The Tragic Fate Of A Desiring Subject

This M.A. thesis applies the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan's theories about subject constitution to analyze the cultural and psychological aspects of the novel Native Son so as to reveal the individual psychological situation of the protagonist Bigger when confronted with racism. I try to shed new light on the effects of the post-colonial racism in America upon Bigger while paying more attention to the way he deals with the evils of racism.In Chapter One"Richard Wright and Native Son", Wright's life experience is surveyed, followed by a brief account of the novel and various discussions and criticisms about it in literary circles. This chapter is a preparation for the later discussion.Chapter Two"The Three Orders of Lacanian Theories and Bigger as a Fragmented Subject"applies the three orders of Jacques Lacan--the imaginary, the symbolic, and the real--to the analysis of the subject constitution of Bigger Thomas in Native Son so as to exhibit the interplay of the imaginary and the symbolic in Bigger's world. Bigger identifies himself with the dominant culture in America by adopting some of the attitudes and behaviors similar to those of whites, and the identification plays a significant role in his psychic activities. Meanwhile, according to Lacan, it is the symbolic culture in America, mainly the newspapers and magazines, that shapes Bigger's imaginary world. Besides, it is also the symbolic that castrates Bigger by imposing all kinds of restrictions on him, and thus makes him into a fragmented subject in American society.Chapter Three"Lacan's Desiring Subject and Bigger's Desire for'Whiteness'"focuses on the revelation of Bigger's unconscious desire for whiteness through the display of his symptoms, i.e. his phobia of the color"white", his jealous words as regards the whites, as well as his intended aggression. After going through the Oedipal Complex, Bigger becomes a castrated subject with no access to the phallus"whiteness", which renders him extremely desirous of it. Though Bigger imagines"whiteness"to be thephallus that promises"wholeness"for him,"whiteness"is not a transcendental signifier indicating"fullness"for all the blacks and whites, for the whites in America have their own desires too, though different from those of blacks.Chapter Four"Bigger's Death Drive as a Tragic Hero"explores Bigger's death drive and his fate as a tragic hero. According to Lacan's theory concerning the death drive, Bigger's intended aggression, besides being a result of imaginary identification with whites, is a manifestation of the will to destruction. Bigger's death drive has the characteristics of repetition automatism, self-destructiveness, being constructive and uncontrollable, and aiming at Jouissance. This chapter also shows how Bigger may be viewed as being in an ethical position and thus as being a Lacanian tragic hero.My conclusion is that Bigger's tragic fate is the result of both the vicious racism in America and his failure to mourn the loss of the phallus for"whiteness". What's crucial for Bigger is to mourn the loss of the phallus and to remain a desiring subject by creating new objects of desire, which is also true for other blacks, and even for all the human beings.