The Bigger Picture

The "Bigger" Picture

Richard Wright's Native Son uses Bigger Thomas to illustrate a typical young black male whose social environment moves him to murder and rape. From the beginning it is made apparent that Bigger lives in a world where he is "conditioned to hope for little and to receive that little without rebelling."(How Bigger Was Born, xii) Fear, anger and frustration define Bigger's daily reality, he exists in a place where he is surrounded by dreams and opportunity but he him-self can not realize them. His environment, along with his frustration towards it leads him to commit cold brutal acts of violence. Through the accidental murder of Mary Dalton, the rape and murder of his lover, Bessie, Bigger finds freedom and identity.

Native Son follows the story of Bigger Thomas, a nineteen year old black man who lives on the Southside of Chicago during the late 1930's. From the very beginning we are made aware of the bleak conditions of Bigger's poverty stricken world and the absence of hope with which Bigger lives his life. Wright exemplifies this lack of hope when Bigger expresses to his friend, Gus that he could fly a plane if he had a chance, to which Gus replies, "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 is obvious these young black men want more than what their world is offering them; the only way they know how to gain these things is through violence. Gus and Bigger rob other blacks to get the things they want, but plan for the first time to rob a white owned delicatessen. If Bigger and his gang were to rob this delicatessen, "it would be a symbolic challenge of the white world's rule over them; a challenge which they yearned to make, but were afraid to."(Native son, 18)By committing the aforementioned crime, the young men would gain a sense of power and freedom; something Bigger will soon discover for him-self.

After the urging of his mother Bigger accepts a "good" job as a chauffeur for the Dalton family. Ironically, Mr. Dalton who sees him-self as a charitable benefactor is Bigger's landlord; Mr. Dalton, like other real estate moguls force blacks like Bigger and his family to live in such horrible conditions. Bigger's first day seems to be going well until he starts driving the Dalton's daughter, Mary. Mr. Dalton's daughter frightens and angers Bigger by crossing the boundaries set forth between black men and white women. On his first day of work, Bigger drives Mary to meet her communist boyfriend, Jan. Excited to prove their liberal views and racial tolerance, Mary and Jan force Bigger to take them to a restaurant on the South Side. Despite Bigger's apprehension and humiliation he grants their wishes. They order drinks, and as the evening passes, all three of them get drunk. Bigger then drives around the city while Mary and Jan make out in the back seat. Afterward, Mary is too drunk to make it to her bed-room by her-self, so Bigger helps her up the stairs. Big-ger's intoxication and fascination with his unthinkable closeness with a white woman, pushes Bigger to kiss her.

When Bigger places Mary on her bed, Mary's blind mother, Mrs. Dalton, enters the bedroom. Though Mrs. Dalton cannot see him, her presence frightens him. Bigger is afraid that drunken Mary will expose him. He covers her face with a pillow and accidentally smothers her to death. Unaware that Mary has been murdered; Mrs. Dalton prays over her daughter and returns to bed. Bigger tries to hide his crime by decapitating Mary's body and burning it in the Daltons' furnace. He decides to try to use the Daltons' prejudice against communists to frame Jan for Mary's disap-pearance. Bigger believes that the Daltons will believe that Jan is dangerous and that he may have kidnapped their daughter for political purposes.

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