Lauren Dunn
Response to Bigger
Richard Wright's Native Son was a very fast-paced, dramatic, controversial novel that gave insight to what it really felt like to be an African American during this time period. Readers experienced the discrimination and restrictions cast on blacks at the time. Wright portrayed the restrictions blacks felt and the environment they were forced into through the main character, Bigger Thomas.
Bigger was the stereotypical black male who had no worth in the white people’s eyes. The environment that Bigger lived in can mostly account for the way he lived and for the trouble that he always seemed to get in. He was treated more or less like a criminal automatically due to his skin color, so he might as well act like one too. Bigger is a poor and uneducated twenty year old that is the one having to make a living for his family. We read at the beginning of the book that Bigger is in a gang who often rob black-owned businesses. Readers get the sense that from the beginning Bigger is doomed.
Although readers continually get this “tough” persona of Bigger, Bigger was constantly antagonized by fear. Throughout the novel, Bigger's life is portrayed to revolve around fear and he is continually trying to escape that fear. Bigger was described to be driven by fear and desire. Bigger’s fear of the consequences of robbing a white man initially prevents him from following through on their plan. Fear drove Bigger to beat up his friend Gus. Readers experience Bigger's intensity through his emotions. As hard as Bigger fights his fears, he seems too powerless against them.
Bigger's greatest fears and desires are addressed through the murder of the rich, white girl, Mary Dalton. The actions by Mary that night, ultimately led to her death. If she had not been so drunk that she couldn’t even walk, Bigger would not have had to guide her to her room. If Bigger had not been in her room, he wouldn’t have been standing over her as she lay on her bed when her blind mother came into the room. To keep himself from being caught in a white girl’s room by himself, he had to find a way to keep Mary quite so she wouldn’t talk out in a drunken slur and give him away. As readers know, Bigger did not mean to suffocate Mary. The reason for the suffocation was fear alone. He knew if were to be caught in a white woman's room that it would lead to death. The actions by Bigger with Mary's body following the death was also driven by fear.
It was after this murder that Bigger suppressed his fear with the feeling of power and desire. After coming to the realization that he had murdered a white woman, a very well-known, rich one at that, Bigger began to feel that he had accomplished something over the white people. For the first time in Bigger's life he felt in some ways superior over the whites because he knew what had happened to Mary when nobody else did. At this point Bigger referred to the white people as “blind”. He believed the joke was on them. Readers see Bigger not only gain a sense of power from this murder, but also a hope for the future against the white people. To murder Mary Dalton was the beginning of a new self for Bigger.
As the story advances, readers then experience the murder of Bessie Mears. This murder for Bigger was committed partially from fear, but more to gain power. Like Mary, Bigger murdered Bessie to keep her silent, but in this case, Bigger felt that through her silence he gained power and was enabling himself to continue on the journey he had begun. At this point, he was almost immune to his emotions; his desire for money and escape is what he was being driven by. This murder did not give the thrills that Mary Dalton had given him, more or less; he knew that they had to kill Bessie if he wanted a chance to escape. This was the act of repressing and silencing the black female voice. The murder of Bessie was just part of the navigation through the world that Bigger had created for himself.
When in court, Bigger's defense for the cause of the murder of Mary was due to the environment in which he lived. I feel that it was ultimately the white people who killed Mary Dalton. For if they had not cast the racial judgment and environment upon the black people, Bigger would not have acted in the way he did. On the other hand, Bigger is entirely responsible for the murder of Bessie. She was his response to the forced murder of Mary. He was taught to fear white people and this alone was the reason for putting the pillow over Mary's face. He did not want to be caught in what was originally an innocent situation. We see Bigger's character develop from murdering out of fear, to murdering for power. Ironically, the motive behind each murder was to silence both women to enable Bigger to escape the harsh punishments of the white people.
Response to Bigger
Richard Wright's Native Son was a very fast-paced, dramatic, controversial novel that gave insight to what it really felt like to be an African American during this time period. Readers experienced the discrimination and restrictions cast on blacks at the time. Wright portrayed the restrictions blacks felt and the environment they were forced into through the main character, Bigger Thomas.
Bigger was the stereotypical black male who had no worth in the white people’s eyes. The environment that Bigger lived in can mostly account for the way he lived and for the trouble that he always seemed to get in. He was treated more or less like a criminal automatically due to his skin color, so he might as well act like one too. Bigger is a poor and uneducated twenty year old that is the one having to make a living for his family. We read at the beginning of the book that Bigger is in a gang who often rob black-owned businesses. Readers get the sense that from the beginning Bigger is doomed.
Although readers continually get this “tough” persona of Bigger, Bigger was constantly antagonized by fear. Throughout the novel, Bigger's life is portrayed to revolve around fear and he is continually trying to escape that fear. Bigger was described to be driven by fear and desire. Bigger’s fear of the consequences of robbing a white man initially prevents him from following through on their plan. Fear drove Bigger to beat up his friend Gus. Readers experience Bigger's intensity through his emotions. As hard as Bigger fights his fears, he seems too powerless against them.
Bigger's greatest fears and desires are addressed through the murder of the rich, white girl, Mary Dalton. The actions by Mary that night, ultimately led to her death. If she had not been so drunk that she couldn’t even walk, Bigger would not have had to guide her to her room. If Bigger had not been in her room, he wouldn’t have been standing over her as she lay on her bed when her blind mother came into the room. To keep himself from being caught in a white girl’s room by himself, he had to find a way to keep Mary quite so she wouldn’t talk out in a drunken slur and give him away. As readers know, Bigger did not mean to suffocate Mary. The reason for the suffocation was fear alone. He knew if were to be caught in a white woman's room that it would lead to death. The actions by Bigger with Mary's body following the death was also driven by fear.
It was after this murder that Bigger suppressed his fear with the feeling of power and desire. After coming to the realization that he had murdered a white woman, a very well-known, rich one at that, Bigger began to feel that he had accomplished something over the white people. For the first time in Bigger's life he felt in some ways superior over the whites because he knew what had happened to Mary when nobody else did. At this point Bigger referred to the white people as “blind”. He believed the joke was on them. Readers see Bigger not only gain a sense of power from this murder, but also a hope for the future against the white people. To murder Mary Dalton was the beginning of a new self for Bigger.
As the story advances, readers then experience the murder of Bessie Mears. This murder for Bigger was committed partially from fear, but more to gain power. Like Mary, Bigger murdered Bessie to keep her silent, but in this case, Bigger felt that through her silence he gained power and was enabling himself to continue on the journey he had begun. At this point, he was almost immune to his emotions; his desire for money and escape is what he was being driven by. This murder did not give the thrills that Mary Dalton had given him, more or less; he knew that they had to kill Bessie if he wanted a chance to escape. This was the act of repressing and silencing the black female voice. The murder of Bessie was just part of the navigation through the world that Bigger had created for himself.
When in court, Bigger's defense for the cause of the murder of Mary was due to the environment in which he lived. I feel that it was ultimately the white people who killed Mary Dalton. For if they had not cast the racial judgment and environment upon the black people, Bigger would not have acted in the way he did. On the other hand, Bigger is entirely responsible for the murder of Bessie. She was his response to the forced murder of Mary. He was taught to fear white people and this alone was the reason for putting the pillow over Mary's face. He did not want to be caught in what was originally an innocent situation. We see Bigger's character develop from murdering out of fear, to murdering for power. Ironically, the motive behind each murder was to silence both women to enable Bigger to escape the harsh punishments of the white people.