Book Three of Native Son turns from chase to courtroom, and the lawyer Boris Max delivers a long argument on Bigger's behalf. For many students it is the hardest part of the novel to read and the hardest to write about. The prose shifts from narrative to rhetoric, and the ideas are dense.

Assignments on the speech usually ask students to analyze Max's argument or evaluate whether it succeeds. Both tasks require breaking a long passage into claims and following how they connect. Students who skip that step produce essays that summarize the speech in general terms.

Grading them means checking for rhetorical awareness. Did the student notice how Max appeals to reason, emotion, and moral authority? Did they consider his audience, which includes a judge, a public, and the reader?

There is also an interpretive layer. Max's view of Bigger and Bigger's own view don't always match, and the gap is part of the point. Strong essays pay attention to that tension.

Scoring Rhetorical Analysis Fairly

A rubric for this assignment should reward students who identify specific moves in the argument. Naming a claim, describing its support, and evaluating its effectiveness are three separate skills. A paper that does all three deserves a top score even if the student disagrees with Max.

• Identifies a central claim in Max's argument and states it accurately
• Explains the reasoning or evidence Max uses to support it
• Considers the audience and how the argument is meant to persuade them
• Notes how Bigger reacts to or differs from Max's account of him
• Evaluates the argument's strengths and limits with specific reference to the text

Common Problems in Student Writing

One frequent problem is treating Max as the voice of the author. Wright's own view is more complicated, and students should be careful about who speaks for whom. Encourage them to write about what Max argues, not what the novel definitively concludes.

Another is quoting the speech at excessive length. Ask for short, targeted excerpts, and require commentary after each one.

Feedback That Builds Argument Analysis

Direct students back to the structure of the speech. A comment like "What is the claim here, and what is the support?" trains them to break down arguments generally. That skill will help them well beyond this book.

Since many essays will stumble in similar ways, a rubric-driven tool like GraideMind can flag them consistently. You can then spend your comments on the interpretive questions that make the strongest papers stand out.

Prepare Students Before They Write

Run a class activity where students chart the speech in a simple table: claim, support, and effect. Twenty minutes of shared mapping saves hours of confusion in the essays. It also gives everyone a common reference for discussion.

Consider pairing a short excerpt with a modern courtroom or advocacy example for contrast. Students often write more confidently when they can compare a familiar model with a difficult one.