Native Son

The trial of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, in 1924, was known as the crime of the century. Two Jewish boys, whom lived in Chicago, kidnapped and murdered local neighborhood boy Bobby Franks. This case exploded in the media and went all over the country. Down in Mississippi, Richard Wright came upon the story and decided to incorporate it in the novel that he was currently writing. Throughout his life, "Wright's fascination with rebellious lawbreakers would catalyze some of his most important work"(Butler 1). In Wright's novel, Native Son, Bigger Thomas was created from five young black men from Wright's childhood. These men were rebellious criminals who Wright looked up to and feared. Wright believed they acted the way they did because of how society had treated them. "Wright dramatized the parasitic nature of the class system by telling the story of the wealthy Daltons' participation in the systematic exploitation and destruction of Bigger Thomas"(Guttman 170). Wright did not just point this toward Bigger, but the black society as a whole. Richard Wright's novel is very similar to the Loeb and Leopold case with numerous differences that show how society treats different races for committing the same crime.

Bigger Thomas compared to Loeb and Leopold came from completely different backgrounds. In the novel, Bigger was a poor young African American boy. People would describe him as "about five feet, nine inches tall and his skin was exceedingly black"(Tuhkanen 6). He had lived in a run down apartment with his mother and younger siblings. When Bigger's mother woke up in the morning she would tell the boys to, "turn your heads so I can dress"(Wright 3). This was because their home consisted of one room that was not even large enough to dress themselves in privacy. His life had been defined by his fear and hatred towards whites for as long as he could remember. Bigger had only attended school up to the eighth grade, and that had limited his opportunity to find a good job. He had also been associated with a local gang. His mother would always preach to him that, "some of these days you going to wish you had made something out of yourself, instead of just a tramp"(9). Bigger had no idea where he wanted his life to go. This is most likely what people would assume of the life of Loeb and Leopold for committing their murder. On the contrary, Loeb and Leopold came from a well-grounded background.

"Nathan F. Leopold was an intellectual prodigy"(Grant 169). He was fourteen when he entered the University of Chicago, and graduated four years later among the youngest graduates in his university's history. Nathan's father was a retired box manufacturer who was quite wealthy. He gave Nathan whatever he needed or wanted. Richard Loeb, Leopold's accomplice, was also above average in intelligence, but was not as gifted as Leopold. As Loeb was growing up it was easy for people to give him titles such as, "a liar, a thief, and a mischief-maker"(171). Loeb and Leopold met in college and became friends quickly. Loeb's friends did not like Leopold, and Leopold's friends did not like Loeb. This only brought the two to have a closer relationship. Unlike Loeb, "Leopold lacked real criminal tendencies, but he needed Loeb to complement him and serve as his alter ego"(173).

While Bigger's murder was accidental, Loeb and Leopold's murder was entirely intentional. Bigger was offered a job from Mr. Dalton, the owner of his apartment, to be a driver. The reason he hired Bigger was that he was a "supporter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"(Wright 53). His first job was to drive the owner's daughter, Mary Dalton, to the university. They find themselves to have picked up Jan, Mary's boyfriend, and drank some alcohol. Bigger ended up bringing Mary home drunk, and took advantage of her in her room. It seemed as if it was a mutually affection towards each other as "he tightened his fingers on her breasts, kissing her again, feeling her move toward him"(85). The mother walked in the room and Bigger suffocated Mary trying to keep her quiet. Bigger never meant to kill Mary, but only tried to keep her quiet long enough for the mother to leave the room. Richard Wright is trying to tell the reader there was some innocence in Bigger.

Loeb and Leopold had planned a kidnapping for a long time. The fact that they would have to "kill the kidnap victim to prevent their being identified gave them no concern"(Grant 173). They had even considered murdering one of their own fathers, but did not for the simple reason of they would be under to close of a watch. They also thought about taking Loeb's younger brother as the victim, but did not for the same reason as the fathers.

These two boys were ruthless criminals out to satisfy their unhealthy craving. As they choose Bobby Franks as the victim while he had left a freshman base ball game, Loeb states that, "he just happened along and we got him"(175). After they captured Bobby, they brutally struck him over the head with a chisel. Like Mary Dalton's murder, Loeb and Leopold suffocated Bobby Franks, but they used a cloth soaked in hydrochloric acid instead of a pillow. Like Bigger's case, they did not choose the victim, but let the victim come to them.

In the situation of the ransom note, the two letters were generally similar. They both asked for $10,000, in small bills, placed in a small box. In the Bobby Franks murder, they went about it in a well planned out matter. They mailed the ransom note ahead of time, and said they will call them later with further directions. After they had received the money, they would return Bobby 6 hours later. Bigger's note was not as convincing, and reads as if someone inferior wrote it. Bigger wrote; "Blink your headlights some. When you see a light in a window blink three times throw the box in the snow and drive off. Do what this letter say"(Wright 177). He easily revealed to the Daltons where his location was located at the time of the drop off. Wright was showing the reader how society assumed a criminal back then would write this letter having very little education. In reality, Loeb and Leopold wrote a very convincing letter that was intelligently constructed.

Like both murder cases the body of the victims were found before the murders could collect their ransom. In both cases the bodies were discovered shortly after the murder had occurred. Mary Dalton had been discovered in the furnace in the basement of her house by a press reporter, when the body had clogged the furnace and the room filled with smoke. By the time they distinguished that the bones in the