1. In the introduction, written by the author Richard Wright, Wright discusses at length the making of his protagonist, Bigger Thomas; he reflects on his childhood all the way up to his adulthood, and outlines specific examples of when he met a Bigger and the informing aspect of each incident. Please discuss the many Biggers that Wright experienced in the course of his life, and what did they ALL have in common. Please use concrete details to support your analysis.
2. Analyze the following quote from the introduction to Native Son, written by Richard Wright:
From these items I drew my first political conclusions about Bigger: I felt that Bigger, an American product, a native son of this land, carried within him the potentialities of either Communism or Fascism. I don’t mean to say that the Negro boy I depicted in Native Son is either a Communist or a Fascist. He is not either. But he is product of a dislocated society; he is a dispossessed or disinherited man; he is all of this, and he lives amid the greatest possible plenty on earth and he is looking and feeling for a way out.
3. What is at the heart of Bigger’s fears?
1. Bigger No.1: He would fight to others to make him feel better than others – “never was he happier than when he had someone cornered and at his mercy” (Wright ix).
ReplyDeleteBigger No.2: He would take anything he wants from the whites without pay for it – “he would tell us that we were fools not to get what we wanted while we were alive in this world” (Wright ix). He ends up in prison.
Bigger No.3: He was called a “bad nigger” by the whites because he was so big that he would take what he wanted without paying for it but no one would challenge him because they were afraid. He was shot by a white cop while delivering liquor illegally.
Bigger No.4: “The Jim Crow laws of the South were not for him” (Wright x). He violates society’s rules because he believes he will never be free. – “The white folks won’t let us do nothing”(Wright x). He ends up in an insane asylum.
Bigger No.5: He did whatever he pleased and threatened whites with a knife if they questioned him. The whites are afraid of him- “That’s that Bigger Thomas nigger and you’d better leave ‘im alone” (Wright xi). He was proud of the fact that the whites were afraid.
All of the Bigger Thomases violated the Jim Crow laws and got away with it. They also all lived in the South and people were all afraid of them.
2. No matter if the blacks work, go to school, follow all the laws or do anything else, they always cannot get the equality with the whites. They were always being separated and never have the opportunities as the whites. They would see the things that the whites owned, but they cannot get them.
3. They wanted to belong to American society, but because of the laws, they could not be a part of the common society and they were separated from it.
Shelley-Nov.10,2010
Chisom Oraedu (part 1):
ReplyDelete1. In the introduction, written by the author Richard Wright, Wright discusses at length the making of his protagonist, Bigger Thomas; he reflects on his childhood all the way up to his adulthood, and outlines specific examples of when he met a Bigger and the informing aspect of each incident. Please discuss the many Biggers that Wright experienced in the course of his life, and what did they ALL have in common. Please use concrete details to support your analysis.
The first Bigger that Wright experienced was in his childhood. Bigger No. 1 was very forceful and did not wait for the approval of others: “His life was a continuous challenge to others. At all times he took his way, right or wrong, and those who contradicted him had him to fight” (Native 435). Bigger No. 2 was present in when Wright was a teenager. This Bigger’s bitterness and anger was not directed at the blacks, but at the whites of the South. He thought that he should not be deprived of anything and have just as much as the whites. Unlike the rest of the blacks in the South, Bigger No. 2 would not allow himself to suffer while he was alive: “…he would tell us that we were fools not to get what we wanted while we were alive in this world” (Native 435). Wright experienced Bigger No. 3 while he was working at a movie house. Bigger No. 3 had no respect and just took what he wanted. He never paid for movies when he went to see them. Bigger No. 4 refused to follow the Jim Crow laws of the South. He knew that this defiance would have consequences: “But as he laughed and cursed and broke them, he knew that some day he’d have to pay for his freedom” (Native 436). He was logical enough to realize that he would never truly be free in his lifetime. Bigger No. 4 also refused to get a job because to him, it did not make sense to toil in the sun for hours on end and to have to walk home with meager pay. Bigger No. 5, the final Bigger that Wright experienced, deliberately violated the Jim Crow laws of the South by sitting in the clearly labeled white section of the streetcars. He had no fear of the white people and casually pulled out a knife when the conductor told him to move to the Negro section. After Bigger No. 5 asserted himself like this, the rest of the blacks on the streetcar felt proud. Some parallels between the five Biggers are that they were all getting in trouble and they were all subject to the Jim Crow laws. They weren’t just violating these laws; they were rebelling them. In the end, they all had to pay for their rebellion; they were all shot or killed or punished in some way. They were all broken physically, spiritually, and emotionally in the end; these Biggers had to pay for their rebellion. All of these Biggers informed Wright for his protagonist in Native Son. His composite character, Bigger, is many characters wrapped into one. He essentially represents all blacks in the South that are repressed by the whites.
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ReplyDeleteChisom Oraedu (part 1):
ReplyDelete1. In the introduction, written by the author Richard Wright, Wright discusses at length the making of his protagonist, Bigger Thomas; he reflects on his childhood all the way up to his adulthood, and outlines specific examples of when he met a Bigger and the informing aspect of each incident. Please discuss the many Biggers that Wright experienced in the course of his life, and what did they ALL have in common. Please use concrete details to support your analysis.
The composite character Bigger actually came from five different Biggers that Wright experienced throughout his life. Bigger No. 1 was in Wright’s childhood. He terrorized Wright and his friends. He took their toys and refused to give them back: “If we were playing games, he would saunter up and snatch fro, us our balls, bats, spinning tops, and marbles. We would stand around pouting, sniffling, trying to keep back our tears, begging for our playthings” (Native 434). He was the happiest when he had someone cornered and at his mercy. Bigger No. 2 anger and meanness was aimed toward the whites, not his fellow blacks. He defied all rules and paid for nothing. He wanted the good things in life although he didn’t want to pay money for them. He didn’t sacrifice having anything in life. Bigger No. 3 never paid when he went to see movies. He took what he wanted in life. Bigger No. 4 did not follow Jim Crow laws. He knew he;d someday have to pay for this freedom. He knew that he’d never truly be free, so he refused to get a job. The lousy pay for the toiling work did not make sense to him: “He had no job, for he regarded digging ditches for fifty cents a day as slaverys. ‘I can’t live one that,’ he would say” (Native 436). Bigger No. 4 ended up in the insane asylum. This is ironic because the racism itself is insane. He’s in there because he acted against the insanity of the racism. He wasn’t really insane. It was because if his rebellion of the oppression that he ended up in the insane. At the root of this racism was the greed of the whites. This is naïve to say that you can repress the blacks so much that they won’t even desire these things; it didn’t work. You can’t hide having something. When someone has something people look at it and say that they want it, too. Bigger No. 5 sat in the white section of streetcars. When the conductor told him to move to the black section, he wasn’t afraid and casually pulled out a knife. Some white men in the streetcar then said to stay away from him because he was dangerous. At that point the blacks were proud. All the Biggers were severely repressed and were reacting and rebelling against the oppression that they’re experiencing. Another similarity between them is that they were all willing to rebel against their extreme oppression and fight back. He uses the moniker Bigger is because they are bigger than the oppression. They’re not able to function or exist within the oppression, so they rebel against it. The Biggers are a prophetic symbol for the coming Civil Rights Movement.
Chisom Oraedu (part 1):
ReplyDelete1. The first Bigger that Wright encountered was present in his childhood. He terrorized Wright and his friends by tormenting them and by taking their playthings: “If we were playing games, he would saunter up and snatch from us our balls, bats, spinning tops, and marbles” (Wright 434). The happiest that Bigger No. 1 felt was when he had someone at his mercy. His fate is unknown to Wright, but he suspects that it was a violent one. Bigger No. 2 was about seventeen and tougher than the first Bigger. Wright was less afraid of him, though, because he was also a teenager and had grown more courage. Bigger No. 2 had a specific recipient for his severity and cruelness: “And the hardness of this Bigger No. 2 was not directed toward me or the other Negroes, but toward the whites who ruled the South” (Wright 435). Bigger No. 2 despised the whites and often broke their rules and regulations by buying things on credit and not paying for them, by living in white landlords’ shacks and not paying rent, and by not depriving himself of anything that the whites had. He did not see the rationale behind denying oneself anything while he or she is still alive. The last Wright heard of Bigger No. 2, he was in jail. Wright encountered Bigger No. 3 when he was working as a ticket-taker in a Negro movie house. He never paid for tickets and just walked right in: “…many times Bigger No. 3 came to the door and gave my arm a hard pinch and walked into the theater” (Wright 436). He carried his life in his own hands and did as he pleased. Bigger No. 3 was later shot and killed by a white cop. Bigger No. 4’s only law was death. He did not follow the Jim Crow laws of the South. He understood that this did not come without consequences: “The Jim Crow laws of the South were not for him. But as he laughed and cursed and broke them, he knew that some day he’d have to pay for his freedom” (Wright 436). He loved to violate the various taboos and restrictions of the South; whenever he did this, he was at his happiest. He was most unhappy when he brooded over the impossibility of his ever being free. Bigger No. 4 also refused to get a job because he considered working long, hard hours for minimum wages as slavery. He was sent to the asylum for the insane, which is ironic because the white people just assumed that he was crazy for acting out against the inequalities that were rampant in the South. What were really crazy, though, were the inequalities themselves. Bigger No. 5, the final Bigger that Wright encountered, always rode the Jim Crow streetcars without paying. He also sat wherever he pleased even though the streetcar was clearly divided into two sections with one labeled “…FOR WHITES…” (Wright 436) and the other labeled “…FOR COLORED…” (Wright 436). On one occasion, the conductor went up to him and told him to move to the colored section because he was sitting in the one for whites. Bigger No. 5 casually pulled out a knife and the conductor retreated in defeat. A wave of emotion wafted over the other Negroes in the streetcar: “The Negroes experienced an intense flash of pride…” (Wright 437). A group of white men who were on the same streetcar likely killed him after witnessing his defiance. All of these Biggers had something in common: they violated the Jim Crow laws of the South and got away with it. Eventually, though, the whites which they despised so much and constantly defied made them pay for their disobedience. As stated by Wright, “They were shot, hanged, maimed, lynched, and generally hounded until they were either dead or their spirits broken” (Wright 437). In the end, the white men punished them and broke them physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
Chisom Oraedu (part 2):
ReplyDelete2. This quote conveys that Bigger is a native-born American. Despite this, he is still denied the great benefits and opportunities that are present in America. As stated in the last line, “…he lives amid the greatest possible plenty on earth and he is looking and feeling for a way out” (Wright 447). If the whites would just allow Bigger and all other blacks in the world to take full advantage of the ample opportunities, then they would not be itching for a way out of society. The quote conveys a sense of deep exclusion from society. This relates to Communism and Fascism because they are both corrupt systems of government in which the citizens are all excluded and oppressed. Although the countries that practice these forms of government probably have many beneficial opportunities for its citizens, they are all looking for a way to escape from the oppression and exclusion.
3. At the heart of Bigger’s fears is his growing apprehension that things in America will not change and that the state of oppression will always be the same. Bigger longs to break free from the endless cycle of repression and finally gain the freedom and equality that he and all the other blacks deserve. Bigger revolts against the whites because of his fear that society will never change; he takes matters in his own hands and goes after what he wants without waiting for the approval of the whites, which he fears will never come. Other blacks in America are less aggressive against their oppression: “Sometimes…I’d hear a Negro say: ‘I wish I didn’t have to live this way. I feel like I want to burst.’ Then the anger would pass; he would go back to his job and try to eke out a few pennies to support his wife and children” (Wright 440). Rather than succumb to the oppression like these blacks, Bigger fights back. He defies the whites’ regulations and taboos and follows his own ideals, which he finds just and fair. His fears only cause him to push harder in his attempt to overcome the oppression. The core of Bigger’s fears is seen through his growing worry that the state of racism in America will never change.
In Native Sun one of the most influential characters is Bigger Thomas. Bigger Thomas was based off of 5 other bigger’s. All of these people are very violent and are also defiant. The first bigger lives his life in a violent way. He would do things no caring if they are right or wrong. “At all times he took his way; right or wrong, and those who contradicted him had him to right.” If people were to go against his actions he would simply become violent so that he could get his way. The second bigger was also violent. He used his large and strong frame to have people fear him. The third bigger was the most hated bigger that the white people didn’t like. He didn’t believe that the Jim Crow laws were right and so he would do what he wanted. “Bigger no.3 came to the door and gave my arm a hard pinch and walked into the theater. Resentfully and silently, I’d nurse my bruised arm.” He would use other people to get his way. The forth bigger, was also against the Jim Crow laws” the Jim Crow laws of the south were not for him. But as he laughed and cursed and broke them, he knew that someday he’d have to pay for his freedom.” He was constantly rebelling against the law and who also become violent as well. And the final bigger was bigger number 5. He was also a person who would do what he wanted, “ them there was Bigger no. 5, who always rode the Jim Crow streetcars without paying and sat wherever he pleased” when people would go against him he would become very violent and would use weapons. All of the bigger’s are all very violent and go against the society. However the one thing that they have in common is that they all end up either dead, in jail, or in an insane asylum. All of their actions end up in their demise.
ReplyDeletei think that from that quote Wright is saying that when societies are not a unit and began to be a disorganized society that you will have people hwo are greatly effected by it than others. and i think that the societies that are segrated the people who are affected by that are the people who get the qualities of a bigger. so i think that wright is saying that in ever chaotic society you will have Bigger Thomas's who are desperatley searching for a way out of the horrible situation that they have involuntarily been put it. so ultimatley i think that he is saying that the natives from a caotic society will be affected in a terrible way and the only thing that they can do at that point is do everything in their power to escape.
i think that at the heart of bigger fears is that inside of him he fears that he will fail. i think that he is afraid that he might make a wrong decision and could possibly put him in jail of dead and being put ina situation like that is just letting him fall short of overcoming the opression. i think that he's afraid that he will go through his entire life as a fialure, and have his family and everyone around only see him as this person who wasn't capable of anything but violence. so to me he turns his fear into violence which is why is make come off as tough and violent when in actuality it is just fear taking over him, and him not know how to express it.
deidre
I think that this quote says that Bigger is a native to that land but he is treated as if he’s a foreigner and doesn’t belong there. And by him being treated like that he is becoming the most affected by their treatment. This also says that he is loving in a world where possibilities are endless but he gets none of that opportunity and he is constantly looking for a way out. In the novel it says “ as he ate he felt hat they were thinking of the job he was to get that evening and it made him angry; he felt they had tricked him into a cheap surrender.” So I feel like bigger feels like everyone is holding him back from the opportunities that he has been giving and he’s trying to escape that.
ReplyDeleteWhat is at the heart of bigger’s fears?
The heart of bigger’s fear is that he is afraid of the world. He is afraid that he won’t be able to support his family and he will only make their situation worse. He is afraid that he won’t get anywhere in his life but I think most of all is that he’s afraid of what he is possible of becoming. “He knew that the moment he allowed what his life meant to enter fully into his consciousness, he would either kill himself or someone else. So he denied himself and acted tough.” I think bigger knows that he is capable of being bad and he is trying not to go down that path. But he’s afraid that at any moment it will do something that will destroy him and everyone around him.
deidre
1. in the book all of the people that bigger is based off of all have in common many characteristics. they all stand up for somehting but they do it in a negative way which makes them seem like violent people who are just out to destroy the people around them. but they all really want to change the situation that they are in. however i believe that if they were to protest in a different way that the community would see them as leaders. but their rebellious attitudes make them seem bad.
ReplyDeletethat last comment was deidre's
ReplyDeletewhat chisom said in her last blog i agree with you i also think that he is afriad that his society won't change and he will live in that opression his entire life. i think a quote about how he think he's never going to do what he wants because of the opression is on page 17. " i could fly a plane if i had a chance...if you wasn't black and if you had some money and if they'd let you go to that aviation school, you could fly a plane...it's funny how the white folks treat us, ain't it?" i think this is a good quote because the only think that's holding bigger from being a piolt is the racist people. so yes, i agree with chisom on this question.
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