Richard Wright's " Native Son" may be described to a/an_______

Analyze the question: The question (it looks like a typo for "may be described as a/an ___") asks which literary type or genre best describes Richard Wright's Native Son (1940).

Explain the concepts:

• Parody: a work that imitates another work in order to mock it.
• Picaresque: an episodic story about a roguish hero who drifts from one adventure to another, usually with humour and satire (e.g., Lazarillo de Tormes).
• Bildungsroman: a "coming-of-age" novel that follows a protagonist's growth, moral and psychological, from youth to maturity.
• Travelogue: an account of a journey or travels.

Solution: Native Son tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a young Black man in 1930s Chicago. He is shaped by poverty, racism and the limits placed on him. He accidentally kills Mary Dalton, a white woman, and the novel follows his flight, capture and trial. Over the course of the story he gains a painful self-awareness and a sense of his own identity, which is the heart of the growth-of-the-protagonist pattern.

• It is not a parody, because it is a serious social protest novel.
• It is not picaresque, because Bigger is not a roguish wanderer in a series of comic episodes. The plot is tightly structured and tragic.
• It is not a travelogue, because it is not an account of travel.
• It is closest to the bildungsroman, since it traces Bigger's development and awakening, even though that development is tragic and ends in death rather than success.

Strictly speaking, Native Son is more often classed as a naturalist protest novel, but among these four options, bildungsroman is the best fit.

Answer: C. bildungsroman

Tip: For genre questions, match the key term to the story's shape: "Bildungsroman" means growth of a young hero, "picaresque" means a rogue's adventures, and "travelogue" means a journey account. Always ask yourself, "Does the main character change and mature?"