In the novel Native Son, Wright constantly demonstrates that restrained fear, stemming from racism and oppression, can boldly manifest itself through uncontrollable actions. Throughout the plot, Wright focuses on Bigger’s fear to act in a dominant white community which had continually restricted him and his ambitions. Due to the racially segregated Chicago that surrounded him, Bigger was afraid to live his life for fear that he would further be limited by the white society. Therefore, in moments of interaction with them, Bigger’s consciousness quickly becomes disabled, restraining only so much of his fear until it externalizes into bold actions that allow him to live, but in the worst ways possible. Bigger first shows his fear when he and a group of friends conspire on robbing the store of a white man. Bigger’s fear of interacting with the white storeowner was hidden through the strict time he established for the event to occur, hoping for the …show more content…
Once he was put in his jail cell, Bigger’s trial was immediately scheduled to be judged by the white race, whose minds had already predetermined his death based off of his color. Wright described, “Out of the mood of renunciation there sprang up in him [Bigger] again the will to kill. But this time it was not directed outward toward people, but inward, upon himself” (347). Accepting that the white society will dominate and restrict his life in all cases, Bigger feared death. His anxieties were directed towards himself, and he killed his innermost desires and hopes of living a life he always wanted. In doing so, Bigger believed that it was he who made the decision to die. His anxieties and fears guided his last bold action which, although was officially determined by the jury, made Bigger feel like he controlled his own life and death instead of being controlled by the society around
Bigger Thomas uses deception to cover the crime for his personal safety. He knows that the white people of Chicago will kill him if they know he killed a white girl. Throughout his deceit, Bigger feels the white world
The reactions to fear, such as crying and violence, can be so severe that in can ultimately be fatal. Wright uses violence in his novel because “it can be symbolic” (Foster 95) in showing how violence can change someone’s life. In Biggers case, when Mrs. Dalton walked into Mary’s room, he was so “intimidated to the core by the awesome white
Bigger Thomas lived within an environment that systematically was set up to make the black community fail. Black people lived in a part of Chicago called the Black Belt. In this area, housing was overpriced, food was old and overpriced, and opportunities were nearly none and void. With this in mind it is safe to assume that black people were at the bottom of the barrel a far cry from the cream on the top. Seeing little to no success around caused Bigger to operate with a mindset that success was something achieved by the fairer skin. So robbing and stealing from other black became something of the norm because cops and officials did not care too much
The whites and the people in America have been largely influenced by the press and media over the years, so when media portrays Bigger after his disappearance as a nefarious criminal, they assemble a large group of people to rally and demand Bigger to be killed. The media’s influence is very strong because it conditioned a person for years, and therefore it is not easily reversible by one person or one speech. Plenty people think that Negroes are capable of robbing a store or murdering someone. It is difficult for any Negro to become a part of society and be seen as something beyond that. That stereotype makes job opportunities very limited for the Negroes, which is especially influential during the 1930s when racial discrimination have increased and whites would call employers to get blacks fired if they themselves were
From the first pages of the novel, Bigger is associated with the color black. The most obvious is his skin color, as well as the fact that most of the action of the plot is located in the Black Belt of South Chicago. The Black
Bigger Thomas kept his emotions hidden inside and when in fear he reacted violently. There were a number of occasions in which Bigger reacted violently because of fear. In a certain scene in The Native son (pages 28-30), Bigger and his friends planned to rob a store, but the only problem was it was owned by a white man. Bigger and his friends never robbed a white man before and made them skeptical but Bigger was the one who came up with the idea so he couldn’t back out. They decided to meet at Doc’s poolroom before going to Blum’s and when Gus showed up late, Bigger started a fight with Gus to take his friends mind off robbing Blum’s. This wasn’t the only incident in which Bigger resulted to violence because of fear; in fact, In the Native Son (pages 86-92) Bigger killed Mary by suffocation because he didn’t want Mrs. Dalton to know he was in
now"(254). This is a recent change in Bigger's mind set. He knows that he has
In the beginning, when Bigger started working for the Dalton’s, he had to drive Mary Dalton, the daughter, to the University of Chicago. However, she wanted him to pick up her boyfriend, Jan, and head to a restaurant. When Bigger was in the car with Jan and Mary, “he was very conscious of his black skin...Jan and men like him” made Bigger feel insecure of who he was. (Wright 67) Even though Jan and Mary did not say anything that would insult his race, the presence of white people made him self-conscious. Being
He does explain that oppression and racism affected both whites the oppressors and blacks the oppressed. He also explains how a white like girl, befriended a black man, and that a lot of what happened was because of the lack of understanding of the others culture. Yet, I feel that Mr. Wright’s emphasis was more on the struggles that the African Americans endured during the 1930’s. I feel he felt that this oppression and racism affected them the most so he tends to favor their plight more than that of the whites. Wright uses this quote to express how Bigger felt, “To Bigger and his kind, white people were not really people: they were a sort of great natural force, like a stormy sky looming overhead or like a deep swirling river stretching suddenly at one’s feet in the dark.” (109) Wright does not downplay the suffering that they endured at the hands of the whites. He depicts their poverty, in Bigger’s case the cramped rat infested apartment his family lived in. Wright uses this quote to express the living conditions, "Gimme that skillet, Buddy," he asked quietly, not taking his eyes from the rat. Wright tells of some of their racial struggles and inequalities like not being able to be educated, being forced to live in areas that were not as good as those the whites lived in but still over paying for them. It reads “black people, even though they cannot get good jobs, pay twice as much rent as whites”(248) Wright also declares that Bigger was not even allowed a fair trial to defend himself even though he was guilty of what he had done because of this racism. The headlines “NEGRO RAPIST FAINTS AT INQUEST was featured in the Tribune and in the article, Bigger is described as looking “exactly like an ape with “exceedingly black skin” (279). Wright allows the reader to know that he feels this misguided oppression and racism shows that both races lost the realization that all men are
Bigger wants to break through that blindness, to discover something of worth in himself, thinking that "all one had to do was be bold, do something nobody ever thought of. The whole things came to him in the form of a powerful and simple feeling; there was in everyone a great hunger to believe that made them blind, and if he could see while others were blind, then he could get what he wanted and never be caught at it" (p.120). Just as Bigger later hides himself amidst the catacombs of the old buildings, many people hide themselves deep within their minds in order to bear the ordeal of life and the oppression of an uncaring society. But their blindness allows them something that Bigger cannot achieve: it allows these people to meld into the society that is the city, while Bigger must stand at the outside of that community alternately marvelling and hating the compromises of those within.
Wright uses Bigger’s psychological corruption to send a message to the reader. It offers a new view on the underlying effects of racism on the black community of the time period. Wright creates Bigger from the diversity he saw throughout American society. “I made the discovery that Bigger Thomas was not black all the time; he was white, too, and there were literally millions of him, everywhere... I became conscious, at first dimly, and then later on with increasing clarity and conviction, of a vast, muddied pool of human life in America. It was as though I had put on a pair of spectacles whose power was that of an x-ray enabling me to see deeper into the lives of men. Whenever I picked up a newspaper, I 'd no longer feel that I was reading of the doings of whites alone (Negroes are rarely mentioned in the press unless they 've
She tells Bigger, “I think I can trust you” (Wright 64) in order to toy with his emotions and disobey his boss’ orders as Bigger, Mary, and Mary’s communist boyfriend Jan Erlone take the car out for a night in the loop. After a rousing evening on the town filled with booze and conversations about communism that left Bigger offended and ashamed to be black, it became Bigger’s duty to make sure that Mary was placed safely in her bed after being too intoxicated to stand on her own. Because Bigger strives to obey his boss, he feels inclined to personally place Mary in her own room in order to avoid trouble. This shows that Bigger Thomas took Mary to her bedroom with no intention of causing any problems in his new workplace reminding the reader that Bigger is not an evil human being, just a product of his environment. After being in Mary’s bedroom, Bigger decided to overstay his welcome due to his curious arousal with white women. To Bigger’s surprise, “a hysterical terror seized him” (Wright 85) as Mrs. Dalton makes an appearance in Mary’s bedroom to check on her daughter. Bigger automatically assumed that if he was caught in Mary Dalton’s bedroom at an odd hour of the night he would be immediately fired and accused of raping a white woman that could ruin his already tragic life forever. Due to her blindness, Bigger was not seen immediately, but he realized if Mary kept mumbling, Mrs. Dalton would make her way
Throughout the whole novel Bigger had felt cornered and intimidated by the white man and who they were. However, this man was different from the others. He treated Bigger as a normal human being, not as a downtrodden person or a murderer, just a normal human being. This is the only instince in which this happens in the whole novel. Wright used it primarily to show that he himself did not feel as if all whites were bad but that because of stereotyping, many were. Wright goes out of his way to show that this man was not under the inlfluence of stereotyping and to show the decent side of some whites.
Mrs. Dalton's discovery of Bigger is a serious threat to his life, which causes him to frantically search for safety. "He turned and a hysterical terror seized him, as though he were falling from a great height...It was Mrs. Dalton. He wanted to knock her out of the way and bolt from the room" (Wright 97). Like the rat, Bigger is trapped and in danger, with no possibility for escape. In his last, desperate fight for survival, he suffocates Mary, similar to the rat's wild leap for his pant leg.
Additionally, Bigger asserts control over his friends to accomplish his own goals. When he plans to rob Blum’s store and decides that it is not a good idea, he beats Gus to gain control. Bigger does this because he realized that he lost control at the point when he decided to take the chance of ruining his own life by robbing a white store over getting a job with the Dalton’s; making that choice left the power in Blum’s hands. Whether or not Bigger got away unharmed would depend on Blum’s weapon possession, how fast he contacted the police, and if the police could catch him, none of which Bigger could control. Though the logical solution would be to inform Gus, G.H.,