Big (Ashton Sanders), the central character of Rashid Johnson’s “Native Son,” is a twitchy existential brooder in his early 20s who styles himself like a thrift-shop literary gangsta.
Tall and glowering, with a rail-thin frame, he wears high-water pants and white socks, black nail polish and an array of skull rings, a shiny leather jacket with the words “Or am I freaking out” spray-painted on the back like graffiti, tortoise-shell glasses that lend him a touch of Malcolm, and — to top it off — short hair dyed very bright green.
No question about it: This kid has a lot of look.If it’s hard to say precisely how the pieces of his image fit together, the confusion is intentional.
For he’s having a little trouble with that one himself.
Big is short for “Bigger” — and yes, despite the inner-city punk trappings, he’s still very much a version of Bigger Thomas,
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