Native Son and The Amen Corner

Children are taught to think, feel, and believe just as their parents do. As adolescence approaches many kids are anxious to develop their own identity and distinguish themselves from others in society. That distinguishing identity takes complete form when adulthood is reached, although on numerous occasions it doesn’t conform to the normal views of society or ones family. A similarity in the plays “Native Son” and “The Amen Corner,” by Richard Wright and James Baldwin is how they use their characters Bigger and David to show how people are in search of an identity that separates them from their family and societies norms.
Many young men grow up idolizing their fathers, imitating their behaviors and dreaming of being like them when they reach manhood. But that isn’t the case for every young man, in particular young black men, who are often kids of single families. In the plays we see two characters, David and Bigger, who are struggling to find their identity. David i...