What does it mean when someone is described as blind? Many would respond that it can be defined as a person who lacks the gift of sight either due to an accident or by nature. However, in the case of Native Son, the scenario is different because the characters are blind due to a history that involves the common practice of mistreatment. Bigger Thomas is blind in his perception of white society and its reality. In the same sense, white society is blind to black people and their lifestyle. What each perceives of the other is actually false. Richard Wright argues, through the character of Max, that Mary Dalton's murder was the result of a cause that had been going on for decades. The cause is the mistreatment of blacks and the misunderstanding of both whites and blacks. Wright, through his writings, states that we must recognize and understand the existing dilemma of blindness to overcome racial tension in America. Blindness is strongly depicted through white people in the novel because they are the reason behind all the problems of black people. . The first person Bigger physically meets is Mr. Dalton, a wealthy philanthropist who mistakenly believes that all black people need is pity and money thrown at them. He and his current blind wife are oblivious to the problems surrounding them due to their wealth. They truly want to help and solve the problems that black people face, but they don't understand that they are the reason black people are in the conditions they are in. In Book 3, Mr. Dalton states, “What this boy has done will not affect my dealings with the Negro people. Well, not only today I sent a dozen ping-pong tables to the South Side Boys' Club…” He believes he can help blacks overcome obstacles by donating ping-pongs…… middle of paper…. . .the same. This was incorrect because Bigger had never been taught how to accept or behave when offered such help. This is the whole controversy that Wright tries to express through the events that happen. While Mary's family tried, despite the wrong path, to change the situation of blacks, Bigger's family accepted what they were given. Mrs. Thomas uses God as an escape and tries to impose religion on the rest of her family. Bigger despises him because his family accepts what the Church offers: salvation after death. However, Bigger wants salvation in his current life. He feels like he gains some importance when he kills Mary. He thinks his brother Buddy is blind since he doesn't know what Bigger is capable of. Vera is just like her mother because she tries to find an escape and denies reality. Her gateway is sewing classes at the local YMCA.