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. Richard Wright wrote about the many different Biggers he had experienced in his life that had helped him create the Bigger in his novel, Native Sun. Wright wrote about five different Biggers. There are also two main characteristics that they all have in common for all of the Biggers. All of them rebelled against the Jim Crow laws and got away with it; however, in the end all of them in the end were killed or put in some type of prison. There was first, Bigger No. 1, a person who Wright describes his life as, “a continuous challenge to others. At all times he took his way, right or wrong, and those who contradicted him had him to fight. And never was he happier than when he had someone cornered and at his mercy; it seemed that the deepest meaning of his squalid life was in him at such times,” (Wright 435). After he states that, he ways that, “I suspect that his end was violent,” (Wright 435). When he writes of Bigger No. 2, he says that he, “was about seventeen and tougher that the first Bigger… And the hardness of this Bigger No. 2 was not directed towards me or the other Negroes, but towards the whites who ruled the South,” (Wright 435). Wright then goes on to tell us that Bigger No. 2, never paid for anything, and that, “he was in prison the last time I heard from him,” (Wright 435). Then Wright writes of, “Bigger No. 3, whom the white folks called a ‘bad nigger.’ He carried his life in a literal fashion,” (Wright 435). When Wright recounts his job as a ticket-taker in a Negro movie house, he says that when, “Bigger No. 3 came to the door and gave my arm a hard pinch and walked into the theater,” (Wright 436). Wright adds that Bigger No. 3, “while delivering liquor to a customer he was hot through the back by a white cop,” (Wright 436). Bigger No.4 that Wright encounters only law was death, “the Jim Crow Laws of the South were not for him… His rebellious spirit made him violate all the taboos and consequently he always oscillated between moods of intense elation and depression… Bigger No. 4 was sent to the asylum for the insane,” (Wright 436). Then last, but certainly not least, the final Bigger Wright had met, Bigger No. 5, “who always rode the Jim Crow streetcars without paying and sat wherever he pleased,” (Wright 437).
ReplyDelete2. Richard Wright states in the introduction to Native Sun, “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,” (Wright 446). What he is saying, is that Bigger is what society made him, he is the product of the oppression and cruelty society has forced up him. Moreover, when he states that, “granting the emotional state, the tensity, the fear, the hate, the impatience, the sense of exclusion, the ache for violent action, the emotional and cultural hunger, Bigger Thomas, conditioned as his organism is, will not become an ardent, or even lukewarm, supporter of the status quo,” (Wright 447), he is saying that because of all the pressure society has put on him without giving him anything in return, has made him want to revolt and try to find a way out.
3. At the heart of Bigger’s fears, is the fear of being repressed and controlled by other people. Wright states, “while living in America I heard from far away in Russia the bitter accents of tragic calculation of how much human life and suffering it would cost a man to live as a man in a world that denied him the right to live with dignity,” (Wright 444). Thus by being controlled and repressed by other people, which denies him his dignity is what is at the heart of Bigger’s fea
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
1. Richard Wright wrote about the many different Biggers he had experienced in his life that had helped him create the Bigger in his novel, Native Sun. Wright wrote about five different Biggers. There are also two main characteristics that they all have in common for all of the Biggers. All of them rebelled against the Jim Crow laws and got away with it; however, in the end all of them in the end were killed or put in some type of prison. There was first, Bigger No. 1, a person who Wright describes his life as, “a continuous challenge to others. At all times he took his way, right or wrong, and those who contradicted him had him to fight. And never was he happier than when he had someone cornered and at his mercy; it seemed that the deepest meaning of his squalid life was in him at such times,” (Wright 435). After he states that, he ways that, “I suspect that his end was violent,” (Wright 435). When he writes of Bigger No. 2, he says that he, “was about seventeen and tougher that the first Bigger… And the hardness of this Bigger No. 2 was not directed towards me or the other Negroes, but towards the whites who ruled the South,” (Wright 435). Wright then goes on to tell us that Bigger No. 2, never paid for anything, and that, “he was in prison the last time I heard from him,” (Wright 435). Then Wright writes of, “Bigger No. 3, whom the white folks called a ‘bad nigger.’ He carried his life in a literal fashion,” (Wright 435). When Wright recounts his job as a ticket-taker in a Negro movie house, he says that when, “Bigger No. 3 came to the door and gave my arm a hard pinch and walked into the theater,” (Wright 436). Wright adds that Bigger No. 3, “while delivering liquor to a customer he was hot through the back by a white cop,” (Wright 436). Bigger No.4 that Wright encounters only law was death, “the Jim Crow Laws of the South were not for him… His rebellious spirit made him violate all the taboos and consequently he always oscillated between moods of intense elation and depression… Bigger No. 4 was sent to the asylum for the insane,” (Wright 436). Then last, but certainly not least, the final Bigger Wright had met, Bigger No. 5, “who always rode the Jim Crow streetcars without paying and sat wherever he pleased,” (Wright 437).
ReplyDelete2. Richard Wright states in the introduction to Native Sun, “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,” (Wright 446). What he is saying, is that Bigger is what society made him, he is the product of the oppression and cruelty society has forced up him. Moreover, when he states that, “granting the emotional state, the tensity, the fear, the hate, the impatience, the sense of exclusion, the ache for violent action, the emotional and cultural hunger, Bigger Thomas, conditioned as his organism is, will not become an ardent, or even lukewarm, supporter of the status quo,” (Wright 447), he is saying that because of all the pressure society has put on him without giving him anything in return, has made him want to revolt and try to find a way out. Another way to look at this quote is that there is more than one Bigger in existence. Due to the cruelties and injustices many societies have placed on their people, there are many different Biggers in the world. This means that there are ones in Russia, Germany, etc. Bigger, is a result of what happens when people are repressed and have had enough of it.
Part 1
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
3. At the heart of Bigger’s fears, is the fear of being repressed and controlled by other people. Wright states, “while living in America I heard from far away in Russia the bitter accents of tragic calculation of how much human life and suffering it would cost a man to live as a man in a world that denied him the right to live with dignity,” (Wright 444). Thus by being controlled and repressed by other people, which denies him his dignity is what is at the heart of Bigger’s fears.
ReplyDeletePart 2
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
1. Richard Wright wrote about the many different Biggers he had experienced in his life that had helped him create the Bigger in his novel, Native Sun. Wright wrote about five different Biggers. There are also two main characteristics that they all have in common for all of the Biggers. All of them rebelled against the Jim Crow laws and got away with it; however, in the end all of them in the end were killed or put in some type of prison. There was first, Bigger No. 1, a person who Wright describes his life as, “a continuous challenge to others. At all times he took his way, right or wrong, and those who contradicted him had him to fight. And never was he happier than when he had someone cornered and at his mercy; it seemed that the deepest meaning of his squalid life was in him at such times,” (Wright 435). After he states that, he ways that, “I suspect that his end was violent,” (Wright 435). When he writes of Bigger No. 2, he says that he, “was about seventeen and tougher that the first Bigger… And the hardness of this Bigger No. 2 was not directed towards me or the other Negroes, but towards the whites who ruled the South,” (Wright 435). Wright then goes on to tell us that Bigger No. 2, never paid for anything, and that, “he was in prison the last time I heard from him,” (Wright 435). Then Wright writes of, “Bigger No. 3, whom the white folks called a ‘bad nigger.’ He carried his life in a literal fashion,” (Wright 435). When Wright recounts his job as a ticket-taker in a Negro movie house, he says that when, “Bigger No. 3 came to the door and gave my arm a hard pinch and walked into the theater,” (Wright 436). Wright adds that Bigger No. 3, “while delivering liquor to a customer he was hot through the back by a white cop,” (Wright 436). Bigger No.4 that Wright encounters only law was death, “the Jim Crow Laws of the South were not for him… His rebellious spirit made him violate all the taboos and consequently he always oscillated between moods of intense elation and depression… Bigger No. 4 was sent to the asylum for the insane,” (Wright 436). Then last, but certainly not least, the final Bigger Wright had met, Bigger No. 5, “who always rode the Jim Crow streetcars without paying and sat wherever he pleased,” (Wright 437).
ReplyDelete2. Richard Wright states in the introduction to Native Sun, “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,” (Wright 446). What he is saying, is that Bigger is what society made him, he is the product of the oppression and cruelty society has forced up him. Moreover, when he states that, “granting the emotional state, the tensity, the fear, the hate, the impatience, the sense of exclusion, the ache for violent action, the emotional and cultural hunger, Bigger Thomas, conditioned as his organism is, will not become an ardent, or even lukewarm, supporter of the status quo,” (Wright 447), he is saying that because of all the pressure society has put on him without giving him anything in return, has made him want to revolt and try to find a way out. Another way to look at this quote is that there is more than one Bigger in existence. Due to the cruelties and injustices many societies have placed on their people, there are many different Biggers in the world. Biggers, are a result of what happens when people are repressed and want to break free from that oppression.
Part 1
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
3. At the heart of Bigger’s fears, is the fear of being repressed and controlled by other people. This can be inferred when Wright states, “while living in America I heard from far away in Russia the bitter accents of tragic calculation of how much human life and suffering it would cost a man to live as a man in a world that denied him the right to live with dignity,” (Wright 444). This means that Bigger also fears having his dignity of being in control of his own life taken away.
ReplyDeletePart 2
Comment By:
Leah Eisenberg
1.The Bigger Thomases not only in America but world wide were bound to the restrictions and their own version of Jim Crow Laws. The many blacks living in this oppression of the United States had dreams and ambitions, and Richard Wright hears these ideas and fantasies throughout his life. Quoted from the text, “Man, what we need is a leader like Marcus Garvey. We need a nation,a flag, an army of our own. We colored folks ought to organize into groups and have generals, captians, lieutenants, and so forth. We ought to take Africa and have a national home.” The man who said this was taking the hatred from his surroundings and thinking in a positive way. He was realizing that the land where he lived wasn’t really considered to be his home. He wants a place he can call his own.
ReplyDelete2.The heart of Bigger’s fears is that he won’t be able to accomplish his true dreams of being a pilot. He fears that he’ll be stuck with a job he doesn’t want in order to take care of his family. He’s also afraid of failing at this hard task. He has to be the man of the house. He’d rather not try at all then to try and fail.
- Kirsten
1.The Bigger Thomases not only in America but world wide were bound to the restrictions and their own version of Jim Crow Laws. The many blacks living in this oppression of the United States had dreams and ambitions, and Richard Wright hears these ideas and fantasies throughout his life. Quoted from the text, “Man, what we need is a leader like Marcus Garvey. We need a nation,a flag, an army of our own. We colored folks ought to organize into groups and have generals, captians, lieutenants, and so forth. We ought to take Africa and have a national home.” The man who said this was taking the hatred from his surroundings and thinking in a positive way. He was realizing that the land where he lived wasn’t really considered to be his home. He wants a place he can call his own.
ReplyDelete2.The heart of Bigger’s fears is that he won’t be able to accomplish his true dreams of being a pilot. When his mother asks him if he is going to take the job as a driver for the Dalton's Bigger gets an attitude. Stated in the text he he thought,"they were thinking about the job he was to get that evening and it made him angry; he felt that they had tricked into a cheap surrender. He fears that he’ll be stuck with a job he doesn’t want in order to take care of his family. He’s also afraid of failing at this hard task. He has to be the man of the house. He’d rather not try at all then to try and fail.
- Kirsten
1.The Bigger Thomases not only in America but world wide were bound to the restrictions and their own version of Jim Crow Laws. The many blacks living in this oppression of the United States had dreams and ambitions, and Richard Wright hears these ideas and fantasies throughout his life. Quoted from the text, “Man, what we need is a leader like Marcus Garvey. We need a nation,a flag, an army of our own. We colored folks ought to organize into groups and have generals, captians, lieutenants, and so forth. We ought to take Africa and have a national home.” The man who said this was taking the hatred from his surroundings and thinking in a positive way. He was realizing that the land where he lived wasn’t really considered to be his home. He wants a place he can call his own.
ReplyDelete2.The heart of Bigger’s fears is that he won’t be able to accomplish his true dreams of being a pilot. When his mother asks him if he is going to take the job as a driver for the Dalton's Bigger gets an attitude. Stated in the text he he thought,"they were thinking about the job he was to get that evening and it made him angry; he felt that they had tricked into a cheap surrender." Bigger wants to be a pilot, not a driver. He definitely doesn't want to chauffeur a white family around all the time. He's grown up hating and fearing the whites and thats another reason for not wanting to have a job. He fears that he’ll be stuck with a job he doesn’t want in order to take care of his family. He’s also afraid of failing at this hard task. He has to be the man of the house. He’d rather not try at all then to try and fail.
- Kirsten
1. Richard Wright wrote about all the different Biggers in his life because it helped Create the Bigger that Richard Write made in his novel. Richard wrote about five Biggers and they all shared a couple of common aspects to them. Every single Bigger rebelled and caused uproar with the Jim Crow Laws and they all ended up being brought down by oppression. An example of this is “ I don’t know what the fate of Bigger No. 1 was. His swaggering personality is swallowed up somewhere in the amnesia of my childhood. But I suspect that his end was violent.” (Wright, pg. 435) Bigger no. 1 was a rebellious youth who decided that since nobody gave him anything, that he was going to take it. “Bigger No. 2, wanted to live and he did; he was in prison the last time I heard from him.” (Wright, 435) Bigger No. 2 ended up in prison because he “wanted to live”. “There was Bigger No. 3, whom the white folks called a “bad nigger.”…… But later on Bigger No. 3 was killed during the days of Prohibition: while delivering liquor to a customer he was shot through the back by a white cop.” Bigger No. 3 was eventually brought down by oppression in the end.
ReplyDelete2. This quote basically explains that Bigger is a product of his environment. It says that Bigger is what happens when you opress a minority for so long. Bigger Thomas is the product of the hate and the anger bottled up inside of him.
3. At the heart of Bigger’s fears is the fear of being manipulated and used by whites in America. Wright says “Suffering it would cost a man to live as a man in a world that denied him the right to live with dignity.” (Wright, p. 444) This shows that being denied of natural rights would cause a crisis with a transition of power between two different types of people.
1. Richard Wright wrote about all the different Biggers in his life because it helped Create the Bigger that Richard Write made in his novel. Richard wrote about five Biggers and they all shared a couple of common aspects to them. Every single Bigger rebelled and caused uproar with the Jim Crow Laws and they all ended up being brought down by oppression. An example of this is “ I don’t know what the fate of Bigger No. 1 was. His swaggering personality is swallowed up somewhere in the amnesia of my childhood. But I suspect that his end was violent.” (Wright, pg. 435) Bigger no. 1 was a rebellious youth who decided that since nobody gave him anything, that he was going to take it. “Bigger No. 2, wanted to live and he did; he was in prison the last time I heard from him.” (Wright, 435) Bigger No. 2 ended up in prison because he “wanted to live”. “There was Bigger No. 3, whom the white folks called a “bad nigger.”…… But later on Bigger No. 3 was killed during the days of Prohibition: while delivering liquor to a customer he was shot through the back by a white cop.” Bigger No. 3 was eventually brought down by oppression in the end.
ReplyDelete2. This quote basically explains that Bigger is a product of his environment. It says that Bigger is what happens when you opress a minority for so long. Bigger Thomas is the product of the hate and the anger bottled up inside of him. Wright states “It was a world in which millions of men lived and behaved like drunkards taking a stiff drink of hard life to lift them up for a thrilling moment, to give them a quivering sense of wild exultation and fulfillment that soon faded and let them down.” This shows that people try to run away from such a dislocated society by drinking alcohol, so they end up running from their depression.
3. At the heart of Bigger’s fears is the fear of being manipulated and used by whites in America. Wright says “Suffering it would cost a man to live as a man in a world that denied him the right to live with dignity.” (Wright, p. 444) This shows that being denied of natural rights would cause a crisis with a transition of power between two different types of people.
1. Richard Wright wrote about all the different Biggers in his life because it helped Create the Bigger that Richard Write made in his novel. Richard wrote about five Biggers and they all shared a couple of common aspects to them. Every single Bigger rebelled and caused uproar with the Jim Crow Laws and they all ended up being brought down by oppression. An example of this is “ I don’t know what the fate of Bigger No. 1 was. His swaggering personality is swallowed up somewhere in the amnesia of my childhood. But I suspect that his end was violent.” (Wright, pg. 435) Bigger no. 1 was a rebellious youth who decided that since nobody gave him anything, that he was going to take it. “Bigger No. 2, wanted to live and he did; he was in prison the last time I heard from him.” (Wright, 435) Bigger No. 2 ended up in prison because he “wanted to live”. “There was Bigger No. 3, whom the white folks called a “bad nigger.”…… But later on Bigger No. 3 was killed during the days of Prohibition: while delivering liquor to a customer he was shot through the back by a white cop.” Bigger No. 3 was eventually brought down by oppression in the end.
ReplyDelete2. This quote basically explains that Bigger is a product of his environment. It says that Bigger is what happens when you opress a minority for so long. Bigger Thomas is the product of the hate and the anger bottled up inside of him. Wright states “It was a world in which millions of men lived and behaved like drunkards taking a stiff drink of hard life to lift them up for a thrilling moment, to give them a quivering sense of wild exultation and fulfillment that soon faded and let them down.” This shows that people try to run away from such a dislocated society by drinking alcohol, so they end up running from their depression.
3. At the heart of Bigger’s fears is the fear of being manipulated and used by whites in America. Wright says “Suffering it would cost a man to live as a man in a world that denied him the right to live with dignity.” (Wright, p. 444) This shows that being denied of natural rights would cause a crisis with a transition of power between two different types of people. Being denied and controlled by other people causes Bigger to feel isolated and betrayed.