Native Son - Allusions and References in Other Works

Allusions and References in Other Works

A line from the trial speech by Bigger Thomas' lawyer, Boris Max, is woven into the plot of The Penultimate Peril, a 2005 book by Lemony Snicket. "Richard Wright, an American novelist of the realist school, asks a famous unfathomable question ... 'Who knows when some slight shock,' he asks, 'disturbing the delicate balance between social order and thirsty aspiration, shall send the skyscrapers in our cities toppling?' ... So when Mr. Wright asks his question, he might be wondering if a small event, such as a stone dropping into a pond, can cause ripples in the system of the world, and tremble the things that people want, until all this rippling and trembling brings down something enormous..."

Native Son is mentioned in Edward Bunker's 1981 novel Little Boy Blue as being read by the main character, Alex Hammond, as he is in solitary confinement, and is said to be greatly fascinated by it.

A large section of Percival Everett's Erasure (1999) contains a parody, entitled "Fuck," of Native Son.

Native Son is mentioned in a flashback in the film American History X, when Derek's father criticizes Derek's teacher's Black Literature lessons and affirmative action.

Bigger Thomas is mentioned in one of the lyrical hooks of "The Ritual" in Saul Williams's The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, "Far Beyond the Stars", Benny Russell cites Native Son as an example of a significant work of African-American literature.

An allusion to the story is presented in part 1 of The Second Renaissance, a short anime film from The Animatrix collection. In this film, a domestic robot named "B1-66ER" is placed on trial for murder. The name is created using Leet Speak.

The U2 song Vertigo was called Native Son by the band during the recording sessions for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The song was later released in the collections Unreleased & Rare and U2: Medium, Rare & Remastered.

On the HBO series Brave New Voices during the 2008 finals, the Chicago team performed a poem called "Lost Count: A Love Story". This poem addressed the youth on youth murder in Chicago and referenced Bigger; "Being brown in Bigger Thomas' town".

In the 2011 motion picture The Help, the main character played by Emma Stone is seen in an oblique camera angle to have a copy of Native Son on her bookshelf.