his word in his own mind he saw amazement and horror on max's face bigger knew that max would rather not have him talk like this but he will not help it he had to die and he had to talk well it's a little funny mr. max I'm trying to dodge what is coming to me bigger was growing his terracal I know I'm going to get it I'm gonna die well that's all right now but really I never wanted to hurt anybody that's the truth mr. max I heard folks cars I felt I had to that's all there was crowd of me too close and they wouldn't get me no room lots of times I try to forget them they wouldn't let me now this time because eyes were wide and on scene his voice rushed on mr. max I didn't mean to do what I did I was only trying to do something else but it's been like I never could I was always wanting something and I was always thought feeling that nobody would let me have it so I found them I thought they was hard and I acted hard then after a while he said but I ain't hot mr. max I'm harder even a little bit he rose to his feet and said but I wouldn't be crying none when they were on it takes me to that chair but I'll be a baby feeling like instead of me like I was crying I'd be feeling and thinking that they didn't see me and I didn't see them either now he ran to the steel door and caught the bars in his hand and shook them and though trying to tear the steel from its concrete moorings max the lawyer went to him and gratis shoulder bigger bigger gross steel and lean weekly against the door mr. max I know the folks who sent me here to die hated me I know that but but but but you reckon that there was like me trying to get something like like I was and I'm dead and gone to the same like I'm saying now they didn't need to hurt nobody that there was trying to get somebody somebody to max the lawyer did not answer bigger took a look of indecision and wonder came into his old man's eyes tell me mr. mr. max do you think there was bigger max pleaded tell me mr. max max took his head and mumbled you're asking me to say things I don't want to say but I want to know you going to die bigger max for voices of faded bigger knew that the old man had wanted to say that he said it because it had pushed him he had made him say it there was silent for a moment longer then bigger whispered that's why I want to know everything's cause I know I'm gonna die that make you want to know max phase was a shame bigger steered that he was gonna leave across the Gulf came silence and they looked at each other come here bigger he followed max to the window and saw in a distance the tapes of the sun drenched buildings in the loop see all those buildings over there now placing his hand on his shoulder he said now yeah you lived in one of them bigger they're made out of steel and stone but the steel and stone don't hold them together you know what holds those buildings together bigger you know what keeps them in a place keeps them from tumbling down bigger looked at him bewildered it's the belief in man if men stopped believing stopped having faith they'll come tumbling down those buildings sprang up out of the hearts of men bigger men like you man kept hungry kept needing and those buildings kept growing and unfolding you once told me you wanted to do lots of things well that's the feeling that keeps those buildings in their place you mean you're talking about what I said last night when I said I wanted to do lots of things biggest voice came quite chat like like in a tone of hunger yes what you felt what you wanted is what keeps those buildings standing there when millions of men are desiring and longing those buildings grow and unfold but bigger those buildings are growing and not growing anymore a few men has quizzing those buildings tightly in their hands the buildings can't unfold can't feed the dreams the men inside of those buildings have been begun to doubt just as you did they don't believe anymore they don't feel it's their world they're restless like you grow and unfold they grow in the streets understand outside these buildings and look well leave again but it's not too late to believe what you felt to understand what you felt at this point in time bigger was gazing in the direction of the buildings but he did not see them he was trying to react to the picture max was drawing trying to compare that picture with what he had felt in his inside all his life see I wanted to do something for myself he mumbled to himself and then there was silent and max didn't speak again until bigger looked at him max closed his eyes see bigger you're gonna die and if you die you die free you're trying to believe in yourself and every time you find a way to live you your your mind stands in the way you know why this it's because others have said you were bad and you made your lives in bad conditions when a man hears that over and over and looks about him and sees that his life is bad he begins to doubt his own mind his feelings drag them forward in his mind full of what others have to say about him tells him to go back the job in getting people to fight and have faith isn't making them believe in what they what life has it has for them and make them feel making them feel that their feelings are as good as others they say bigger the people will hate you feel just as you feel only they are on the other side of the fence you are black and that's the only part of it you're being black as I told you before makes it easy for them to single you out why did I do that they wanted things of life just as you did and you're not particular about how they get them the higher people and they're not particular about how they get them the higher people and the rule and regulate their lives they have things arranged so that they can do things and the people can fight back so that they black folks more than others because they're black they think that they're inferior but bigger they they say that all people who work are inferior and the rich people don't want to change they lose too much but deep down in them bigger in order to keep what they've got they gotta make themselves believe that men who work and not quite human they do like you did bigger you refused to feel sorry for Mary but on the other side both men want to leave oh I reckon I believe in myself then and got nothing else to lose I got to die though he stepped over to max and max was leaning against the window mr. max you go home I'm alright sounds funny mr. max but when I think about what you say I feel what I wanted it makes me feel I was kind of right I ain't trying to forgive nobody and I'm asking for nobody to forgive me I ain't going to cry they wouldn't let me and I killed maybe it ain't fair to kill and I reckon I don't I didn't know I didn't want to kill but when I think of why all the killing was I begin to feel what I wanted that is what I am thank you