Native Son Prebound - 2005
by Richard Nathaniel Wright
Widely acclaimed as one of the finest books ever written on race and class divisions in America, this powerful novel reflects the forces of poverty, injustice, and hopelessness that continue to shape society.
About this book
Richard Wright’s Native Son tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black American youth living in utter poverty in Chicago's South Side during the 1930s. When Bigger unintentionally murders a white woman, he is put on trial and eventually convicted, and sentenced to the electric chair. Often recognized as a protest novel, Native Son stresses systemic racial issues, prompting the reader to feel both sympathy and empathy for Bigger. In this, the novel is one of the earliest successful attempts to explain the racial divide in America in terms of the conditions imposed on African-Americans by the dominant white society.
Soon after publication, Native Son was selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African-American author. Indeed, the novel was an immediate best seller, selling 250,000 hardcover copies within three weeks of its publication. As a result of the novel’s success, Wright became the first bestselling and the wealthiest black writer of his time, establishing him as a spokesperson for African-American issues and, to many, the “father of Black American literature.” In 1941, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded Wright awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal.
Unsurprisingly, Native Son was challenged in many public schools and libraries and is listed in the American Library Association's list of the “Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999.” Yet most institutions in which the novel was challenged successfully fought to keep Wright's work accessible, particularly in the classroom, defending it as a guide into the reality of the complex adult and social world.
Native son is listed as 20th on the Modern Library’s list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also included in TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).
First Edition Identification
Harper & Brothers first published Native Son in 1940. With a dark blue cover stamped in red and white, first editions state “First Edition” on the copyright page with "A - P" below the statement. The dust jacket of the first edition is green and yellow and states the original price of $2.50.
Details
- Title Native Son
- Author Richard Nathaniel Wright
- Binding Prebound
- Pages 512
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Perfection Learning
- Date 2005-08-02
- ISBN 9780756964412 / 0756964415
- Weight 1.05 lbs (0.48 kg)
- Dimensions 8 x 5.4 x 1.3 in (20.32 x 13.72 x 3.30 cm)
- Reading level 700
-
Themes
- Ethnic Orientation: African American
- Library of Congress subjects Trials (Murder), Psychological fiction
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
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Native Son
by Richard Wright
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Native Son (Modern Classics (Pb))
by Wright, Richard Nathaniel
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Native Son (Modern Classics (Pb))
by Wright, Richard Nathaniel
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Native Son (Modern Classics (Pb))
by Wright, Richard Nathaniel
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Native Son (Modern Classics (Pb))
by Wright, Richard Nathaniel
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Native Son (Modern Classics (Pb))
by Wright, Richard Nathaniel
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- Condition
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- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
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$33.47FREE shipping to USA
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Native Son (Modern Classics (Pb))
by Wright, Richard Nathaniel
- Used
- Condition
- UsedLikeNew
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780756964412 / 0756964415
- Quantity Available
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Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
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$33.47FREE shipping to USA
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Native Son (Modern Classics (Pb))
by Wright, Richard Nathaniel
- New
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780756964412 / 0756964415
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
- Item Price
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$33.81FREE shipping to USA