Contrasting Dr. Bledsoe and Mr. Dalton

              In Native Son, Mr. Dalton seems like he is genuinely trying to help at first, however he is so out of touch with the realities of the situation that his aid is made to seem hollow. His donation of ping pong tables is something that, when put in perspective with Bigger’s story, is insignificant. Mr. Dalton lacks any true understanding of what Bigger Thomas and people like him go through on an everyday basis, and his donation and the fact that he acts as if he is doing Bigger a favor by giving him a job shows this. Also contributing to the picture of Mr. Dalton is the fact that while acting all helpful and claiming to be a philanthropist who supports black Americans, he still makes money by charging blacks heavy rent on Chicago’s South Side.
              I think that Mr. Dalton has many similarities to Bledsoe in Invisible Man. Both of them pose as helpers of the black race, but they do so in part to hide and/or protect motives that are primarily for personal gain. Mr. Dalton seems to think that being nice to the blacks on the surface ensures that they trust him and will continue to pay him. Bledsoe uses the pose of educator to secure himself a position of power in the white world, and distances himself from his race while acting as a leader of his race. He is selfish, and uses his power to remove anyone who he thinks is a threat to his perfect illusion of the college. He acts subservient to whites as a means to further his own power, thinking nothing of it other than a simple necessity.
              They are different in many ways as well. For example, Mr. Dalton is actually more similar to Mr. Norton in the literal sense as Mr. Norton is a northern white philanthropist like Dalton. However, Dalton seems to be a bit more informed about the situation of the blacks in the South Side of Chicago, while Mr. Norton seems to be genuinely trying to help, however ignorant he may be. Bledsoe on the other hand tries to trick Mr. Norton into seeing only what Bledsoe wants him to see and by extension what Mr. Norton is most likely hoping to see; a nice college for educating African Americans. He willingly hides parts of the reality of the situation or attempts to in order to cater to Mr. Norton, and get money from him. Also, he wants to have power, and he gets it through the trustees, so he tries to make sure they see only what he wants them to see. In this way, he seems to almost hinder the actual progress of the race, and he doesn't care, his only goal seems to be maintaining power.