Bigger was so careful when he was planning the ransom note. He bought new pencils and paper and made sure that he wore gloves so he would not leave finger prints. Then he goes and licks the envelope and leaves his DNA. He seems to be forgetting a simple detail in committing a crime.
In the beginning of the story Bigger is afraid to even rob a white man’s store, Blums, but as the story goes on he kills Mary with no hesitation. Then he disposes of her in a way only few people ca imagine. Later he kills Bessie by using a brick and smashing her head in using his bare hands. It seems that the more Bigger tries to escape the white stereotype the more he truly becomes it.
A Major source of Bigger’s FEARs come from his inflated masculine ego and the concept of “Manhood”. Bigger’s primary definition of “manhood” is violence. He’s biased towards displays of strength and oppression. He hopes to reassert his deflated manhood by tyrannizing those around him. Mary, the rat, Bessie and Bigger all suffer blows to the head, rather violent ones that take out their consciousness before they die—Synecdoche (a part of the body implies a condition for the whole. The blows to the head imply a larger psychological condition, and physical body, of course (death)
Bigger constantly describes everyones blindness, "like his mother, his brother, his sister, Peggy, Britten, Jan, Mr. Dalton and the sightless Mrs. Dalton" (p.173) He mentions this blindness often. It makes me think back to how to read Lit Like a Professor's chapter about blindness. I feel Like Ms. Dalton is a whole lot more knowing then Bigger makes her out to be. It was she who walked into the room when he was in there, she knew something was up. Also I really think its ironic how Bigger says everyone else is blind and he is the only one who is not. I feel like that statement alone shows his character's tragic flaw. I feel like he is as blind as everyone else. If he obviously cant predict his own mistakes then he's defiantly not "all seeing"
In Book One: Fear, Bigger seems to constantly be questioning his prior decisions. For instance, he begins to doubt his decision of pushing Jack, Gus, and GH into robbing Mr. Blum's shop because he is afraid of the consequences. I believe that this tendency of questioning ties into Bigger's insecurity as a person which becomes even more severe at the end of Book One, when he makes a decision which triggeres the intensity of the rest of the novel.
Bigger is driven by pain, fear, and guilt. I feel like the author through means of the lawyer Max tries to get you to feel that Bigger is the victim of these things and of society, but in my opinion he causes his own pain, fear, and guilt by magnifying it in his head and causes his own problems. He's scared when he doesn't need to be and gets angry when he shouldn't. He doesn't ever consider any body else throughout the entire book either; it's all about his own feelings of being trapped without considering that others may feel the same way.
In the first half of the novel, Bigger constantly brings up the idea of blindness. Mrs. Dalton is literally blind, but Bigger considers his boss, friends, mother, and siblings to be blind too. They are blind to the actions around them. For example, Bigger's mother has hope through religion. However, Bigger recognizes the uselessness of religion when he sees the KKK violently burning a cross. Upon returning to his cell, Bigger boldly throws away the symbol of God, his cross- as a sign that he has lost faith. Yet, Bigger is the blind one. Opportunities such as the job at the Dalton's home became open to him. Mrs. Dalton had wanted to give the boy education, and to give him a chance. Still, Bigger did not see his window of opportunity and his fear caused him to kill instead of explaining his presence with Mary. Mrs. Dalton's literal blindness is an archetype of other white people who are blind to the social injustices around them. She is understanding, but lacks the ability to truly help Bigger and other African Americans. Her husband gives aid by donating ping pong tables to community organizations, but what educational opportunities does that give for African Americans to advance in status in the 1930s? None.
Fear drives Native Son. All of Bigger's actions are encompassed by fear. He tries to shoot his friend out of fear, as a way to put up a facade that he still wants to rob a white man's grocery store. He consents with Mary Dalton's wishes in fear that she will fire him. He suffocates Mary out of fear that Mrs. Dalton will discover him in Mary's room. He brutally murders Bessie out of fear that she will rat him out. He has fear in front of the Mr. Dalton and Mrs. Dalton in the jail cell. Bigger's fears drive him to act. Then, he works to evoke sympathy from the reader despite his despicable actions by questioning himself. Bigger is afraid of himself and what he can do. He is also afraid of the white man, and hesitant to trust an unlikely friend.
i find it somewhat surprising that jan the communist is made out to be a "good" person given the time period that the novel was written, Communist USSR and Nazi Germany were allies and at war with Americans Allies. the matter does help amplify the meaning behind Bigger beginning to see white people as not just an oppressive force but as people regardless of skin, religion, and/or political affiliation.
the rat that was killed in the beginning of the novel resembles Bigger: It is small (minority), barely surviving (cramped up in his apartment with his whole family, and 1 false move will get you killed (Bigger's unintentional murder of Mary)
I feel that "fear" which is brought out several times in this novel is what makes the story what it is. Bigger has grown up all his life w/ this fear and hatred toward whites. When he and his friends were planning on robbing Blum's deli, secretly Bigger was afraid. Gus, on the other hand, never denied being afraid and even accuses Bigger of being scared to act out the robbery. So to cover for himself, Bigger beat Gus out of anger and fear of being discovered as afraid. Bigger's fear of being caught alone in Mary's room while she was drunk and the consequences is what moved him to kill her and so on from there.
I noticed how Bigger felt as if he had an obligation to set black people free from the fear of white people he once had, by killing them. He felt as if it were his purpose.
Adding to Angela's earlier comments, I think that Bigger is an extremely dynamic character! He cannot control his emotions, his actions... himself. His very own personality -his inner thoughts and emotions- has trapped him and leads him down an inescapable path. Reading the novel from his perspective is extremely useful because it explains this struggle. He feels himself losing control, but cannot stop it. He has extreme psychological issues. This has pulled me in as a reader, and I cannot wait to discover what he will do next! Yay:)
I agree with Kamia that Bigger feels an obligation to free the black race. Though he is only one man, when he goes on trial, the outcome will affect the entire community. The fact that before Bigger was caught, many black males his age were assaulted just for fitting the basic profile. Bigger becomes representative of the entire black race, and because of this fact, he realizes that his life has worth.
I agree with Kristsin's and Angela's earlier comments. Bigger proves a dynamic character beginning the novel with little self worth and thus an aggressive attitude,to developing a sense of self worth and finding peace. According to Jacob Goldsmith's theory the switch from a Type A personality, being aggressive and selfish, to a Type B personality, patient and understanding, can only be achieved by the acceptance of a traumatic event. This acceptance proves that Bigger indeed becomes "bigger" but in a different way than he intended.
I find the trial scene really interesting because even though Bigger doesn't quite understand Max's speech, he understands the emotion behind it, whereas the judge, I think, focuses on the meaning of the words, not the emotion behind them.
Bigger hates Mary for trying to be nice to him at the beginning of the book, yet he appreciates Max doing the same to him at the end. In my opinion, Max is not particularly different than Mary, so Bigger's differing reactions surprised me.
Bigger Thomas was a victim of his society. Every aspect of his life was controlled by the white man. He was also a victim of his fear. when those things combined a dangerous situation was bound to happen. Mary's death was accidental and Bigger knew no one would understand that but his fear drive him to continue down the path of destruction.
Its true what the mystery novels say about the killer always returns to the scene of the crime. The crime wasn't killing Mary. I viewed that as accidental, so in my mind the suffocation did not register as murder. It was when he cut up the body and burned her in the furnace that was the crime. Bigger subconsciously returned that furnace.
Adding on to what Jenny said, I really liked the way that Bigger subconsciously returned to the furnace. His paranoia, though he tried to play the part of a tough guy, grew steadily as Book 2 progressed. Would the body be burned? He kept trying to reassure himself that there was no way that the Daltons would think to point the finger at him. He was just a poor black boy. However, his subtle paranoia was present to other characters during fits of unprovoked rage.
Bigger's trial held a bigger significance to me as I continued to read it. It reminded me of some of my thoughts on the Caycee Anthony trial. Bigger represents Caycee, and Max represents Caycee's lawyer. As Caycee's trial went on, I kept thinking, "How in the world can that man defend Caycee for such a horrid crime that she obviously committed? How can he even live with himself?" After reading "Native Son," I know exactly how he defended Kaycee. He defended her not because he believed she was innocent, but because he believed that the trial was about something bigger (no pun intended) than the murder of Caylee Anthony. He was so adamant in his belief against the death penalty, he would defend a guilty woman to prove his point. This is just as Max defended Bigger. Max clearly knew Bigger was guilty for a horrendous crime, however, his belief in the injustice and inequality of the trials and tribulations of Bigger's life, encouraged him to fight for not only the Bigger's life, but for the lives of future black boys on trial for their crimes. And even though Bigger was guilty for the two horrendous murders, I found myself rooting for Max to win over the judge.
Jessica Jarrett
P.S. Don't get me wrong, I hate the result of the Caycee Anthony trial. I think she should be put away for many many many many many years. Just clarifying. Don't wanna get murdered via AP Lit blog.
Fear seems to be an important theme of this novel. I believe Richard Wright emphasized the importance of fear that African-Americans felt during the early 1900s through this novel. Bigger is constnatly fearful of his fate because he has no control over his situation, which is most likely similar to other African-Americans at the time. I believe Wright also made fear a theme of the novel because many people in any time period understand the feeling of fear, which allows readers to connect to Bigger.
What I found interesting about Bigger is his temper and thought process. His anger first shows up when he speaks to his family at the beginning of the book. He feels as if everyone is out to get him when they just might be trying to help him. He also uses his anger as a crutch several times. When dealing with Gus he acts as though he is mad at him for being late, but he really covering up for the fact that he is scared to rob the white man. Then, when he gets angry, he thinks of ways to justify his anger so it doesn't seem as though he has a problem. He thinks that fighting and causing chaos makes him equal to people that intimidate him.
Though Bigger would not want me to feel this.. I pity him greatly. Wright unveiled the injustices existing in our country in the 60s so well that I felt for Bigger even after he killed. I found myself not wanting him to be caught. (Don't get me wrong.. I don't agree with his method-killing-, but it was the only way he knew how). I loved Max's speech to the court. It summed up all of the feelings Bigger ever had but could not articulate.(which I couldn't truly understand either until this time). He was subjected to a life of nothingness and therefore felt 'something' for once in his life when he felt he took part in an action bigger than himself. An action that symbolized the issues of race in this country. This novel touches on many greater issues of which I can't comment on appropriately. I think I need to read it again..
Throughout the whole book Bigger just seemed savage. Almost like his only instincts where to kill and have sex. So many times he makes comments on how the slightest thing a person would do would make him want to hurt said person. He was so filled with anger that I feel sorry for him, and he didn't change until the very end. He spent his whole life afraid of everything and of feeling like he had no control of his life. And it wasn't until he killed Mary and Bessie and started manipulating the details he gave the police did he feel like he had control over something. He never realized any of this until the end. -Glenda Monge
Just finished the 2nd part, and man do I hate Bigger! Bigger is an insecure, pompous, self-defeating child. Bigger is constantly trying to control other things and people, as to compensate for the seemily lack of control over his own life. He controls his gang friends with rash arguments and by questioning thier masculinity (which I might add still happens regularly today). Bigger's crude mentality and the need to be in control cause him to act out, and ultimately commit multiple murdurs.
Im not particularly interested in finishing the book, as it seems blatantly obvious that his trial will not go well. But alas this is homework *groan
I agree with Avery. He was smooth with planning the crime, but he made an unsmart move when he licked the envelope. I'm confused. Did he not think that they can trace saliva back to the person? Bigger was slick but not slick enough.
Bigger did most of the crimes out of fear. When Mrs.Dalton was in the room, he killed Mary out of fear. Quick question, Who doesn't know that if you push someone face in the pillow for as long as he did they wil die? On another note, I know he had to get rid of her body but did he have to burn her body? There are other ways to get rid of bodies, it might not be as effective but at least her body will be in one peace.
You can see fear from Bigger in the story alot. When he beat Gus up, he tried to hide his fear of robbing a white man's store. When Mrs. Dalton came in the room, his fear of being found caused him to kill Mary on accident.
I don't understand why, if Mr. Dalton wanted to help the African American community so much, he was so opposed for them to have equal rights as the his own race. I like how Wright made it apparent that Ms. Dalton's blindness was a major factor in her attitude towards people and their rights.
The way the author turned Bigger's actions and feelings into something to sympathize for reminds me of what Foster stated in "How to Read Novels like a Professor". He stated that good authors can even make the villain seem like a good guy towards the end, which Wright brilliantly carried out making Bigger seem innocent to the feelings which initiated him to perform his crimes.
I've never really had a method when I read books, but Native Son I read with direction and study Bigger's moves intently. I've been folding down the corners of pages when I discover thoughts and actions of his that pertain to the title subject of each book. The first example of fear that I found was on page 12: "They had the feeling that... robbing... Blum's would be a violation of ultimate taboo; ...trespassing into a territory where the full wrath of an alien white world would be turned loose upon them...; a challenge which they yearned to make, but were afraid to. Bigger's fear is so eloquently explained by Wright--just like his plan for robbing Blum's store was almost perfectly laid out. However, he fears and eventually rejects making any kind of change to his life because he is afraid of a "challenge" which he really wants to confront. Bigger seems to react to fear with violence and other irresponsible reactions. For example, from page 37-40, Bigger accosts Gus, punishing him for revealing his own personal fear of robbing Blum's while Bigger conceals his own fear by feigning anger through violence. Bigger really shocks me with how he responds to certain things, such as killing Mary. He wasn't upset, really. He hardly panicked. It's strange how he fears certain things (robbing a white man) and doesn't mind committing other offenses (killing a white woman).
I agree with Angela in the sense that Bigger acted out of fear, pain, and guilt. I would like to add that through hate and his constant want of escape (relating to fear). Bigger led to his own downfall.
Hate: First he hated his mother, his forced living conditions, white people, then the way Jan and Mary made him feel with their new/different ways. With the hatred in his heart, Bigger acted out against these and other things.
Fear/Want to escape: In the beginning he acted violently against Gus because he was scared to rob a white man. Then he became more violent and burned Mary because he was scared people would discover he murdered her. Then he practically gave himself up when he fled the crime scene. Then, he wanted to escape and he feared Bessie would give him away. So he took her out of the picture.
---These and other emotions ultimately made Bigger spiral out of control, giving him two murders, one rape, and a death sentence.
I was surprised with Bigger at the end of the book. In the beginning he had anger, fear, guilt, pain, suffering, and hatred in his mind. He acted off these feelings and kept feeding off of them. All he wanted was to be free. But towards the end he just seemed numb, and distant from the world. Yes, he was caught and he knew he had little chance of survival. But he was given the opportunity of hope and possible eternal life. Three people tried to save his soul if he would just had prayed. But he refused. I don't understand why he did that exactly.
Bigger is the stereotypical version of the modern day black male. His anger and fear toward society results in his violent disturbing behaviors. He carries an attitude that the world is against him in retrospect, however he is against the world. He is afraid to admit his fears of the world he lives in, thus he channels it as though he wants to hurt the world before it hurts him first. The average black male in America is looked at as angry and insubordinate, and Bigger's character depicts these stereotypes.
Yes, I totally agree with Demyah here. Bigger is very "Stereotypical". But, I find it particularly annoying that Bigger is so "Stereotypical ". Yes, Richard Wright and Max make a point to show that Bigger is one example out of hundreds of thousands, but even then I feel it takes away from the poignancy of the story. If Wright didn't hit us over the head so much then I would have had a much bigger (no pun intended) sympathetic connection with Bigger.
However at the same time, when it comes to his sentence, I find my self very conflicted on what side I would like to stand. I want to sympathize with Bigger, but also I would like to see him severely punished for his actions. His color should not be a crutch, but at the same time it should. Buckley and Max were both very correct. Bigger was a killer, and he knew it was wrong all along. As for his actual sentence....An eye for an eye, right? Well, No! because that just makes the whole world bind.
In summation I am severely conflicted, I believe that he shouldn't be spared because of his color. But I also believe that he and the rest of the African American community shouldn't be mistreated the way they are because of their color.
Chritianity plays a large role in the book. I first noticed it when Mary sunk her nails into Bigger's wrists when he was on top of her with the pillow. I didn't quite get what it meant then, but I knew it had something to do with Christianity because pain in the wrists almost always represents Christ. I noticed Christianity again when Hammond came to visit Bigger in jail and brought him a cross with Christ nailed to it. Bigger represents Christ. His murder of Mary would serve as his source of suffering. Although he didn't physically suffer like Christ, he mentally suffered for the rest of his life. Her nails in his wrists could also forshadow his eventual capture. When the police captures a criminal they cuff them on the wrists. -Michelle Plavnik
I disagree with Jenny in that Bigger is a victim of society. This reminds me of the essay we wrote in 10th grade: Is Frankenstein an abomination to society or a victim of it? No in-betweens. I would say this case is a slight in-between in that Bigger was mistreated by society, which led to many of his crimes. However, I still believe Bigger has a choice in his actions. Although society mistreats him, he knows his right from wrong, and it's up to him to be the better person and choose the right. -Michelle Plavnik
I believe that "Beastality" is a major theme in Native Son and that the "Beastalitiy" of society can be reflected onto the people themselves when oppressed or victimized. As Bigger is characterized as a angry and violent person at the begin of the novel, he then reflects much on that to be the fault of society itself and the fact he was oppressed. Then as the murder passes he slowly grows more into a beast himself as a reflection of how society has treated him.
Also along with the switch of "Beastality," I believe there is a switch of fear between Bigger and Society. In the beginning Bigger fears the world around him as well as himself. Later though, he causes fear for society and becomes known as a loose criminal which then rids himself of his own fear as he becomes more animal-like.
Throughout the entire novel, Bigger acts because of fear and hate. He hates society for not giving him a chance in life and is ashamed that he is black. The two murders he commits in the novel were because he was afraid and he believed that it was the only way out of the situation. As Max says at the end, it is Bigger's way of living.
I agree with an earlier comment about Comminism seen as "good" in this novel. Jan, Max, and even Mary appear to be the only white characters in the novel that see Bigger as an equal. They keep mentioning equality and Bigger wishes to be seen as equal to the other white people so that he can do the things in life that he was never given a chance to do. Communism in this novel is represented as more of a social policy than a political one.
Up until the end of the novel, Bigger had a sense of assurance and confidence in himself. He deemed his friends and family to be “blind” while he clearly views himself to be superior to them. Also after the death of Mary, Bigger reassures himself that he would never get caught because, “no one would ever expect a black boy,” when he could have easily been terrified of being caught. He even told himself that he wouldn’t get captured without a fight, but once he was captured he lost his confidence and gave up on all hope. This switch from a person full of rage and confidence in himself, to an empty person giving up on life astounded me. People even tried to bring his hope back, as Jordana mentioned, but once he stepped into that jail cell everything he once was he gave up on.
What Jessica says about his drastic change from confidence to hopelessness is astounding, but I believe his hopelessness shows his true character, that all he said and felt up until the jail cell was a front. That he had always felt hopeless in life, he could not achieve his dreams, become equal to white people, even control his troublesome actions. I believe everything he had done was in order to hide his hopelessness that he would not accept, and that his true self manifested once he was caught and sentenced to the quite solitude and peace that was jail.
Throughout the novel I was always drawn to the symbolism, but there were two examples that stuck out in my mind. Mrs. Dalton’s white cat symbolized the truth of Bigger’s actions. The cat was the sole being that witnessed Mary’s murder, and appears at the brief periods that Bigger actually feels guilt. The most important appearance of the cat was when the newspaper people were interviewing Mr. Dalton on receiving the kidnapping note, the cat jumped on Bigger just like the truth weighing down on him. The airplane at the beginning of the novel held great significance throughout the novel. The plane is the ever present symbol of Bigger’s dreams and the white world taking them away from him. Bigger admits to Gus that he has always wanted to fly an airplane, but Gus quickly dismisses that thought because the “white world” won’t let him, and as Gus tells this to Bigger the airplane suddenly disappears.
My feminist aggression strikes again! I couldn’t help but explore the misogyny expressed both literally and symbolically in Native Son. In the novel Wright reduces women to property, valuable only to the extent that they exist as objects of phallocentric status conflicts.
In the first incident of Native Son, Bigger slays a giant rat while his mother and sister, Vera, tremble and shriek on the bed in terror. This symbolic act dominates the surface of the novel's first seven pages. The rat, a disease-bearing nuisance, reasonably represents the socioeconomic system under which Mr. Dalton grasps his fortune out of the ghetto. The killing of the rat represents, perhaps, Bigger's one opportunity to defend his mother and younger family members as the patriarch of the Thomas clan. However, in this initial episode, Bigger experiences his murdering of the rat not with the pride of one who lessens his family's suffering, if only partially, but with the giddy ecstasy of one glorying in the unusual and fleeting dominance that killing an enemy awards. Bigger uses the occurrence of conquest to domineer it over the dependent females of his family.
The phallic aspects of this scene are created first by Bigger's threatening of his sister with the trampled and bloody remains of the rat. The threat to Bigger (and the phallic suggestiveness can here be noted in his name…) is specified by a suggestively vaginal "three-inch rip" in Bigger’s pant-leg (7). Bigger smashes the rat's head with his foot while "cursing hysterically: You sonofabitch!" The episode further suggests the reading as a struggle for phallic dominance when Bigger's killing of the rat transforms the pest into an object "over a foot long" which now appears as a weapon in his hands. As victor in a battle that Wright induces us to see in openly sexual terms, Bigger endeavors to demand the maximum degradation of those whose subordination he has won by right of victory. When Vera pleads him to dispose of the rat, "Bigger laughed and approached the bed with the dangling rat, swinging it to and fro like a pendulum, enjoying his sister's fear". It is not the conquest over the rat in which Bigger most revels. Rather, he enjoys the dominance over the women that vicious conquest has bestowed on him.
However, is it not just the physical destruction of the rat that allows Bigger dominance over the women: it is their own disgraceful weakness. From the very beginning of the work, narrative directives make apparent that an absent phallus is a source of shame as well as weakness. The mother yells to the sons as she stands in her nightgown in the one-room apartment, "Turn your heads so I can dress" (1). Bigger and his younger brother, Buddy, "kept their faces averted while their mother and sister put on enough clothes to keep them from feeling ashamed....” (1). From the very onset the text's dynamics are polarized sexually: Bigger and other male characters continue the violent struggle, foreshadowed by the killing of the rat, for the appropriation of status. Women, as characters in Native Son, are merely objects of this possession.
*P.S. Sorry about the legnth! I didn't know how much people were writing... I'll know for my next post
Am I wrong to question whether Bigger was actually consciously killing as a result of oppression? I haven't finished the third section of the book, but it seems to me that animal instincts, fear, and frenzied logic contribute more to Bigger's actions than any direct correlation with his societal position. The unbearable conditions during the time period are clearly emphasized and are wrong on every level, but it seems to me that most other people in similar situations to Bigger's better dealt with their unfortunate and unjust positions. He was even offered a possible way out multiple times through Mrs. Dalton and schooling or Jan and Mary's fight for equality, but he was determined to reject these potential paths to a better life. Although his past crimes may have been his way to protest his societal situation, it seems to me that his first murder was purely accidental and that his second was in a state of panic. As far as I am aware, the law does not take into account what horrible events shaped a potential criminal as a person but focuses on whether or not they committed the crime and if they were sane at the time.
There is a repeated symbol of walls and curtains. Bigger often mentions that he puts up these mental walls in order to remain detached from a difficult life. Bigger's method of not thinking things all the way through and appearing indifferent towards his family are really defense mechanisms so that he does not have to face his own reality. Because of these walls, Bigger is sometimes unaware of his actions and the consequences they may bring. This unawareness becomes obvious as Bigger becomes more criminally active and is unable to see at the proper times that he is causing his own demise.
“The boy got the idea from the newspapers. I’m defending this boy because I’m convinced that men like you made him what he is. His trying to blame the Communists for his crime was a natural reaction for him. He had heard men like you lie about the Communists so much that he believed them. If I can make the people of this country understand why this boy acted like he did, I’ll be doing more than defending him.”
Native Son is an exploration of the issues with humanity, and Bigger is used as the vehicle to achieve this.
Though Mary's death was accidental and can not be considered a ruthless killing, the gruesome actions Bigger takes to conceal his crime reveal his deep brutality and selfishness. Bigger stops at nothing to save himself from his mistakes and place the blame on others leaving a trail of destruction so widespread that it leaves the entire town in hysteria. Bigger's inner selfishness and fear of the consequences of his actions drive him to destroy the lives of his loved ones as well as almost everyone he comes in contact with. Caroline Mayberry
I've noticed that in the beginning of the novel, Wright describes many things as either black or white. Positive things were white in Bigger's mind, while negative things were black. This helps the reader understand how Bigger viewed the world in the chapter of FEAR. Also, whenever Bigger noticed or came into contact with the "white world", Wright would include the motif of fire in the beginning of the novel. Wright wrote that Bigger would feel a burning hatred in his stomach as well as his throat. And of course, the furnace comes into play with Mary. Whether it was his intention or not to burn another, I feel as if Bigger wanted to destroy or perhaps blacken something as white and pure as the snow in the Chicago streets.
Even though Bigger has the guts to kill others, I still feel as if he is a coward by the way he is killing. First of all, he only seems to be killing women, and second, he commits murder when the victims are unconscious as well as asleep. It makes me wonder if Bigger could handle killing a man. Now that I think about it, I think he could not. For once, Bigger felt in control when he killed both Mary and Bessie. He had the upper hand with both of them. Mary was drunk, and Bessie was afraid of him. But if he found another male who was as strong as him, he wouldn't dare, especially if he were a white man.
Finished the book and was pleasantly surprised at the development of Bigger's character. He developed a higher level of thinking, morals, and self-worth. I especially loved the last page of the book. When Max is walking and Bigger tells him to tell Jan hello was so moving. Bigger's request to tell Jan hello symbolizes Bigger's acceptance of Jan, his values, and friendship.
I thought the book moved a little slow, but I loved the message of the book. I think the idea of oppression and public mob mentality transcends into our everyday lives.
This is disgusting and gruesome, however, after Bigger kills Mary his guilt overwhelms him through Bigger visualizing Mary's dead body and her head. The image of her reoccurs throughout the last section of book one. Not only is guilt prevalent but also what led him to kill Mary. The fear of failure, capture, and so much shame for the accidental death of Mary.
Avery at the very top said that Bigger kills Mary with no hesitation, however, I still believe he did not kill her on purpose. He seemed incredibly shocked and scared after he accidently killed a white woman. Fear took over him and he didn't know what to do so he burnt the body. He was afraid of the consequences of his drunken actions. But, Mary too was very drunk. So in my opinion, Mary's death was just as much her own fault as it was Biggers.
This might just be me, but, I see some color imagery with white within the book. The way the author describes Mrs. Dalton always wearing long white gown and her delicate white face. Even when he describes Mary he over uses the description of white. Also, at the beginning of Book Two, the snow falling outside which is also obviously, white.
I didn't want to comment on this book until I had finished all three parts, because I felt like Bigger was a highly complex character in the way he functioned, to the point where the author slowly revealed the inner workings of his mind over a long period of time. At first, like most people, I started out hating who Bigger was and my only morbid fascination with the whole book was basically just me waiting to see how long it would take for the authorities to catch Bigger so I could read about his imminent execution. However, after the author revealed that his story was not just about one selfish, cold, confused man (who happened to be black) running from the consequences of his twisted actions, it becomes more apparent that the author is kind of holding up a mirror to his readers. We become so enthralled with the idea of this "savage" criminal getting what's coming to him that we often overlook the big picture - the fact that people like Bigger are a product of their environment. The two closing arguments between Max and Mr. Buckley really put it all into perspective for me: You hate who Mr. Buckley is, yet you agree that Bigger should face the consequences of his actions; in turn, Max's plea to end the cycle of death appeals to the sort of higher consciousness within all people - the special part of our minds that is free of irrational emotion, and deals more with pure logic for the betterment of the lives of all people, rather than just avenging the death of one person. I certainly won't say that I was disappointed upon Bigger's sentencing, but I wasn't as satisfied with it as I originally thought I would be. I'm sort of experiencing a torn feeling here. But I have to say I'm very impressed with the author and his ability to expound upon such conflicts in society.
I am still in part one of Native Son but I have a theme that has been bothering me and I am curious to know if anyone else feels the same way. I think that Bigger is so stuck on racial stereotypes that he cant focus on anything else. When Mary talks to him in Mr Dalton's office he is shocked that a white woman would acknowledged his presence. He doesn't know how to react to Mary because she crosses the racial boundary lines. This whole book focuses on Bigger expecting the "whiteness" to put him down, yet when Gus is late for the robbery he hurts his own community by beating Gus all because he couldn't handle his own internal conflicts that he has going on. Bigger frustrates me because his world perspective is confined to racial stereotypes enforced by people like the Daltons.
That's major theme of racial separation that you picked up on Megan. But I believe even when Bigger attacks Gus that the fight is due to his fear of robbing a white man. Bigger has been psychological taught to understand his place in society as under the white man in every way, status, appearance and wealth. Bigger blames the white people for all his problems because he was taught this way, and in those racially tense times, the "evilness" of white people in a way was a way of life and survival for black people such as Bigger and Gus.
Dreton, I agree with what your saying, maybe I wasnt very clear in my comment and i apologize. I meant to highlight the fact that because he is so afraid of robbing a white man, he takes out his aggression on a member of his own community. Such behavior makes Bigger a confusing character for me to understand. Why take out all of his aggression and frustration he has against the "evilness" of white people against he friend Gus?
After finishing this book, I came to disapprove of Bigger as a character in general. I did not feel sorry for him and I don't see how his actions were justified at all. How Mr. Max was making it seem that all the years of racial torment lead to this gruesome crime confused me, but not in a way that I didn't understand it. I was confused as to how that could lead to the crime. I'm only speaking as a person of this century of course, but I blame it on Bigger's inability to accept "different." I see it as you make your own choices and that's what Bigger did. He chose to kill Mary Dalton and Bessie, even though he committed the crime because he was scared, he still made that choice.
Bigger is so upset by Mary and Jan's attitude towards him when they all go out to dinner. The couple is clearly being kind to him, and although a certain level of discomfort is understandable (all his life he's been taught to treat white people as employers and opressors, not as friends), he's blowing the situation way out of proportion. However, that said, I can't quite figure out how I feel about Mary and Jan. On the one hand, they were kind to Bigger. They treated him the only way they knew how - as an equal. Now on the other hand, they were completely inconsiderate towards him, and they should have sensed that he was uncomfortable spending time with them in public. I also get the sense that their motive for inviting Bigger along was selfish. They don't know Bigger, so why spend an evening with him? Maybe they only wanted to spend time with him because he was black, but really didn't care about getting to know him as a person. I guess in that way, even though the two of them are working for civil rights, they are almost as guilty of racism as anyone else in the city.
"Bigger, I want to ask you something about your race. Do you love your people?" Max asks Bigger this question on page 357, long after the reader starts to wonder the same thing.
Bigger is one of the most racist characters in the book. Just as racist, I think, as Mr Buckley and the mob outside the courtroom doors. He hates white people, but that's justified in a way, because of the environment he grew up in. However, he hates black people seemingly just as much, something I couldn't understand.
In fact, the adjective "black" seems to be one of the most predominant throughout this novel. Bigger talks about his black face, black skin, black hands, but never simply about his face, skin or hands. For him, race is everything, and he defines himself by it.
I don't think the fact that he felt this way justifies any of his actions, but it makes it easier to understand why he did what he did.
I believe Bigger frequently behaves in a violent manner because of the pressure he is under to support his family, impress his friends, and conform to the town's view of how a black man should act. Bigger can not handle such a great amount of pressure and so he distances himself from people. He often keeps secrets, avoids conversing with his mother, and takes measures to separate himself from people who he believes are "blind". Bigger thinks it is better to conceal his problems from Bessie and his family and try to deal with them himself. He even rejects God and the kind preacher believing nobody has his best interests in mind but himself. Before Max shows him compassion, Bigger lived thinking that nobody cared about him. Caroline Mayberry
Becca said earlier that it was strange that Bigger hated Mary but liked Max when both were just trying to help him, but I don't think so. Mary was trying to help Bigger when Bigger didn't want any help. When Bigger comes to the realization that he doesn't want to die he accepts that he needs Max's help and at the same time accepts Max. - Charlotte Cronley
The thing I didn’t understand about Bigger was that he felt no guilt. He should have felt some sort of guilt for killing Mary even if it was an accident, but Bigger could have cared less. He didn’t care about his friends, his family, or Bessie because no one ever cared about him. He didn’t understand the Daltons or Jan’s kindness because he was never had anyone being kind to him. Yes, Bigger is a victim of circumstance but at the same time is responsible for his own actions and deserved his fate. It’s just too bad that once he learned about kindness and caring though Max, it was too late. - Charlotte Cronley
Bigger is unsure of himself in his life. He continually bounces back and forth through extremes. He puts on a facade depending who he is around. In the Dalton's house, Bigger acts like an innocent bystander. When Peggy holds the ransom note in her hand, Bigger displays fear of eating the food. The little things in life scare Bigger, so he tries to live by experiencing the extreme, instead. The extreme events (such as killing Mary and writing the ransom note) show a different, almost uncontrollable, side of Bigger, as if the events are unreal. I think this is why he continually says that he feels like he is in a dream or in a movie. --Haley Goldman
It's crazy to believe the police believed that someone else had to help bigger with the crime but Bigger was intelligent enough to create an elaborate scheme alone. -- Celeste Hankins
Reading “Native Son,” one thing came to mind: Thomas C. Foster’s “How to Read Novels like a Professor. Most of all, Foster’s chapter titled “When Very Bad People Happen to Good Novels,” kept reminding me of Bigger. I firmly believe Richard Wright did not want us to hate Bigger, rather his “aim is pity rather than revulsion” (Foster 96). Bigger, the horrible person that he may be, Wright presented him perfectly. Bringing up Foster once again, his prequel, “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” brought up blindness – a distinct motif is the novel. Jan Erlone addressed his being “blind’ to Bigger’s true motives; however, Mrs. Dalton, who is physically blind, consciously felt something off while in Mary’s room the night of her passing. On another note, one incredibly important symbol I noticed was snow. The snow connected to the color imagery of white frequently mentioned in the novel. The white snow represented this colossal natural force trying to take Bigger down – much like the way Bigger viewed white individuals. In fact, the snow aided Bigger’s capture.
The power of the media in the novel shocked me greatly. The newspaper, mentioned over and over, brought out the idea of just how powerful popular culture truly is – still holding to be true in this very generation. “Native Son” would be the perfect novel to examine through a New Historicism lenses, for the novel evidently proves to be products of its time, with constant references to racism and communism. Incidentally, I believe there is an obvious difference between bad people who do bad things and good people who do bad things. Bigger to me was a victim of two things: circumstance and his own mind. Fear consumed him. It grew like a cancer and eventually brought out the beast in him. Bigger was running away from something other than the authorities. He was running away from himself. His mind had a mind of its own and kept committing crimes that snowballed. This book is very psychological in that, after taking the first few lives that remain unnamed prior to Mary, the human life became puny to him. Bigger’s hate for others, stems for his own self-hatred. He despised feeling. Whenever Bigger felt, he feared the power of his feelings and how they can take control of his mind. Bigger is the epitome of all criminals that are merely a product of society. The media and his peers drilled into his mind that he’s lesser and feral like due to his dark skin. It was only a matter of time before he believed it. Aside from, the naming of the books proved to be quite genius to me: the first book, the rising action of the novel, titled fear, connects to the fear that consumed him, which led to book two, the climax, titled flight, relating to his flight as a reaction of his very fear, leading to the third and final, the resolution, titled fate.
The justice system is one of the main things institutions that Wright attacks in the novel. Before Bigger was even tried, he was already guilty. The justice system in the novel was caught between furthering political agendas and media frenzies. Bigger had murdered a white woman, and that was all anybody cared about. Even though he had raped and murdered Bessie, her death was only used as a symbol to further the prosecutions argument that Bigger was a vicious animal that needed to be put down. There is no doubt that bigger was guilty, but he did not receive a fair trial.
I found the fact that Wright portrayed communists as the "good guys" quite interesting. During the 1940s the communist party in America was one of the only non- black groups to fight for equal rights of African American citizens. Today, even the mention of communism is enough to incite hate and anger in our minds, but back then the communist party was a sing of hope and freedom for African Americans.
Throughout the entirety of the novel, I kept getting distracted by descriptions involving iron and steel. When Wright first describes Bigger's house, he mentions the iron beds. Later, there is an iron shovel, and an iron tongue in the bell. Towards the middle of the book, particularly in reference to white people, descriptions begin to include steel. I wasn't sure if these references to metal were significant or simply good descriptions, but then the final sentence of the book included "the ring of steel against steel." Examining iron and steel at a basic level, iron is a pure and easily molded metal. Steel is much harder, and formed by tempering the iron with carbon. Taking the two metals as symbols, I found meaning in the possibility that iron, which is darker in color, symbolized the Negro population as an untempered mass, without external influence and ready to be molded. As Bigger evolves through the book and the influence that white society has had on him is revealed, the descriptions slowly switch from references of iron to those of steel, which is presumably the end result of a Black person influenced by White society. The final reference to "steel against steel" is a brilliant closing statement, suggesting that Bigger has finally become a finished, fully developed product.
The prevailing theme of this novel was perspective. Wright explores the effect of Black people all brought up viewing Whites in a certain perspective, and comments on how that fault affected the Negro population. The emphasis on perception can be found not only in the story, but also in continuous descriptions including the "angle", such as the angle of cigarettes across chins, or the angle at which Bigger placed himself to properly see everyone else in the room. Wright then takes the character most recognized for wanting to help the impoverished blacks, Mrs. Dalton, and renders her blind--suggesting that although she tells herself she is helping, she cannot truly see and understand. As a separate part of Mrs. Dalton's personality, Wright introduces the white cat. When the animal was first introduced I was under the impression that the cat served as some sort of seeing-eye dog for Mrs. Dalton. When Bigger commits his crime, Mrs. Dalton is present, but the cat is the only one to truly witness the occurrence. Later, when Bigger has his picture taken by the reporters, the cat jumps onto his head and refuses to leave. I took this to mean that, having witnessed and understood the reasons for Bigger's crime, the cat stands by him both in comfort and accusal.
Of course when I started to read this novel, I hated Bigger. I hated the way he could steal from others and harm his friends without thinking twice about it. But through Bigger’s thoughts I began to realize that he was acting out of fear. He fears that others will see his weaknesses and so he places the blame on others to focus the attention away from himself. This is first exercised in Book One when Bigger calls Gus out for being afraid to rob a white man and then again in Book Two when he places the blame of Mary’s death on Jan. When Bigger starts his job at the Dalton’s home and meets Mary he is intrigued by her. Jan and Mary make Bigger feel uncomfortable and confused because white people have never treated him so nicely. I think that Mary was naïve and immature to trust Bigger so fast. She only befriended him because he was black. She knew nothing about him, yet she put her life in his hands. At first I did not realize why Bigger was so standoffish from the white people that were being so nice to him. But as I read I discovered that because of his lifestyle and the way he was raised this was so unusual. Bigger was in prison his whole life because white people controlled where he lived and what he could do since he was born. When Bigger was actually in jail at the end of the novel, white people controlled the way he ended his life as well. On page 308 Bigger thinks, “It was not that he did not really want to tell, but the telling of it would have involved an explanation of his entire life”. This quote describes how Bigger felt when he was asked to explain why he killed Mary. The quote emphasizes the fact that Bigger was damaged from the start. His harsh lifestyle caused him to believe that killing and stealing was the right way to live. He will hurt the ones he loves (Bessie) to do what he believes is right. Max says this best on page 400, “He was living only as he knew how, and as we have forced him to live”.
Bigger describes everyone around him as blind, Mrs. Dalton (who was physically blind), Mr. Dalton (who believed Bigger when he said Jan killed Mary), Bessie (because she did whatever Bigger told her to do) and his family (because they knew nothing that was going on). I think Mr. Dalton was blind mostly because of the way he was towards blacks. He gave millions of dollars to blacks for education to free his guilt yet he still forced them to live in the worst part of town and separate from the whites. Bigger was proud that he had outsmarted white people and so he continuously lied. He even secretly wanted people to find out that he had come up with the note and his whole plan by himself because no one believed that blacks were that smart.
Out of all of the characters in this novel, Max sees the most clearly. Max has the greatest influence on Bigger. He helps Bigger realize his feelings and motives. Max is the only one who can get Bigger to explain his feelings. During Max’s speech he compares the war to Bigger’s fight against the whites by saying, “You kill to keep from being killed! And after a victorious war you return to a free country, just as this boy, with his hands stained with the blood of Mary Dalton, felt that he was free for the first time in his life”. Max explains that Bigger killed to protect himself; Bigger knew that he would be blamed for killing Mary even though it was an accident. Max gives Bigger hope that he was not ready to die. I loved the end of the novel because Bigger finally calls Jan by his name instead of sir. This shows that he finally sees whites as equals and how much he has changed from the beginning of the novel.
Race is something that is made very obvious throughout the novel, but what is interesting is the different ways that characters view race. Bigger views his own race as being a part of himself that he cannot change but that it is also something the first thing that people see about him. In this way, it serves as something that he can hide within, but can never escape. He refers to himself in his thoughts in the way that he thinks others do by saying things such as “they would never think a black, timid Negro did that” and in this way he uses assumptions of his race to cover his own guilt. The three Daltons all see Bigger’s race as a handicap. They have good intentions in what they try to do for not only Bigger but for the black community, but they still see blacks as inferior to whites and feel that what they’re doing is something to help a race of people that they perceive as being unable to help themselves. Mary and Jan both ask Bigger about “his people” basically implying that blacks are so distant from themselves that they live in an entirely different world that and can serve as entertainment to learn about. The truth is its closer than they think. In fact, Bigger lives in an apartment owned by Mr. Dalton, and though he has the means to sell better apartments to the black community for better prices, he decides blacks should keep living in their own separate part of town secluded from whites because he thinks they like it better that way, which shows his own hippocricy. Buckley uses Bigger’s race against him to say that the color of his skin is associated with something evil or sinful. He calls him a “hardened black thing”, a “half-human black ape”, a “black lizard”, a “black cur”, and a “black mad dog”. He also uses this word further to condemn the situation Bigger left behind him by using phrases like “the black shadow of death”, “black and bloody”, and “black and awful”. He uses these words to make Bigger guilty to even be associated with his skin color, something he cannot change and had nothing to do with the crime itself. Max is the only character that sees race and knows what others think of it, but does not see a reason for it to make a difference. In his speech at the trial he refers to Bigger mostly as “this boy” raising sympathy for him but not diminishing him as a person, and when he does use race such as calling him “this black boy” he does it to define who is talking about, not to say anything about his character. --Bailey Moran
One of the reoccuring themes in this novel was nature vs. nurture. Was Bigger an inherently violent person or did his environment shape his actions? One of Max's key points in his closing arguments is that society created this criminal through oppression. He expanded on this point saying that when a group is repeatedly told its inferior that some in that group will struggle to be come equal. Bigger and his crimes were a product of this process.
One of the reoccuring themes in this novel was nature vs. nurture. Was Bigger an inherently violent person or did his environment shape his actions? One of Max's key points in his closing arguments is that society created this criminal through oppression. He expanded on this point saying that when a group is repeatedly told its inferior that some in that group will struggle to be come equal. Bigger and his crimes were a product of this process.
Mary & Bessie are foils that represent the societal attitude towards whites & blacks during the 1930s. For example, comparing the girls' murders. While smothering is an awful way to die, being clobbered to death with a brick is much more gruesome. Richard Wright shows how society believes blacks & whites should be treated with Bigger's contrasting attitudes. Bigger is a black man who despises the inequalities he's subject to, but he has just as much prejudice as the white men.
One quote that came into mind while reading Max’s speech was “It takes a village to raise a child”. I feel like that was a major argument that he made about Bigger. Society raised hate and prejudice into him as he grew into his destiny of being a murderer. He was basically saying that Bigger had no choice but that he was going to end up killing and that that made it okay that it happened. He also said that just because he was himself, he was guilty of anything that was blamed on him. It’s weird to think about. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I understand the point he was making. Nonetheless the speech was a brilliant part of the book. --Bailey Moran
When bigger was fleeing he came in to an abandoned apartment where he over heard two men next door. Their different views on Bigger Thomas were interesting, whether to defend him as one of their own or to isolate him as one tarnishing their names. In the beginning of the book bigger is against the oppression and stereotypes placed on him by the white society but his anger drives him in the becoming the exact image in the minds of the hostile whites. "He made the white folks think we's all like him!" pg 251. Bigger begins to fall in to the society's expectations of blacks, by the last page with his final words to Max, he succumbs to the stereotypes and becomes a murderer.
During his time in the Dalton's house the furnace parallels Bigger. It is a blazing heat in the peak of his crime but as his cover begins to crumble the ashes build, slowly congesting the furnace. When the fire is slowing Bigger is in his tired state when he can hardly stand during the interviews at the house. Finally when it all begins to fall apart the smoke fills the room and bigger's plan is over.
The only reason Bigger is able to get away with Mary's murder for a short time is because whites don't believe that a black man is smart enough to kill a white woman so they remain blind to Bigger's actions which seems to be the reason Wright makes Mrs. Dalton the only person around when Mary is killed.
One of the sources of Bigger's violence was his fear and confusion. In the absence equality, the suppressed fear the supressors. This fear caused Bigger to kill Mary because to have been caught in such a suspicious situation would have surely meant severe punishment. He was uncertain how to explain the situation and society would have certainly put the blame on him regardless of Mary's actions.
While reading "Native Son" I noticed a lot of color imagery. The colors used the most were black and white. Literally, these colors represent the differences in colors of skin. Figuritively, however, black identifies safety and white identifies trouble. -- Alexa Zack
Throughout the novel "Native Son", there was a motif of blindness and sight. Mrs. Dalton is literally blind, and Bigger constantly states how everyone he knows is blind, only he means this in a figurative sense. I think that by calling people he knows "blind", Bigger means that they do whatever they are told without question. Bigger believes that he is not blind because he decided to go out on his own and attempt to make his own life, unaffected by anyone else. -- Alexa Zack
In book one, the reader sees a recurring theme of violence and fear affecting Bigger's actions. From Bigger's point of view, society is completely against him because of his race, and thus Bigger begins to make rather rash decisions. He beats up his own friend Gus out of fear of ruining his reputation after considering a job with a wealthy white man. He also seems to be very violent because he resents the situation he has been put in by society due to his race. As an African-American, Bigger is confined to poverty and the a radical mentality because he thinks that may change his circumstances. Unfortunately, his perspective on society and his own life give him more doubt and fear than what others think of him, which ultimately fuels his bouts of anger and violence.
I noticed that throughout the back, because of Bigger's strained views of the relationships between blacks and whites, he uses his paranoia as an excuse for his actions. Although Bigger knows that he's committed a crime, the acts that whites have done to "his people" outweigh the bad he did to the Daltons. Bigger is confused about what to think because he lets his emotions drive his decisions-- not logic. I found that throughout Native Son, the author emphasizes the relationship between blacks and whites by showing the blacks as good deserving people who are wronged by the color of their skin, and having whites be characterized as spoiled, small-minded American citizens. The author makes it a point to show how some whites are willing to treat blacks as humans, but like in Bigger's case, blacks are conditioned to think that anything nice a white man does for them is secretly evil or some cruel joke. Thus, Bigger is more paranoid about what other people think about him and allows that paranoia to turn into fear, then rage, and then illogical thinking.
When Max takes time to delve into Bigger's life and understand his circumstances, Bigger was able to really open up. He was able to find the desire to hold onto his life and not just hope for death. This makes me wonder if all Bigger ever needed in his life was someone to relate to him. Max was able to do just that since he is oppressed as a Jew. So many people go against Bigger without understanding the depths of his character. For example, I was quite frustrated when all of the news reporters and cops were testifying against Bigger after meeting him for only a couple minutes, and even then, barely talking to him. They all simply repeated what the person before them stated about the smoke filling up the basement. This shows that they were getting all of their opinions from the opinions of others, not truly taking in the facts and formulating their own opinions. Dependency here is the key issue. In Bigger's case, he needed someone to depend on. In the "witnesses" cases, they hurt themselves by depending on others. --Haley Goldman
You brought up a good point about the reporters just taking all their opinions from the ones before them. That's a very common theme in society; people tend to take the TV man's word as gospel without a second thought all too often. I think we'd all agree that though Bigger was indeed guilty of a crime, his trial was certainly rigged against him in favor of ignorance.
Poverty is probably one of my biggest fears. I am nowhere near being in poverty, but just the thought scares me to death. Bigger was a man who actually experienced the worst of a poor man's life, and once everything is gone, anything goes. Bigger didn't stop after his accidental murder of Mary, and why should he have? He had nothing to lose by continuing his killings to cover up his original murder. He was a scared and unfortunate man, that was given a small push over the edge.
The author of this book seemed to have a firm belief that Blacks and Whites were separated into different social classes. The rich people in the novel were white and Bigger, the poor chauffeur, was a black man. This fact was an obvious statement to the reader that character is defined by race in society. This fact is made even more clear during Bigger's trial. He did commit a crime and as terrible as it was, his point was not heard by the his prosecutor.
In the beginning of the novel Bigger shows apathy towards his family in order to compensate for the guilt he felt for being powerless. The fear that later came to rule Bigger stemmed from the lack of control he felt in a white oriented society which he dealt with by immersing himself in indifference. When not brooding in apathy Bigger's fear manifest itself as an intense desire to violently lash out at anyone around him. A prisoner of his fear Bigger swung from rhythms of indifference and violence --Adnan Sayed
While fleeing one the ways Bigger rationales his actions was by accusing his mother of hiding behind her religion and Bessie her alcohol. He saw their behaviour as a sign of weakness and his own blind actions as a sign of defiance. Ironically it was Bigger who was weak giving in to fear which consumed and itself bear fruit as a false sense of power derived from violence. --Adnan Sayed
I disagree with Angela. Bigger's frustrations stem from his unfortunate upbringing in addition to him being black. It doesn't help that his is lonely, and has no one to open up to. When emotions and feelings are being held in, it eats away at the way one thinks. I strongly believe Bigger is a a victim in this sense.
o This novel really grew on me. In the beginning, I felt really sympathetic to Bigger. Wright makes it clear how depressing him and his family's situation with the openingscene with the rat. Such big emphasis is put on such menial task, and when it’s over Bigger is incredibly proud over what would normally be a small accomplishment. It really helps create the feel of how insignificant his life is. This whole scene also helped come to grips with what Bigger began to turn into as the story progressed and why killing Mary and Bessie didn't affect him as excepted. When you look at Bigger's crimes from afar, you would disgusted, but what really won be over was how Wright managed to get me understand Bigger's reasoning and his feeling even though I disagreed with what he did.
I found Wright's use of color imagery interesting. He most commonly describes objects as black, white, and sometimes red. For example on page 18 he writes, "They leaned their backs against the red-brick wall of a building, smoking, their cigarettes slanting white across their black chins". The continuous juxtaposition of black and white objects mirrors the conflict and contrast between black and white people that is central to the theme of the novel. Also, his usage of red throughout the book symbolizes the communist angle he introduces through characters including Max, Jan, and Mary.
Another great thing the novel does is switch from having Bigger feeling trapped and isolated, to experiencing what he calls freedom and independence, only to return to his literal and figurative imprisonment. After he kills Mary he's given a rush of power and self-confidence and uses this new feeling attempt to escape dismal status in life. He now has the power to make his own decisions. Unfortunately he makes the wrong decisions, like killing Bessie and trying to frame Jan, and he ends back in confinement. This time he feels even more trapped because he now knows for a fact the world hates him, because of the mob that follows him. I think the ultimate satisfaction I got out of this book is his smile at very end.
There is no better name for the protagonist of this novel than "Bigger". When I first read his name, my instinctual thought was, "Will his experiences be bigger than himself and possibly impact his black peers?" What do you know, before the trail Max says, "This thing's bigger than you, son. In a certain sense, every Negro in America's on trial out there today" (340). Even though (SPOILER ALERT) Bigger is ultimately sentenced to death, Max's philosophical defense possibly posed some questions to the readers during Wright's time period. He most likely had an impact, however indirect, on the Civil Rights Movement after all.
Haley made an excellent point. All Bigger needed was someone that believed in him and supported him all along and both Mary and Bessie's lives could have been spared. Bigger only acts out of fear and rage. The fear is caused by the fact he probably will never have a bright future and he and his family will forever live in poverty and have to struggle daily. His fear transforms into rage and becomes the motivation for all of his actions and murders. He does not know how to express his feelings, (that all whites have more power and opportunities than he ever will, simply because of the color of their skin) in a more peaceful way because society never provided him with that option. So thanks to the racial and class segregation in his society, Bigger felt obligated to do what he did.
I thought it was interesting that Bigger only felt guilt for his murders in his dreams. While he was awake, he was too busy worrying about how he felt free and how he could not only get away with murder, but also make an ample amount of money from the situation. Although killing Mary Dalton was a complete accident, Bigger turned somewhat malicious, and allowed things to get completely out of hand and failed to realize that he had taken away the lives of two innocent young women. I also noticed that Bessie and Mary were foils of each other. They were both romantically involved with men that were using them in some way and they both had ambitions and dreams of their own. Clearly the difference is their race; so when Mary's murder was uncovered, the entire white community was enraged, but when Bessie's was, the court only used it as evidence to help Mary's case. Racial equality was a huge theme in Wright's novel. It proves that if we could all respect each other as equals, many of the tragedies that America has faced could have been avoided.
After accidentally killing Mary, Bigger became conceited. As soon as some one bothered him one of his first thoughts was to kill them--like it was nothing. He made it seem like because he had killed Mary, he was now invincible when that was not the case.
I wanted to mention Bigger's major transformation at the very beginning of the novel from young relatable black man to murderer. Because Bigger had been racially suppressed for so long, his resentment towards white manifested its self in violent behavior. His very first glimpse of angry outburst appears when he assaults Gus at Doc's. It was easy to tell that the violence behavior towards Gus was fueled by sheer fear and anger towards white people. It states, "His confused emotions had made him feel instinctively that it would be better to fight Gus than to confront a white man with a gun."
I also wanted to call attention to the title. As a racially suppressed man, Bigger Thomas is a product of his country. America had created the man, and then punished him for acting out instinctively. Though murdering two women isn't everyone's instincts, Bigger's temper combined with that way of life that he was taught pushes him to act natively. Also, the title, "Native Son" seems like an allusion to Africa. African Americans are natives of Africa therefore suggesting that Bigger's actions were more primitive; native.
Bigger lacks compassion – he never expresses pity or even love towards anyone. His thoughts and actions are very self-centered. Even when provided with opportunities (by the Daltons) to better his life, he refuses them. He seems to want to stay in his so-called abysmal existence; self-destructive. Even still, he possesses the qualities of a sociopath: he doesn't seem to want to do bad things all the time, but he simply lacks any sense of morality or empathy for others. Besides his emotional epiphany towards Jan, not once in the book did he even think about the emotions of others. I honestly think Bigger was psychotic.
While Bigger is a product of the society that created him, he has innate psychological issues. The fact that Bigger gets electrocuted is quite ironic. Killing Mary & Bessie provided this surge of energy in Bigger and he is put to death with surges of electricity. (Also, nowadays, electricity is used for therapeutic & psychiatric effects..)
Bigger hid all of his feelings behind violence. He never wanted to come across scared, weak, or vulnerable. He thinks by scaring others and showing their vulnerabilities, they are not able to focus on his own. Living in a society where blacks are always treated inferior he was taught to never show emotion, especially in front of white people who he believed were all out to get and belittle him. That manifested in a man that was deeply troubled by the social standards of the time, and transformed him into a man that had no control over his anger.
I really picked up on the constant wish Bigger had to "blot" everyone out of his life and out of the world. This is first referenced on page 70, when Bigger is riding in the car with Mary & Jan. "Suddenly he wanted to seize some heavy object in his hands and grip it with all the strength of his body and in some strange way rise up and stand in naked space above the speeding car and with one final blow blot it out--with himself and them in it." Bigger is absolutely miserable in living; there's no question about it. In the context of this first mention of blotting people out, Bigger is extremely uncomfortable. He feels threatened in his black skin while sitting in between two white people. Blotting people out is mentioned again on page 115, when Bigger is in his apartment. He wishes that he could just wave his hand and blot out his family. Bigger is a very selfish person, but he has an innate will. I think he killed Mary because he obviously felt very threatened, and he killed Bessie for the same reason. However, I'm not certain that he actually believed there was a threat with Mary. Bigger doesn't like being uncomfortable, and he detests being dependent upon anyone, or tied to anyone. This is why he disposed of Mary and Bessie's bodies. The "native" part of Native Son comes into play when he disposes of Bessie. It's the thought process behind it that makes me think of the "survival of the fittest" concept. Bigger was living each day to survive.
It took Bigger ending the life of Mary in order to feel that his life had purpose a strong irony in the book. Bigger again convinces himself of untruths, making himself believe that he purposely killed Mary out of some subconscienceness that has been created by white people. When coming up with a ransom plan and lying to the family and private detective, Bigger begins to feel exccited for what he's been able to do. The control he now feels he has on his life. He no longer feels indifferent about life and the role he wants to play in his life. He is now making decisions that will effect him; and none of this would have occurred had he not ended the life of a woman who was trying to help him get to that place, another irony. Ashley Gibbs
Bigger was once a manof fear so how dod it all change into him becoming a criminal ? He was very careful for the most part bit he slipped up ewhen he lickwd that enevelope .
Living in a society such as the one that Bigger lived in must have been hard for anyone. It think that anyone would have been capable of committing the crime that Bigger committed. In essence, Bigger did not murder Mary, but the society she represented as a whole. By ending her life, Bigger was able to "overcome" his society. He felt worthy after he killed Mary. He felt his life had meaning. He was no longer afraid. Not because he was afraid of Mary, but because he was afraid of his society. In my opinion, I believe anyone nurtured by their society such as Bigger was could have been pushed to such extremes.
Mr. Dalton really annoyed me. His hypocrisy was more than I could take. even though he claimed to help the African American community (which he did do), he only did so after the fact that he was also oppressing them. because of him, the cost of living for the peoples in the ghettos was tough for him to come along and make whatever prices he felt like.
I dont understand why once Bigger killed Mary he felt equal to the white man. Murder is not something to be proud of nor does it make you equal to anyone of any race or gender. His crime gave him confidence. - Janae King
Biggers anger problem i feel symbolized the anger of the African American people at the time. They were oppressed and felt inferior and unimportant that had to cause pent up anger. Through Bigger the author expressed how they felt by showing his timid and cautiousness when in the presence of whites.-Janae King
This begining of this novel is much like The Metamorphosis because both Gregor and Bigger feel extreme pressure from their families. Bigger feels like he is trapped in a world where his future is already determined for him due to racial discrimination. He is held back from doing what he really wants to do, and as a result, feels an uncontrollable anger towards whites.
Throughout the novel, the person Bigger fears most is himself. He is afraid of his own feelings, especially those of shame and fear. Bigger struggles to ignore his feelings and ends up alienating everyone around him, including his friends and family. Because Bigger constantly struggles to overcome his feelings, he lets his anger and frustration out on his friends, leading to the stereotypical violence against members of his own community, which serves to further alienate his community from the rest of society.
Bigger was so careful when he was planning the ransom note. He bought new pencils and paper and made sure that he wore gloves so he would not leave finger prints. Then he goes and licks the envelope and leaves his DNA. He seems to be forgetting a simple detail in committing a crime.
ReplyDeleteAvery Bachus
In the beginning of the story Bigger is afraid to even rob a white man’s store, Blums, but as the story goes on he kills Mary with no hesitation. Then he disposes of her in a way only few people ca imagine. Later he kills Bessie by using a brick and smashing her head in using his bare hands. It seems that the more Bigger tries to escape the white stereotype the more he truly becomes it.
ReplyDeleteAvery Bachus
Rat is as trapped in that small apartment as is the Thomas’s—feeding on “garbage”. Bigger alternates between the roles of predator and prey
ReplyDeleteA Major source of Bigger’s FEARs come from his inflated masculine ego and the concept of “Manhood”. Bigger’s primary definition of “manhood” is violence. He’s biased towards displays of strength and oppression. He hopes to reassert his deflated manhood by tyrannizing those around him. Mary, the rat, Bessie and Bigger all suffer blows to the head, rather violent ones that take out their consciousness before they die—Synecdoche (a part of the body implies a condition for the whole. The blows to the head imply a larger psychological condition, and physical body, of course (death)
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ReplyDeleteBigger constantly describes everyones blindness, "like his mother, his brother, his sister, Peggy, Britten, Jan, Mr. Dalton and the sightless Mrs. Dalton" (p.173) He mentions this blindness often. It makes me think back to how to read Lit Like a Professor's chapter about blindness. I feel Like Ms. Dalton is a whole lot more knowing then Bigger makes her out to be. It was she who walked into the room when he was in there, she knew something was up. Also I really think its ironic how Bigger says everyone else is blind and he is the only one who is not. I feel like that statement alone shows his character's tragic flaw. I feel like he is as blind as everyone else. If he obviously cant predict his own mistakes then he's defiantly not "all seeing"
ReplyDelete- Mariah Pepper Berkowitz
In Book One: Fear, Bigger seems to constantly be questioning his prior decisions. For instance, he begins to doubt his decision of pushing Jack, Gus, and GH into robbing Mr. Blum's shop because he is afraid of the consequences. I believe that this tendency of questioning ties into Bigger's insecurity as a person which becomes even more severe at the end of Book One, when he makes a decision which triggeres the intensity of the rest of the novel.
ReplyDeleteIsabella Tondi Resta
Bigger is driven by pain, fear, and guilt. I feel like the author through means of the lawyer Max tries to get you to feel that Bigger is the victim of these things and of society, but in my opinion he causes his own pain, fear, and guilt by magnifying it in his head and causes his own problems. He's scared when he doesn't need to be and gets angry when he shouldn't. He doesn't ever consider any body else throughout the entire book either; it's all about his own feelings of being trapped without considering that others may feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteIn the first half of the novel, Bigger constantly brings up the idea of blindness. Mrs. Dalton is literally blind, but Bigger considers his boss, friends, mother, and siblings to be blind too. They are blind to the actions around them. For example, Bigger's mother has hope through religion. However, Bigger recognizes the uselessness of religion when he sees the KKK violently burning a cross. Upon returning to his cell, Bigger boldly throws away the symbol of God, his cross- as a sign that he has lost faith. Yet, Bigger is the blind one. Opportunities such as the job at the Dalton's home became open to him. Mrs. Dalton had wanted to give the boy education, and to give him a chance. Still, Bigger did not see his window of opportunity and his fear caused him to kill instead of explaining his presence with Mary.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Dalton's literal blindness is an archetype of other white people who are blind to the social injustices around them. She is understanding, but lacks the ability to truly help Bigger and other African Americans. Her husband gives aid by donating ping pong tables to community organizations, but what educational opportunities does that give for African Americans to advance in status in the 1930s? None.
Jaclyn Turner
Fear drives Native Son. All of Bigger's actions are encompassed by fear. He tries to shoot his friend out of fear, as a way to put up a facade that he still wants to rob a white man's grocery store. He consents with Mary Dalton's wishes in fear that she will fire him. He suffocates Mary out of fear that Mrs. Dalton will discover him in Mary's room. He brutally murders Bessie out of fear that she will rat him out. He has fear in front of the Mr. Dalton and Mrs. Dalton in the jail cell. Bigger's fears drive him to act. Then, he works to evoke sympathy from the reader despite his despicable actions by questioning himself. Bigger is afraid of himself and what he can do. He is also afraid of the white man, and hesitant to trust an unlikely friend.
ReplyDeleteJaclyn Turner
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ReplyDeletei find it somewhat surprising that jan the communist is made out to be a "good" person given the time period that the novel was written, Communist USSR and Nazi Germany were allies and at war with Americans Allies. the matter does help amplify the meaning behind Bigger beginning to see white people as not just an oppressive force but as people regardless of skin, religion, and/or political affiliation.
ReplyDeletethe rat that was killed in the beginning of the novel resembles Bigger: It is small (minority), barely surviving (cramped up in his apartment with his whole family, and 1 false move will get you killed (Bigger's unintentional murder of Mary)
ReplyDeleteMick Baker
I feel that "fear" which is brought out several times in this novel is what makes the story what it is. Bigger has grown up all his life w/ this fear and hatred toward whites. When he and his friends were planning on robbing Blum's deli, secretly Bigger was afraid. Gus, on the other hand, never denied being afraid and even accuses Bigger of being scared to act out the robbery. So to cover for himself, Bigger beat Gus out of anger and fear of being discovered as afraid. Bigger's fear of being caught alone in Mary's room while she was drunk and the consequences is what moved him to kill her and so on from there.
ReplyDeleteI noticed how Bigger felt as if he had an obligation to set black people free from the fear of white people he once had, by killing them. He felt as if it were his purpose.
ReplyDeleteAdding to Angela's earlier comments, I think that Bigger is an extremely dynamic character! He cannot control his emotions, his actions... himself. His very own personality -his inner thoughts and emotions- has trapped him and leads him down an inescapable path. Reading the novel from his perspective is extremely useful because it explains this struggle. He feels himself losing control, but cannot stop it. He has extreme psychological issues. This has pulled me in as a reader, and I cannot wait to discover what he will do next! Yay:)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kamia that Bigger feels an obligation to free the black race. Though he is only one man, when he goes on trial, the outcome will affect the entire community. The fact that before Bigger was caught, many black males his age were assaulted just for fitting the basic profile. Bigger becomes representative of the entire black race, and because of this fact, he realizes that his life has worth.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kristsin's and Angela's earlier comments. Bigger proves a dynamic character beginning the novel with little self worth and thus an aggressive attitude,to developing a sense of self worth and finding peace. According to Jacob Goldsmith's theory the switch from a Type A personality, being aggressive and selfish, to a Type B personality, patient and understanding, can only be achieved by the acceptance of a traumatic event. This acceptance proves that Bigger indeed becomes "bigger" but in a different way than he intended.
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ReplyDeleteI find the trial scene really interesting because even though Bigger doesn't quite understand Max's speech, he understands the emotion behind it, whereas the judge, I think, focuses on the meaning of the words, not the emotion behind them.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Addison
Bigger hates Mary for trying to be nice to him at the beginning of the book, yet he appreciates Max doing the same to him at the end. In my opinion, Max is not particularly different than Mary, so Bigger's differing reactions surprised me.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Addison
Bigger Thomas was a victim of his society. Every aspect of his life was controlled by the white man. He was also a victim of his fear. when those things combined a dangerous situation was bound to happen. Mary's death was accidental and Bigger knew no one would understand that but his fear drive him to continue down the path of destruction.
ReplyDeleteIts true what the mystery novels say about the killer always returns to the scene of the crime. The crime wasn't killing Mary. I viewed that as accidental, so in my mind the suffocation did not register as murder. It was when he cut up the body and burned her in the furnace that was the crime. Bigger subconsciously returned that furnace.
ReplyDeleteAdding on to what Jenny said, I really liked the way that Bigger subconsciously returned to the furnace. His paranoia, though he tried to play the part of a tough guy, grew steadily as Book 2 progressed. Would the body be burned? He kept trying to reassure himself that there was no way that the Daltons would think to point the finger at him. He was just a poor black boy. However, his subtle paranoia was present to other characters during fits of unprovoked rage.
ReplyDeleteJessica Jarrett
Bigger's trial held a bigger significance to me as I continued to read it. It reminded me of some of my thoughts on the Caycee Anthony trial. Bigger represents Caycee, and Max represents Caycee's lawyer. As Caycee's trial went on, I kept thinking, "How in the world can that man defend Caycee for such a horrid crime that she obviously committed? How can he even live with himself?" After reading "Native Son," I know exactly how he defended Kaycee. He defended her not because he believed she was innocent, but because he believed that the trial was about something bigger (no pun intended) than the murder of Caylee Anthony. He was so adamant in his belief against the death penalty, he would defend a guilty woman to prove his point. This is just as Max defended Bigger. Max clearly knew Bigger was guilty for a horrendous crime, however, his belief in the injustice and inequality of the trials and tribulations of Bigger's life, encouraged him to fight for not only the Bigger's life, but for the lives of future black boys on trial for their crimes. And even though Bigger was guilty for the two horrendous murders, I found myself rooting for Max to win over the judge.
ReplyDeleteJessica Jarrett
P.S. Don't get me wrong, I hate the result of the Caycee Anthony trial. I think she should be put away for many many many many many years. Just clarifying. Don't wanna get murdered via AP Lit blog.
Fear seems to be an important theme of this novel. I believe Richard Wright emphasized the importance of fear that African-Americans felt during the early 1900s through this novel. Bigger is constnatly fearful of his fate because he has no control over his situation, which is most likely similar to other African-Americans at the time. I believe Wright also made fear a theme of the novel because many people in any time period understand the feeling of fear, which allows readers to connect to Bigger.
ReplyDeleteIsabella Tondi Resta
What I found interesting about Bigger is his temper and thought process. His anger first shows up when he speaks to his family at the beginning of the book. He feels as if everyone is out to get him when they just might be trying to help him. He also uses his anger as a crutch several times. When dealing with Gus he acts as though he is mad at him for being late, but he really covering up for the fact that he is scared to rob the white man. Then, when he gets angry, he thinks of ways to justify his anger so it doesn't seem as though he has a problem. He thinks that fighting and causing chaos makes him equal to people that intimidate him.
ReplyDeleteAshley Reahna Hamilton
Though Bigger would not want me to feel this.. I pity him greatly. Wright unveiled the injustices existing in our country in the 60s so well that I felt for Bigger even after he killed. I found myself not wanting him to be caught. (Don't get me wrong.. I don't agree with his method-killing-, but it was the only way he knew how). I loved Max's speech to the court. It summed up all of the feelings Bigger ever had but could not articulate.(which I couldn't truly understand either until this time). He was subjected to a life of nothingness and therefore felt 'something' for once in his life when he felt he took part in an action bigger than himself. An action that symbolized the issues of race in this country.
ReplyDeleteThis novel touches on many greater issues of which I can't comment on appropriately. I think I need to read it again..
Throughout the whole book Bigger just seemed savage. Almost like his only instincts where to kill and have sex. So many times he makes comments on how the slightest thing a person would do would make him want to hurt said person. He was so filled with anger that I feel sorry for him, and he didn't change until the very end. He spent his whole life afraid of everything and of feeling like he had no control of his life. And it wasn't until he killed Mary and Bessie and started manipulating the details he gave the police did he feel like he had control over something. He never realized any of this until the end. -Glenda Monge
ReplyDeleteJust finished the 2nd part, and man do I hate Bigger! Bigger is an insecure, pompous, self-defeating child. Bigger is constantly trying to control other things and people, as to compensate for the seemily lack of control over his own life. He controls his gang friends with rash arguments and by questioning thier masculinity (which I might add still happens regularly today). Bigger's crude mentality and the need to be in control cause him to act out, and ultimately commit multiple murdurs.
ReplyDeleteIm not particularly interested in finishing the book, as it seems blatantly obvious that his trial will not go well. But alas this is homework *groan
Patrick Jones
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Avery. He was smooth with planning the crime, but he made an unsmart move when he licked the envelope. I'm confused. Did he not think that they can trace saliva back to the person? Bigger was slick but not slick enough.
ReplyDeleteBigger did most of the crimes out of fear. When Mrs.Dalton was in the room, he killed Mary out of fear. Quick question, Who doesn't know that if you push someone face in the pillow for as long as he did they wil die? On another note, I know he had to get rid of her body but did he have to burn her body? There are other ways to get rid of bodies, it might not be as effective but at least her body will be in one peace.
ReplyDeleteYou can see fear from Bigger in the story alot. When he beat Gus up, he tried to hide his fear of robbing a white man's store. When Mrs. Dalton came in the room, his fear of being found caused him to kill Mary on accident.
ReplyDeleteAriel Scott
I don't understand why, if Mr. Dalton wanted to help the African American community so much, he was so opposed for them to have equal rights as the his own race. I like how Wright made it apparent that Ms. Dalton's blindness was a major factor in her attitude towards people and their rights.
ReplyDeleteThe way the author turned Bigger's actions and feelings into something to sympathize for reminds me of what Foster stated in "How to Read Novels like a Professor". He stated that good authors can even make the villain seem like a good guy towards the end, which Wright brilliantly carried out making Bigger seem innocent to the feelings which initiated him to perform his crimes.
ReplyDeleteI've never really had a method when I read books, but Native Son I read with direction and study Bigger's moves intently. I've been folding down the corners of pages when I discover thoughts and actions of his that pertain to the title subject of each book. The first example of fear that I found was on page 12: "They had the feeling that... robbing... Blum's would be a violation of ultimate taboo; ...trespassing into a territory where the full wrath of an alien white world would be turned loose upon them...; a challenge which they yearned to make, but were afraid to. Bigger's fear is so eloquently explained by Wright--just like his plan for robbing Blum's store was almost perfectly laid out. However, he fears and eventually rejects making any kind of change to his life because he is afraid of a "challenge" which he really wants to confront. Bigger seems to react to fear with violence and other irresponsible reactions. For example, from page 37-40, Bigger accosts Gus, punishing him for revealing his own personal fear of robbing Blum's while Bigger conceals his own fear by feigning anger through violence. Bigger really shocks me with how he responds to certain things, such as killing Mary. He wasn't upset, really. He hardly panicked. It's strange how he fears certain things (robbing a white man) and doesn't mind committing other offenses (killing a white woman).
ReplyDeleteLeighton Rowell
I agree with Angela in the sense that Bigger acted out of fear, pain, and guilt. I would like to add that through hate and his constant want of escape (relating to fear). Bigger led to his own downfall.
ReplyDeleteHate: First he hated his mother, his forced living conditions, white people, then the way Jan and Mary made him feel with their new/different ways. With the hatred in his heart, Bigger acted out against these and other things.
Fear/Want to escape: In the beginning he acted violently against Gus because he was scared to rob a white man. Then he became more violent and burned Mary because he was scared people would discover he murdered her. Then he practically gave himself up when he fled the crime scene. Then, he wanted to escape and he feared Bessie would give him away. So he took her out of the picture.
---These and other emotions ultimately made Bigger spiral out of control, giving him two murders, one rape, and a death sentence.
I was surprised with Bigger at the end of the book. In the beginning he had anger, fear, guilt, pain, suffering, and hatred in his mind. He acted off these feelings and kept feeding off of them. All he wanted was to be free. But towards the end he just seemed numb, and distant from the world. Yes, he was caught and he knew he had little chance of survival. But he was given the opportunity of hope and possible eternal life. Three people tried to save his soul if he would just had prayed. But he refused. I don't understand why he did that exactly.
ReplyDeleteBigger is the stereotypical version of the modern day black male. His anger and fear toward society results in his violent disturbing behaviors. He carries an attitude that the world is against him in retrospect, however he is against the world. He is afraid to admit his fears of the world he lives in, thus he channels it as though he wants to hurt the world before it hurts him first. The average black male in America is looked at as angry and insubordinate, and Bigger's character depicts these stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteYes, I totally agree with Demyah here. Bigger is very "Stereotypical". But, I find it particularly annoying that Bigger is so "Stereotypical ". Yes, Richard Wright and Max make a point to show that Bigger is one example out of hundreds of thousands, but even then I feel it takes away from the poignancy of the story. If Wright didn't hit us over the head so much then I would have had a much bigger (no pun intended) sympathetic connection with Bigger.
ReplyDeleteHowever at the same time, when it comes to his sentence, I find my self very conflicted on what side I would like to stand. I want to sympathize with Bigger, but also I would like to see him severely punished for his actions. His color should not be a crutch, but at the same time it should. Buckley and Max were both very correct. Bigger was a killer, and he knew it was wrong all along. As for his actual sentence....An eye for an eye, right? Well, No! because that just makes the whole world bind.
In summation I am severely conflicted, I believe that he shouldn't be spared because of his color. But I also believe that he and the rest of the African American community shouldn't be mistreated the way they are because of their color.
-Mariah Pepper Berkowitz
Chritianity plays a large role in the book. I first noticed it when Mary sunk her nails into Bigger's wrists when he was on top of her with the pillow. I didn't quite get what it meant then, but I knew it had something to do with Christianity because pain in the wrists almost always represents Christ. I noticed Christianity again when Hammond came to visit Bigger in jail and brought him a cross with Christ nailed to it. Bigger represents Christ. His murder of Mary would serve as his source of suffering. Although he didn't physically suffer like Christ, he mentally suffered for the rest of his life. Her nails in his wrists could also forshadow his eventual capture. When the police captures a criminal they cuff them on the wrists.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Plavnik
I disagree with Jenny in that Bigger is a victim of society. This reminds me of the essay we wrote in 10th grade: Is Frankenstein an abomination to society or a victim of it? No in-betweens. I would say this case is a slight in-between in that Bigger was mistreated by society, which led to many of his crimes. However, I still believe Bigger has a choice in his actions. Although society mistreats him, he knows his right from wrong, and it's up to him to be the better person and choose the right.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Plavnik
I believe that "Beastality" is a major theme in Native Son and that the "Beastalitiy" of society can be reflected onto the people themselves when oppressed or victimized. As Bigger is characterized as a angry and violent person at the begin of the novel, he then reflects much on that to be the fault of society itself and the fact he was oppressed. Then as the murder passes he slowly grows more into a beast himself as a reflection of how society has treated him.
ReplyDeleteLyndsey Walsh
Also along with the switch of "Beastality," I believe there is a switch of fear between Bigger and Society. In the beginning Bigger fears the world around him as well as himself. Later though, he causes fear for society and becomes known as a loose criminal which then rids himself of his own fear as he becomes more animal-like.
ReplyDeleteLyndsey Walsh
Throughout the entire novel, Bigger acts because of fear and hate. He hates society for not giving him a chance in life and is ashamed that he is black. The two murders he commits in the novel were because he was afraid and he believed that it was the only way out of the situation. As Max says at the end, it is Bigger's way of living.
ReplyDeleteVictor Lopez
I agree with an earlier comment about Comminism seen as "good" in this novel. Jan, Max, and even Mary appear to be the only white characters in the novel that see Bigger as an equal. They keep mentioning equality and Bigger wishes to be seen as equal to the other white people so that he can do the things in life that he was never given a chance to do. Communism in this novel is represented as more of a social policy than a political one.
ReplyDeleteVictor Lopez
Up until the end of the novel, Bigger had a sense of assurance and confidence in himself. He deemed his friends and family to be “blind” while he clearly views himself to be superior to them. Also after the death of Mary, Bigger reassures himself that he would never get caught because, “no one would ever expect a black boy,” when he could have easily been terrified of being caught. He even told himself that he wouldn’t get captured without a fight, but once he was captured he lost his confidence and gave up on all hope. This switch from a person full of rage and confidence in himself, to an empty person giving up on life astounded me. People even tried to bring his hope back, as Jordana mentioned, but once he stepped into that jail cell everything he once was he gave up on.
ReplyDeleteWhat Jessica says about his drastic change from confidence to hopelessness is astounding, but I believe his hopelessness shows his true character, that all he said and felt up until the jail cell was a front. That he had always felt hopeless in life, he could not achieve his dreams, become equal to white people, even control his troublesome actions. I believe everything he had done was in order to hide his hopelessness that he would not accept, and that his true self manifested once he was caught and sentenced to the quite solitude and peace that was jail.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel I was always drawn to the symbolism, but there were two examples that stuck out in my mind. Mrs. Dalton’s white cat symbolized the truth of Bigger’s actions. The cat was the sole being that witnessed Mary’s murder, and appears at the brief periods that Bigger actually feels guilt. The most important appearance of the cat was when the newspaper people were interviewing Mr. Dalton on receiving the kidnapping note, the cat jumped on Bigger just like the truth weighing down on him. The airplane at the beginning of the novel held great significance throughout the novel. The plane is the ever present symbol of Bigger’s dreams and the white world taking them away from him. Bigger admits to Gus that he has always wanted to fly an airplane, but Gus quickly dismisses that thought because the “white world” won’t let him, and as Gus tells this to Bigger the airplane suddenly disappears.
ReplyDeleteMy feminist aggression strikes again! I couldn’t help but explore the misogyny expressed both literally and symbolically in Native Son. In the novel Wright reduces women to property, valuable only to the extent that they exist as objects of phallocentric status conflicts.
ReplyDeleteIn the first incident of Native Son, Bigger slays a giant rat while his mother and sister, Vera, tremble and shriek on the bed in terror. This symbolic act dominates the surface of the novel's first seven pages. The rat, a disease-bearing nuisance, reasonably represents the socioeconomic system under which Mr. Dalton grasps his fortune out of the ghetto. The killing of the rat represents, perhaps, Bigger's one opportunity to defend his mother and younger family members as the patriarch of the Thomas clan. However, in this initial episode, Bigger experiences his murdering of the rat not with the pride of one who lessens his family's suffering, if only partially, but with the giddy ecstasy of one glorying in the unusual and fleeting dominance that killing an enemy awards. Bigger uses the occurrence of conquest to domineer it over the dependent females of his family.
The phallic aspects of this scene are created first by Bigger's threatening of his sister with the trampled and bloody remains of the rat. The threat to Bigger (and the phallic suggestiveness can here be noted in his name…) is specified by a suggestively vaginal "three-inch rip" in Bigger’s pant-leg (7). Bigger smashes the rat's head with his foot while "cursing hysterically: You sonofabitch!" The episode further suggests the reading as a struggle for phallic dominance when Bigger's killing of the rat transforms the pest into an object "over a foot long" which now appears as a weapon in his hands. As victor in a battle that Wright induces us to see in openly sexual terms, Bigger endeavors to demand the maximum degradation of those whose subordination he has won by right of victory. When Vera pleads him to dispose of the rat, "Bigger laughed and approached the bed with the dangling rat, swinging it to and fro like a pendulum, enjoying his sister's fear". It is not the conquest over the rat in which Bigger most revels. Rather, he enjoys the dominance over the women that vicious conquest has bestowed on him.
However, is it not just the physical destruction of the rat that allows Bigger dominance over the women: it is their own disgraceful weakness. From the very beginning of the work, narrative directives make apparent that an absent phallus is a source of shame as well as weakness. The mother yells to the sons as she stands in her nightgown in the one-room apartment, "Turn your heads so I can dress" (1). Bigger and his younger brother, Buddy, "kept their faces averted while their mother and sister put on enough clothes to keep them from feeling ashamed....” (1). From the very onset the text's dynamics are polarized sexually: Bigger and other male characters continue the violent struggle, foreshadowed by the killing of the rat, for the appropriation of status. Women, as characters in Native Son, are merely objects of this possession.
*P.S. Sorry about the legnth! I didn't know how much people were writing... I'll know for my next post
Am I wrong to question whether Bigger was actually consciously killing as a result of oppression? I haven't finished the third section of the book, but it seems to me that animal instincts, fear, and frenzied logic contribute more to Bigger's actions than any direct correlation with his societal position. The unbearable conditions during the time period are clearly emphasized and are wrong on every level, but it seems to me that most other people in similar situations to Bigger's better dealt with their unfortunate and unjust positions. He was even offered a possible way out multiple times through Mrs. Dalton and schooling or Jan and Mary's fight for equality, but he was determined to reject these potential paths to a better life. Although his past crimes may have been his way to protest his societal situation, it seems to me that his first murder was purely accidental and that his second was in a state of panic. As far as I am aware, the law does not take into account what horrible events shaped a potential criminal as a person but focuses on whether or not they committed the crime and if they were sane at the time.
ReplyDeleteThere is a repeated symbol of walls and curtains. Bigger often mentions that he puts up these mental walls in order to remain detached from a difficult life. Bigger's method of not thinking things all the way through and appearing indifferent towards his family are really defense mechanisms so that he does not have to face his own reality. Because of these walls, Bigger is sometimes unaware of his actions and the consequences they may bring. This unawareness becomes obvious as Bigger becomes more criminally active and is unable to see at the proper times that he is causing his own demise.
ReplyDeleteI’ve conversed with numerous friends regarding their feelings about AP Lit summer reading this past week, and I have had the same general response, followed by an eye roll: “All the books are about African American struggle.” One of my peers wishes we would read more about current oppression that exists within the bounds of the U.S. today, oppression that is felt by others beyond the black race. I think it is easy to look at a novel like Native Son and dismiss it as just another African American story that the literary canon is forcing students across the nation to read. However, it’s always been hard for me to accept conclusions like this for face value. As the novel progressed, I came to discover that this isn’t your cliché “thug life” story. In fact, it isn’t necessarily a novel about Bigger. It took until I arrived at page 292 for this idea to implant itself in my head. Max responds to Buckley’s confusion as to why the lawyer is defending Bigger, a criminal who signed the Communist party to a ransom note:
ReplyDelete“The boy got the idea from the newspapers. I’m defending this boy because I’m convinced that men like you made him what he is. His trying to blame the Communists for his crime was a natural reaction for him. He had heard men like you lie about the Communists so much that he believed them. If I can make the people of this country understand why this boy acted like he did, I’ll be doing more than defending him.”
Native Son is an exploration of the issues with humanity, and Bigger is used as the vehicle to achieve this.
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ReplyDeleteThough Mary's death was accidental and can not be considered a ruthless killing, the gruesome actions Bigger takes to conceal his crime reveal his deep brutality and selfishness. Bigger stops at nothing to save himself from his mistakes and place the blame on others leaving a trail of destruction so widespread that it leaves the entire town in hysteria. Bigger's inner selfishness and fear of the consequences of his actions drive him to destroy the lives of his loved ones as well as almost everyone he comes in contact with.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Mayberry
I've noticed that in the beginning of the novel, Wright describes many things as either black or white. Positive things were white in Bigger's mind, while negative things were black. This helps the reader understand how Bigger viewed the world in the chapter of FEAR.
ReplyDeleteAlso, whenever Bigger noticed or came into contact with the "white world", Wright would include the motif of fire in the beginning of the novel. Wright wrote that Bigger would feel a burning hatred in his stomach as well as his throat. And of course, the furnace comes into play with Mary. Whether it was his intention or not to burn another, I feel as if Bigger wanted to destroy or perhaps blacken something as white and pure as the snow in the Chicago streets.
-Lauren Richards
Even though Bigger has the guts to kill others, I still feel as if he is a coward by the way he is killing. First of all, he only seems to be killing women, and second, he commits murder when the victims are unconscious as well as asleep. It makes me wonder if Bigger could handle killing a man. Now that I think about it, I think he could not. For once, Bigger felt in control when he killed both Mary and Bessie. He had the upper hand with both of them. Mary was drunk, and Bessie was afraid of him. But if he found another male who was as strong as him, he wouldn't dare, especially if he were a white man.
ReplyDelete-Lauren Richards
Finished the book and was pleasantly surprised at the development of Bigger's character. He developed a higher level of thinking, morals, and self-worth. I especially loved the last page of the book. When Max is walking and Bigger tells him to tell Jan hello was so moving. Bigger's request to tell Jan hello symbolizes Bigger's acceptance of Jan, his values, and friendship.
ReplyDeleteI thought the book moved a little slow, but I loved the message of the book. I think the idea of oppression and public mob mentality transcends into our everyday lives.
Patrick Jones
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ReplyDeleteThis is disgusting and gruesome, however, after Bigger kills Mary his guilt overwhelms him through Bigger visualizing Mary's dead body and her head. The image of her reoccurs throughout the last section of book one. Not only is guilt prevalent but also what led him to kill Mary. The fear of failure, capture, and so much shame for the accidental death of Mary.
ReplyDeleteSavannah Lee Perdue
Avery at the very top said that Bigger kills Mary with no hesitation, however, I still believe he did not kill her on purpose. He seemed incredibly shocked and scared after he accidently killed a white woman. Fear took over him and he didn't know what to do so he burnt the body. He was afraid of the consequences of his drunken actions. But, Mary too was very drunk. So in my opinion, Mary's death was just as much her own fault as it was Biggers.
ReplyDeleteSavannah Lee Perdue
This might just be me, but, I see some color imagery with white within the book. The way the author describes Mrs. Dalton always wearing long white gown and her delicate white face. Even when he describes Mary he over uses the description of white. Also, at the beginning of Book Two, the snow falling outside which is also obviously, white.
ReplyDeleteSavannah Perdue
I didn't want to comment on this book until I had finished all three parts, because I felt like Bigger was a highly complex character in the way he functioned, to the point where the author slowly revealed the inner workings of his mind over a long period of time. At first, like most people, I started out hating who Bigger was and my only morbid fascination with the whole book was basically just me waiting to see how long it would take for the authorities to catch Bigger so I could read about his imminent execution. However, after the author revealed that his story was not just about one selfish, cold, confused man (who happened to be black) running from the consequences of his twisted actions, it becomes more apparent that the author is kind of holding up a mirror to his readers. We become so enthralled with the idea of this "savage" criminal getting what's coming to him that we often overlook the big picture - the fact that people like Bigger are a product of their environment. The two closing arguments between Max and Mr. Buckley really put it all into perspective for me: You hate who Mr. Buckley is, yet you agree that Bigger should face the consequences of his actions; in turn, Max's plea to end the cycle of death appeals to the sort of higher consciousness within all people - the special part of our minds that is free of irrational emotion, and deals more with pure logic for the betterment of the lives of all people, rather than just avenging the death of one person. I certainly won't say that I was disappointed upon Bigger's sentencing, but I wasn't as satisfied with it as I originally thought I would be. I'm sort of experiencing a torn feeling here. But I have to say I'm very impressed with the author and his ability to expound upon such conflicts in society.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Hawkins
I am still in part one of Native Son but I have a theme that has been bothering me and I am curious to know if anyone else feels the same way. I think that Bigger is so stuck on racial stereotypes that he cant focus on anything else. When Mary talks to him in Mr Dalton's office he is shocked that a white woman would acknowledged his presence. He doesn't know how to react to Mary because she crosses the racial boundary lines. This whole book focuses on Bigger expecting the "whiteness" to put him down, yet when Gus is late for the robbery he hurts his own community by beating Gus all because he couldn't handle his own internal conflicts that he has going on. Bigger frustrates me because his world perspective is confined to racial stereotypes enforced by people like the Daltons.
ReplyDelete-Megan Eisenberg
That's major theme of racial separation that you picked up on Megan. But I believe even when Bigger attacks Gus that the fight is due to his fear of robbing a white man. Bigger has been psychological taught to understand his place in society as under the white man in every way, status, appearance and wealth. Bigger blames the white people for all his problems because he was taught this way, and in those racially tense times, the "evilness" of white people in a way was a way of life and survival for black people such as Bigger and Gus.
ReplyDeleteDreton, I agree with what your saying, maybe I wasnt very clear in my comment and i apologize. I meant to highlight the fact that because he is so afraid of robbing a white man, he takes out his aggression on a member of his own community. Such behavior makes Bigger a confusing character for me to understand. Why take out all of his aggression and frustration he has against the "evilness" of white people against he friend Gus?
ReplyDelete-Megan Eisenberg
After finishing this book, I came to disapprove of Bigger as a character in general. I did not feel sorry for him and I don't see how his actions were justified at all. How Mr. Max was making it seem that all the years of racial torment lead to this gruesome crime confused me, but not in a way that I didn't understand it. I was confused as to how that could lead to the crime. I'm only speaking as a person of this century of course, but I blame it on Bigger's inability to accept "different." I see it as you make your own choices and that's what Bigger did. He chose to kill Mary Dalton and Bessie, even though he committed the crime because he was scared, he still made that choice.
ReplyDelete- Ashley Hamilton
Bigger is so upset by Mary and Jan's attitude towards him when they all go out to dinner. The couple is clearly being kind to him, and although a certain level of discomfort is understandable (all his life he's been taught to treat white people as employers and opressors, not as friends), he's blowing the situation way out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteHowever, that said, I can't quite figure out how I feel about Mary and Jan. On the one hand, they were kind to Bigger. They treated him the only way they knew how - as an equal. Now on the other hand, they were completely inconsiderate towards him, and they should have sensed that he was uncomfortable spending time with them in public.
I also get the sense that their motive for inviting Bigger along was selfish. They don't know Bigger, so why spend an evening with him? Maybe they only wanted to spend time with him because he was black, but really didn't care about getting to know him as a person. I guess in that way, even though the two of them are working for civil rights, they are almost as guilty of racism as anyone else in the city.
Caroline Bagley
"Bigger, I want to ask you something about your race. Do you love your people?"
ReplyDeleteMax asks Bigger this question on page 357, long after the reader starts to wonder the same thing.
Bigger is one of the most racist characters in the book. Just as racist, I think, as Mr Buckley and the mob outside the courtroom doors. He hates white people, but that's justified in a way, because of the environment he grew up in. However, he hates black people seemingly just as much, something I couldn't understand.
In fact, the adjective "black" seems to be one of the most predominant throughout this novel. Bigger talks about his black face, black skin, black hands, but never simply about his face, skin or hands. For him, race is everything, and he defines himself by it.
I don't think the fact that he felt this way justifies any of his actions, but it makes it easier to understand why he did what he did.
^ - Caroline Bagley
ReplyDeleteI believe Bigger frequently behaves in a violent manner because of the pressure he is under to support his family, impress his friends, and conform to the town's view of how a black man should act. Bigger can not handle such a great amount of pressure and so he distances himself from people. He often keeps secrets, avoids conversing with his mother, and takes measures to separate himself from people who he believes are "blind". Bigger thinks it is better to conceal his problems from Bessie and his family and try to deal with them himself. He even rejects God and the kind preacher believing nobody has his best interests in mind but himself. Before Max shows him compassion, Bigger lived thinking that nobody cared about him.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Mayberry
Becca said earlier that it was strange that Bigger hated Mary but liked Max when both were just trying to help him, but I don't think so. Mary was trying to help Bigger when Bigger didn't want any help. When Bigger comes to the realization that he doesn't want to die he accepts that he needs Max's help and at the same time accepts Max.
ReplyDelete- Charlotte Cronley
The thing I didn’t understand about Bigger was that he felt no guilt. He should have felt some sort of guilt for killing Mary even if it was an accident, but Bigger could have cared less. He didn’t care about his friends, his family, or Bessie because no one ever cared about him. He didn’t understand the Daltons or Jan’s kindness because he was never had anyone being kind to him. Yes, Bigger is a victim of circumstance but at the same time is responsible for his own actions and deserved his fate. It’s just too bad that once he learned about kindness and caring though Max, it was too late.
ReplyDelete- Charlotte Cronley
Bigger is unsure of himself in his life. He continually bounces back and forth through extremes. He puts on a facade depending who he is around. In the Dalton's house, Bigger acts like an innocent bystander. When Peggy holds the ransom note in her hand, Bigger displays fear of eating the food. The little things in life scare Bigger, so he tries to live by experiencing the extreme, instead. The extreme events (such as killing Mary and writing the ransom note) show a different, almost uncontrollable, side of Bigger, as if the events are unreal. I think this is why he continually says that he feels like he is in a dream or in a movie.
ReplyDelete--Haley Goldman
It's crazy to believe the police believed that someone else had to help bigger with the crime but Bigger was intelligent enough to create an elaborate scheme alone.
ReplyDelete-- Celeste Hankins
I don't understand why Bigger was afraid to rob a store but wasn't afraid of going to trial for killing a woman.
ReplyDelete-- Celeste Hankins
Reading “Native Son,” one thing came to mind: Thomas C. Foster’s “How to Read Novels like a Professor. Most of all, Foster’s chapter titled “When Very Bad People Happen to Good Novels,” kept reminding me of Bigger. I firmly believe Richard Wright did not want us to hate Bigger, rather his “aim is pity rather than revulsion” (Foster 96). Bigger, the horrible person that he may be, Wright presented him perfectly. Bringing up Foster once again, his prequel, “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” brought up blindness – a distinct motif is the novel. Jan Erlone addressed his being “blind’ to Bigger’s true motives; however, Mrs. Dalton, who is physically blind, consciously felt something off while in Mary’s room the night of her passing. On another note, one incredibly important symbol I noticed was snow. The snow connected to the color imagery of white frequently mentioned in the novel. The white snow represented this colossal natural force trying to take Bigger down – much like the way Bigger viewed white individuals. In fact, the snow aided Bigger’s capture.
ReplyDeleteThe power of the media in the novel shocked me greatly. The newspaper, mentioned over and over, brought out the idea of just how powerful popular culture truly is – still holding to be true in this very generation. “Native Son” would be the perfect novel to examine through a New Historicism lenses, for the novel evidently proves to be products of its time, with constant references to racism and communism. Incidentally, I believe there is an obvious difference between bad people who do bad things and good people who do bad things. Bigger to me was a victim of two things: circumstance and his own mind. Fear consumed him. It grew like a cancer and eventually brought out the beast in him. Bigger was running away from something other than the authorities. He was running away from himself. His mind had a mind of its own and kept committing crimes that snowballed. This book is very psychological in that, after taking the first few lives that remain unnamed prior to Mary, the human life became puny to him. Bigger’s hate for others, stems for his own self-hatred. He despised feeling. Whenever Bigger felt, he feared the power of his feelings and how they can take control of his mind. Bigger is the epitome of all criminals that are merely a product of society. The media and his peers drilled into his mind that he’s lesser and feral like due to his dark skin. It was only a matter of time before he believed it. Aside from, the naming of the books proved to be quite genius to me: the first book, the rising action of the novel, titled fear, connects to the fear that consumed him, which led to book two, the climax, titled flight, relating to his flight as a reaction of his very fear, leading to the third and final, the resolution, titled fate.
ReplyDeleteThe justice system is one of the main things institutions that Wright attacks in the novel. Before Bigger was even tried, he was already guilty. The justice system in the novel was caught between furthering political agendas and media frenzies. Bigger had murdered a white woman, and that was all anybody cared about. Even though he had raped and murdered Bessie, her death was only used as a symbol to further the prosecutions argument that Bigger was a vicious animal that needed to be put down. There is no doubt that bigger was guilty, but he did not receive a fair trial.
ReplyDelete-Ogundele Cain
I found the fact that Wright portrayed communists as the "good guys" quite interesting. During the 1940s the communist party in America was one of the only non- black groups to fight for equal rights of African American citizens. Today, even the mention of communism is enough to incite hate and anger in our minds, but back then the communist party was a sing of hope and freedom for African Americans.
ReplyDelete-Ogundele Cain
Throughout the entirety of the novel, I kept getting distracted by descriptions involving iron and steel. When Wright first describes Bigger's house, he mentions the iron beds. Later, there is an iron shovel, and an iron tongue in the bell. Towards the middle of the book, particularly in reference to white people, descriptions begin to include steel. I wasn't sure if these references to metal were significant or simply good descriptions, but then the final sentence of the book included "the ring of steel against steel." Examining iron and steel at a basic level, iron is a pure and easily molded metal. Steel is much harder, and formed by tempering the iron with carbon. Taking the two metals as symbols, I found meaning in the possibility that iron, which is darker in color, symbolized the Negro population as an untempered mass, without external influence and ready to be molded. As Bigger evolves through the book and the influence that white society has had on him is revealed, the descriptions slowly switch from references of iron to those of steel, which is presumably the end result of a Black person influenced by White society. The final reference to "steel against steel" is a brilliant closing statement, suggesting that Bigger has finally become a finished, fully developed product.
ReplyDeleteThe prevailing theme of this novel was perspective. Wright explores the effect of Black people all brought up viewing Whites in a certain perspective, and comments on how that fault affected the Negro population. The emphasis on perception can be found not only in the story, but also in continuous descriptions including the "angle", such as the angle of cigarettes across chins, or the angle at which Bigger placed himself to properly see everyone else in the room. Wright then takes the character most recognized for wanting to help the impoverished blacks, Mrs. Dalton, and renders her blind--suggesting that although she tells herself she is helping, she cannot truly see and understand. As a separate part of Mrs. Dalton's personality, Wright introduces the white cat. When the animal was first introduced I was under the impression that the cat served as some sort of seeing-eye dog for Mrs. Dalton. When Bigger commits his crime, Mrs. Dalton is present, but the cat is the only one to truly witness the occurrence. Later, when Bigger has his picture taken by the reporters, the cat jumps onto his head and refuses to leave. I took this to mean that, having witnessed and understood the reasons for Bigger's crime, the cat stands by him both in comfort and accusal.
ReplyDeleteOf course when I started to read this novel, I hated Bigger. I hated the way he could steal from others and harm his friends without thinking twice about it. But through Bigger’s thoughts I began to realize that he was acting out of fear. He fears that others will see his weaknesses and so he places the blame on others to focus the attention away from himself. This is first exercised in Book One when Bigger calls Gus out for being afraid to rob a white man and then again in Book Two when he places the blame of Mary’s death on Jan. When Bigger starts his job at the Dalton’s home and meets Mary he is intrigued by her. Jan and Mary make Bigger feel uncomfortable and confused because white people have never treated him so nicely. I think that Mary was naïve and immature to trust Bigger so fast. She only befriended him because he was black. She knew nothing about him, yet she put her life in his hands. At first I did not realize why Bigger was so standoffish from the white people that were being so nice to him. But as I read I discovered that because of his lifestyle and the way he was raised this was so unusual. Bigger was in prison his whole life because white people controlled where he lived and what he could do since he was born. When Bigger was actually in jail at the end of the novel, white people controlled the way he ended his life as well. On page 308 Bigger thinks, “It was not that he did not really want to tell, but the telling of it would have involved an explanation of his entire life”. This quote describes how Bigger felt when he was asked to explain why he killed Mary. The quote emphasizes the fact that Bigger was damaged from the start. His harsh lifestyle caused him to believe that killing and stealing was the right way to live. He will hurt the ones he loves (Bessie) to do what he believes is right. Max says this best on page 400, “He was living only as he knew how, and as we have forced him to live”.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Kelly
Bigger describes everyone around him as blind, Mrs. Dalton (who was physically blind), Mr. Dalton (who believed Bigger when he said Jan killed Mary), Bessie (because she did whatever Bigger told her to do) and his family (because they knew nothing that was going on). I think Mr. Dalton was blind mostly because of the way he was towards blacks. He gave millions of dollars to blacks for education to free his guilt yet he still forced them to live in the worst part of town and separate from the whites. Bigger was proud that he had outsmarted white people and so he continuously lied. He even secretly wanted people to find out that he had come up with the note and his whole plan by himself because no one believed that blacks were that smart.
ReplyDeleteOut of all of the characters in this novel, Max sees the most clearly. Max has the greatest influence on Bigger. He helps Bigger realize his feelings and motives. Max is the only one who can get Bigger to explain his feelings. During Max’s speech he compares the war to Bigger’s fight against the whites by saying, “You kill to keep from being killed! And after a victorious war you return to a free country, just as this boy, with his hands stained with the blood of Mary Dalton, felt that he was free for the first time in his life”. Max explains that Bigger killed to protect himself; Bigger knew that he would be blamed for killing Mary even though it was an accident. Max gives Bigger hope that he was not ready to die. I loved the end of the novel because Bigger finally calls Jan by his name instead of sir. This shows that he finally sees whites as equals and how much he has changed from the beginning of the novel.
Elizabeth Kelly
Race is something that is made very obvious throughout the novel, but what is interesting is the different ways that characters view race. Bigger views his own race as being a part of himself that he cannot change but that it is also something the first thing that people see about him. In this way, it serves as something that he can hide within, but can never escape. He refers to himself in his thoughts in the way that he thinks others do by saying things such as “they would never think a black, timid Negro did that” and in this way he uses assumptions of his race to cover his own guilt.
ReplyDeleteThe three Daltons all see Bigger’s race as a handicap. They have good intentions in what they try to do for not only Bigger but for the black community, but they still see blacks as inferior to whites and feel that what they’re doing is something to help a race of people that they perceive as being unable to help themselves. Mary and Jan both ask Bigger about “his people” basically implying that blacks are so distant from themselves that they live in an entirely different world that and can serve as entertainment to learn about. The truth is its closer than they think. In fact, Bigger lives in an apartment owned by Mr. Dalton, and though he has the means to sell better apartments to the black community for better prices, he decides blacks should keep living in their own separate part of town secluded from whites because he thinks they like it better that way, which shows his own hippocricy.
Buckley uses Bigger’s race against him to say that the color of his skin is associated with something evil or sinful. He calls him a “hardened black thing”, a “half-human black ape”, a “black lizard”, a “black cur”, and a “black mad dog”. He also uses this word further to condemn the situation Bigger left behind him by using phrases like “the black shadow of death”, “black and bloody”, and “black and awful”. He uses these words to make Bigger guilty to even be associated with his skin color, something he cannot change and had nothing to do with the crime itself.
Max is the only character that sees race and knows what others think of it, but does not see a reason for it to make a difference. In his speech at the trial he refers to Bigger mostly as “this boy” raising sympathy for him but not diminishing him as a person, and when he does use race such as calling him “this black boy” he does it to define who is talking about, not to say anything about his character.
--Bailey Moran
One of the reoccuring themes in this novel was nature vs. nurture. Was Bigger an inherently violent person or did his environment shape his actions? One of Max's key points in his closing arguments is that society created this criminal through oppression. He expanded on this point saying that when a group is repeatedly told its inferior that some in that group will struggle to be come equal. Bigger and his crimes were a product of this process.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reoccuring themes in this novel was nature vs. nurture. Was Bigger an inherently violent person or did his environment shape his actions? One of Max's key points in his closing arguments is that society created this criminal through oppression. He expanded on this point saying that when a group is repeatedly told its inferior that some in that group will struggle to be come equal. Bigger and his crimes were a product of this process.
ReplyDeleteMary & Bessie are foils that represent the societal attitude towards whites & blacks during the 1930s. For example, comparing the girls' murders. While smothering is an awful way to die, being clobbered to death with a brick is much more gruesome. Richard Wright shows how society believes blacks & whites should be treated with Bigger's contrasting attitudes. Bigger is a black man who despises the inequalities he's subject to, but he has just as much prejudice as the white men.
ReplyDeleteOne quote that came into mind while reading Max’s speech was “It takes a village to raise a child”. I feel like that was a major argument that he made about Bigger. Society raised hate and prejudice into him as he grew into his destiny of being a murderer. He was basically saying that Bigger had no choice but that he was going to end up killing and that that made it okay that it happened. He also said that just because he was himself, he was guilty of anything that was blamed on him. It’s weird to think about. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I understand the point he was making. Nonetheless the speech was a brilliant part of the book.
ReplyDelete--Bailey Moran
When bigger was fleeing he came in to an abandoned apartment where he over heard two men next door. Their different views on Bigger Thomas were interesting, whether to defend him as one of their own or to isolate him as one tarnishing their names. In the beginning of the book bigger is against the oppression and stereotypes placed on him by the white society but his anger drives him in the becoming the exact image in the minds of the hostile whites. "He made the white folks think we's all like him!" pg 251. Bigger begins to fall in to the society's expectations of blacks, by the last page with his final words to Max, he succumbs to the stereotypes and becomes a murderer.
ReplyDeleteDuring his time in the Dalton's house the furnace parallels Bigger. It is a blazing heat in the peak of his crime but as his cover begins to crumble the ashes build, slowly congesting the furnace. When the fire is slowing Bigger is in his tired state when he can hardly stand during the interviews at the house. Finally when it all begins to fall apart the smoke fills the room and bigger's plan is over.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBigger seems to have a great deal of psycohological oppression which seems to force him to act violent .
ReplyDeleteThe only reason Bigger is able to get away with Mary's murder for a short time is because whites don't believe that a black man is smart enough to kill a white woman so they remain blind to Bigger's actions which seems to be the reason Wright makes Mrs. Dalton the only person around when Mary is killed.
ReplyDeleteOne of the sources of Bigger's violence was his fear and confusion. In the absence equality, the suppressed fear the supressors. This fear caused Bigger to kill Mary because to have been caught in such a suspicious situation would have surely meant severe punishment. He was uncertain how to explain the situation and society would have certainly put the blame on him regardless of Mary's actions.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "Native Son" I noticed a lot of color imagery. The colors used the most were black and white. Literally, these colors represent the differences in colors of skin. Figuritively, however, black identifies safety and white identifies trouble. -- Alexa Zack
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel "Native Son", there was a motif of blindness and sight. Mrs. Dalton is literally blind, and Bigger constantly states how everyone he knows is blind, only he means this in a figurative sense. I think that by calling people he knows "blind", Bigger means that they do whatever they are told without question. Bigger believes that he is not blind because he decided to go out on his own and attempt to make his own life, unaffected by anyone else. -- Alexa Zack
ReplyDeleteIn book one, the reader sees a recurring theme of violence and fear affecting Bigger's actions. From Bigger's point of view, society is completely against him because of his race, and thus Bigger begins to make rather rash decisions. He beats up his own friend Gus out of fear of ruining his reputation after considering a job with a wealthy white man. He also seems to be very violent because he resents the situation he has been put in by society due to his race. As an African-American, Bigger is confined to poverty and the a radical mentality because he thinks that may change his circumstances. Unfortunately, his perspective on society and his own life give him more doubt and fear than what others think of him, which ultimately fuels his bouts of anger and violence.
ReplyDelete--Jamila Wright
I noticed that throughout the back, because of Bigger's strained views of the relationships between blacks and whites, he uses his paranoia as an excuse for his actions. Although Bigger knows that he's committed a crime, the acts that whites have done to "his people" outweigh the bad he did to the Daltons. Bigger is confused about what to think because he lets his emotions drive his decisions-- not logic. I found that throughout Native Son, the author emphasizes the relationship between blacks and whites by showing the blacks as good deserving people who are wronged by the color of their skin, and having whites be characterized as spoiled, small-minded American citizens. The author makes it a point to show how some whites are willing to treat blacks as humans, but like in Bigger's case, blacks are conditioned to think that anything nice a white man does for them is secretly evil or some cruel joke. Thus, Bigger is more paranoid about what other people think about him and allows that paranoia to turn into fear, then rage, and then illogical thinking.
ReplyDelete--Jamila Wright
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ReplyDeleteWhen Max takes time to delve into Bigger's life and understand his circumstances, Bigger was able to really open up. He was able to find the desire to hold onto his life and not just hope for death. This makes me wonder if all Bigger ever needed in his life was someone to relate to him. Max was able to do just that since he is oppressed as a Jew. So many people go against Bigger without understanding the depths of his character. For example, I was quite frustrated when all of the news reporters and cops were testifying against Bigger after meeting him for only a couple minutes, and even then, barely talking to him. They all simply repeated what the person before them stated about the smoke filling up the basement. This shows that they were getting all of their opinions from the opinions of others, not truly taking in the facts and formulating their own opinions. Dependency here is the key issue. In Bigger's case, he needed someone to depend on. In the "witnesses" cases, they hurt themselves by depending on others.
ReplyDelete--Haley Goldman
You brought up a good point about the reporters just taking all their opinions from the ones before them. That's a very common theme in society; people tend to take the TV man's word as gospel without a second thought all too often. I think we'd all agree that though Bigger was indeed guilty of a crime, his trial was certainly rigged against him in favor of ignorance.
ReplyDeletePoverty is probably one of my biggest fears. I am nowhere near being in poverty, but just the thought scares me to death. Bigger was a man who actually experienced the worst of a poor man's life, and once everything is gone, anything goes. Bigger didn't stop after his accidental murder of Mary, and why should he have? He had nothing to lose by continuing his killings to cover up his original murder. He was a scared and unfortunate man, that was given a small push over the edge.
ReplyDeleteThe author of this book seemed to have a firm belief that Blacks and Whites were separated into different social classes. The rich people in the novel were white and Bigger, the poor chauffeur, was a black man. This fact was an obvious statement to the reader that character is defined by race in society. This fact is made even more clear during Bigger's trial. He did commit a crime and as terrible as it was, his point was not heard by the his prosecutor.
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ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel Bigger shows apathy towards his family in order to compensate for the guilt he felt for being powerless. The fear that later came to rule Bigger stemmed from the lack of control he felt in a white oriented society which he dealt with by immersing himself in indifference. When not brooding in apathy Bigger's fear manifest itself as an intense desire to violently lash out at anyone around him. A prisoner of his fear Bigger swung from rhythms of indifference and violence
ReplyDelete--Adnan Sayed
While fleeing one the ways Bigger rationales his actions was by accusing his mother of hiding behind her religion and Bessie her alcohol. He saw their behaviour as a sign of weakness and his own blind actions as a sign of defiance. Ironically it was Bigger who was weak giving in to fear which consumed and itself bear fruit as a false sense of power derived from violence.
ReplyDelete--Adnan Sayed
I disagree with Angela. Bigger's frustrations stem from his unfortunate upbringing in addition to him being black. It doesn't help that his is lonely, and has no one to open up to. When emotions and feelings are being held in, it eats away at the way one thinks. I strongly believe Bigger is a a victim in this sense.
ReplyDeleteo This novel really grew on me. In the beginning, I felt really sympathetic to Bigger. Wright makes it clear how depressing him and his family's situation with the openingscene with the rat. Such big emphasis is put on such menial task, and when it’s over Bigger is incredibly proud over what would normally be a small accomplishment. It really helps create the feel of how insignificant his life is. This whole scene also helped come to grips with what Bigger began to turn into as the story progressed and why killing Mary and Bessie didn't affect him as excepted. When you look at Bigger's crimes from afar, you would disgusted, but what really won be over was how Wright managed to get me understand Bigger's reasoning and his feeling even though I disagreed with what he did.
ReplyDeleteI found Wright's use of color imagery interesting. He most commonly describes objects as black, white, and sometimes red. For example on page 18 he writes, "They leaned their backs against the red-brick wall of a building, smoking, their cigarettes slanting white across their black chins". The continuous juxtaposition of black and white objects mirrors the conflict and contrast between black and white people that is central to the theme of the novel. Also, his usage of red throughout the book symbolizes the communist angle he introduces through characters including Max, Jan, and Mary.
ReplyDeleteAnother great thing the novel does is switch from having Bigger feeling trapped and isolated, to experiencing what he calls freedom and independence, only to return to his literal and figurative imprisonment. After he kills Mary he's given a rush of power and self-confidence and uses this new feeling attempt to escape dismal status in life. He now has the power to make his own decisions. Unfortunately he makes the wrong decisions, like killing Bessie and trying to frame Jan, and he ends back in confinement. This time he feels even more trapped because he now knows for a fact the world hates him, because of the mob that follows him. I think the ultimate satisfaction I got out of this book is his smile at very end.
ReplyDeleteThere is no better name for the protagonist of this novel than "Bigger". When I first read his name, my instinctual thought was, "Will his experiences be bigger than himself and possibly impact his black peers?" What do you know, before the trail Max says, "This thing's bigger than you, son. In a certain sense, every Negro in America's on trial out there today" (340). Even though (SPOILER ALERT) Bigger is ultimately sentenced to death, Max's philosophical defense possibly posed some questions to the readers during Wright's time period. He most likely had an impact, however indirect, on the Civil Rights Movement after all.
ReplyDeleteHaley made an excellent point. All Bigger needed was someone that believed in him and supported him all along and both Mary and Bessie's lives could have been spared. Bigger only acts out of fear and rage. The fear is caused by the fact he probably will never have a bright future and he and his family will forever live in poverty and have to struggle daily. His fear transforms into rage and becomes the motivation for all of his actions and murders. He does not know how to express his feelings, (that all whites have more power and opportunities than he ever will, simply because of the color of their skin) in a more peaceful way because society never provided him with that option. So thanks to the racial and class segregation in his society, Bigger felt obligated to do what he did.
ReplyDelete*Ayana Owens
I thought it was interesting that Bigger only felt guilt for his murders in his dreams. While he was awake, he was too busy worrying about how he felt free and how he could not only get away with murder, but also make an ample amount of money from the situation. Although killing Mary Dalton was a complete accident, Bigger turned somewhat malicious, and allowed things to get completely out of hand and failed to realize that he had taken away the lives of two innocent young women. I also noticed that Bessie and Mary were foils of each other. They were both romantically involved with men that were using them in some way and they both had ambitions and dreams of their own. Clearly the difference is their race; so when Mary's murder was uncovered, the entire white community was enraged, but when Bessie's was, the court only used it as evidence to help Mary's case. Racial equality was a huge theme in Wright's novel. It proves that if we could all respect each other as equals, many of the tragedies that America has faced could have been avoided.
ReplyDelete*Ayana Owens
All of Bigger's actions were done as a result of fear. Internally, he struggles to thrive because of his fears and what they cause him to do.
ReplyDeleteAfter accidentally killing Mary, Bigger became conceited. As soon as some one bothered him one of his first thoughts was to kill them--like it was nothing. He made it seem like because he had killed Mary, he was now invincible when that was not the case.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to mention Bigger's major transformation at the very beginning of the novel from young relatable black man to murderer. Because Bigger had been racially suppressed for so long, his resentment towards white manifested its self in violent behavior. His very first glimpse of angry outburst appears when he assaults Gus at Doc's. It was easy to tell that the violence behavior towards Gus was fueled by sheer fear and anger towards white people. It states, "His confused emotions had made him feel instinctively that it would be better to fight Gus than to confront a white man with a gun."
ReplyDeleteEva Cooke
I also wanted to call attention to the title. As a racially suppressed man, Bigger Thomas is a product of his country. America had created the man, and then punished him for acting out instinctively. Though murdering two women isn't everyone's instincts, Bigger's temper combined with that way of life that he was taught pushes him to act natively. Also, the title, "Native Son" seems like an allusion to Africa. African Americans are natives of Africa therefore suggesting that Bigger's actions were more primitive; native.
ReplyDeleteEva Cooke
Bigger lacks compassion – he never expresses pity or even love towards anyone. His thoughts and actions are very self-centered. Even when provided with opportunities (by the Daltons) to better his life, he refuses them. He seems to want to stay in his so-called abysmal existence; self-destructive. Even still, he possesses the qualities of a sociopath: he doesn't seem to want to do bad things all the time, but he simply lacks any sense of morality or empathy for others. Besides his emotional epiphany towards Jan, not once in the book did he even think about the emotions of others. I honestly think Bigger was psychotic.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Hawkins
While Bigger is a product of the society that created him, he has innate psychological issues. The fact that Bigger gets electrocuted is quite ironic. Killing Mary & Bessie provided this surge of energy in Bigger and he is put to death with surges of electricity. (Also, nowadays, electricity is used for therapeutic & psychiatric effects..)
ReplyDeleteBigger hid all of his feelings behind violence. He never wanted to come across scared, weak, or vulnerable. He thinks by scaring others and showing their vulnerabilities, they are not able to focus on his own. Living in a society where blacks are always treated inferior he was taught to never show emotion, especially in front of white people who he believed were all out to get and belittle him. That manifested in a man that was deeply troubled by the social standards of the time, and transformed him into a man that had no control over his anger.
ReplyDeleteI really picked up on the constant wish Bigger had to "blot" everyone out of his life and out of the world. This is first referenced on page 70, when Bigger is riding in the car with Mary & Jan.
ReplyDelete"Suddenly he wanted to seize some heavy object in his hands and grip it with all the strength of his body and in some strange way rise up and stand in naked space above the speeding car and with one final blow blot it out--with himself and them in it."
Bigger is absolutely miserable in living; there's no question about it. In the context of this first mention of blotting people out, Bigger is extremely uncomfortable. He feels threatened in his black skin while sitting in between two white people.
Blotting people out is mentioned again on page 115, when Bigger is in his apartment. He wishes that he could just wave his hand and blot out his family. Bigger is a very selfish person, but he has an innate will. I think he killed Mary because he obviously felt very threatened, and he killed Bessie for the same reason. However, I'm not certain that he actually believed there was a threat with Mary. Bigger doesn't like being uncomfortable, and he detests being dependent upon anyone, or tied to anyone. This is why he disposed of Mary and Bessie's bodies. The "native" part of Native Son comes into play when he disposes of Bessie. It's the thought process behind it that makes me think of the "survival of the fittest" concept. Bigger was living each day to survive.
Leighton Rowell
It took Bigger ending the life of Mary in order to feel that his life had purpose a strong irony in the book. Bigger again convinces himself of untruths, making himself believe that he purposely killed Mary out of some subconscienceness that has been created by white people. When coming up with a ransom plan and lying to the family and private detective, Bigger begins to feel exccited for what he's been able to do. The control he now feels he has on his life. He no longer feels indifferent about life and the role he wants to play in his life. He is now making decisions that will effect him; and none of this would have occurred had he not ended the life of a woman who was trying to help him get to that place, another irony.
ReplyDeleteAshley Gibbs
Bigger was once a manof fear so how dod it all change into him becoming a criminal ? He was very careful for the most part bit he slipped up ewhen he lickwd that enevelope .
ReplyDeleteInstead of letting people know how he felt bigher keep his anger bottled and he eventually went psycologically crazy if you pay attention .
ReplyDeleteLiving in a society such as the one that Bigger lived in must have been hard for anyone. It think that anyone would have been capable of committing the crime that Bigger committed. In essence, Bigger did not murder Mary, but the society she represented as a whole. By ending her life, Bigger was able to "overcome" his society. He felt worthy after he killed Mary. He felt his life had meaning. He was no longer afraid. Not because he was afraid of Mary, but because he was afraid of his society. In my opinion, I believe anyone nurtured by their society such as Bigger was could have been pushed to such extremes.
ReplyDeleteMr. Dalton really annoyed me. His hypocrisy was more than I could take. even though he claimed to help the African American community (which he did do), he only did so after the fact that he was also oppressing them. because of him, the cost of living for the peoples in the ghettos was tough for him to come along and make whatever prices he felt like.
ReplyDeleteI dont understand why once Bigger killed Mary he felt equal to the white man. Murder is not something to be proud of nor does it make you equal to anyone of any race or gender. His crime gave him confidence. - Janae King
ReplyDeleteBiggers anger problem i feel symbolized the anger of the African American people at the time. They were oppressed and felt inferior and unimportant that had to cause pent up anger. Through Bigger the author expressed how they felt by showing his timid and cautiousness when in the presence of whites.-Janae King
ReplyDeleteThis begining of this novel is much like The Metamorphosis because both Gregor and Bigger feel extreme pressure from their families. Bigger feels like he is trapped in a world where his future is already determined for him due to racial discrimination. He is held back from doing what he really wants to do, and as a result, feels an uncontrollable anger towards whites.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel, the person Bigger fears most is himself. He is afraid of his own feelings, especially those of shame and fear. Bigger struggles to ignore his feelings and ends up alienating everyone around him, including his friends and family. Because Bigger constantly struggles to overcome his feelings, he lets his anger and frustration out on his friends, leading to the stereotypical violence against members of his own community, which serves to further alienate his community from the rest of society.
ReplyDelete