Sunday, November 28, 2010
Week of November 28th--Native Son!
1. Compare and contrast Bigger's attitude toward the world around him and Mrs. Thomas'.
2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both profess to be friendly towards African Americans, yet they are hostile to each other. Compare and contrast their attitudes towards African Americans and explain their mutual hostility?
3. How is really fear to blame for the muder of Mary (this is a comprehensive question, be thoughtful and think of all aspects of fear that lead to the murder of Mary)?
2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both profess to be friendly towards African Americans, yet they are hostile to each other. Compare and contrast their attitudes towards African Americans and explain their mutual hostility?
3. How is really fear to blame for the muder of Mary (this is a comprehensive question, be thoughtful and think of all aspects of fear that lead to the murder of Mary)?
1. Both Bigger and Mrs. Thomas are suffering from the segregation that circle around them in their Chicago hometown because for one, they are African American, and two they are in poverty. They both feel that the world around them is cruel and full of fear. What’s different about the two character’s points of view is Mrs. Thomas feels that life must go on and usual. As for Bigger, he just wants to have as much fun in life as he could. After the horrible encounter with the rat in the apartment, Bigger’s mother replies, “‘He’s just crazy,’ the mother said. ‘Just plain dumb black crazy.’”(page eight.) Mrs. Thomas does love her son, Bigger. At the same time however, she wants him to take the role of the father because to her, deal with life (even when it is not fair.) After getting rid of the rat, Bigger thinks to himself, “…he felt that they had tricked him into a cheap surrender.”(page twelve.) Bigger, throughout his entire life wants to prove himself very worthy for his family and for himself. However, because of the racism and white oppression that is circling around his entire life, he feels that he can never do what is it the white people liked to do. As Bigger and his siblings eat their breakfast of crinkled bacon, “ ‘If you get that job,’ his mother said…’I can fix up a nice place for you children…’” (page eleven.) Mrs. Thomas and Bigger are both big dreamers. At the same time however, they both feel that deep down inside their dreams are not going to come true. (Athena Baker, part one, first time.)
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ReplyDelete2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both seem to be friendly towards African Americans, however at the same time they are hostile to each other. Mr. Dalton does believe that African Americans should have some basic rights. However, at the same time, he believes that it is a privilege for African Americans to work for white people (in other words, he does not believe in communism.) As for Jan Erlone, he believes that African Americans and whites should be like best buddies, with the same basic rights, privileges, and ways of living(in other words, Jan is a communist. ) As Bigger responds to every answer of Mr. Dalton’s questions during the job interview, “‘since that’s settled, let’s see what you’ll have to do every day. I leave every morning for my office at nine…You think you can handle that?’” (Mr. Dalton, pages fifty to fifty one.) Mr. Dalton is more like a kind, but tough boss towards Bigger. At the same time however, he still thinks that African Americans should not become rich and wealthy themselves (or else, they would not be willing to work for the white people anymore.) As Bigger tries to run away from the awful crime he commits, “‘Listen, Bigger, if these people are bothering you, just tell me. Don’t be scared…’” (page 172, Jan Erlone.) Jan is more of a counselor figure towards Bigger (or at least tries to.) Unlike Mr. Dalton, he thinks white people and African American people should be like family members with the same amount of money and power in their pockets. As the police talk with Mr. Dalton on the case of his daughter’s murder,” ‘Well, this Erlone refused to go when they told him that Mr. Dalton had requested his release. It seems he had got wind of the kidnapping and said that he didn’t want to go out.’”(page 210.)Erlone is trying to prove that white people are no different from African Americans. Of course in the case of Mr. Dalton, he still thinks that whites and African Americans shall forever be two different people with no similarities whatsoever.
ReplyDelete3. Fear is really to blame for the murderer of Mary by since throughout the book, Bigger is afraid of all the racism, white power, and possibilities of getting in trouble with the law, all of that fear simply grows bigger and bigger inside of him until he could not stand it anymore. As Bigger waits patiently for his job interview to start, “ He could have stayed among his own people and escaped feeling this fear and hate. This was not his world…”(page forty four.) The fear building up in Bigger shows how hard Bigger is trying to stay away from his own demise. Also, because of the racism that circles around his home and his life, Bigger is more than afraid of being a prisoner to white people forever. After Bigger tries his best to make sure Gus, Jack, and G.H. do not rob the store, “Doc was angry and Bigger was afraid. He shut the knife and slipped it in his pocket…Yes; they would have had time to rob the store…He had lied to Gus and G.H. and Jack.”(page forty one.) Bigger putting the knife away symbolizes his power fading away from himself. Also, the fear Bigger feels from Doc symbolizes the coming fear he will feel when he gets caught by the police later on in the story for murdering Mary Dalton. As Bigger tries his best to kill the rat, “With clenched teeth, Bigger held the skillet; he was afraid to hurl it, fearing that he might miss.” (page five.) The rat being killed by Bigger symbolizes Bigger feeling hopeless that his dream of becoming shall never come true. Also, since both the rat and Bigger are scared of each other, it is clearly obvious that both of these two characters are rather, “mirrored images” of each other, therefore suspending that his demise shall come and devour his hopes and dreams. (Athena Baker, first time, part two.)
1. Both Bigger and Mrs. Thomas are suffering from the segregation that circle around them in their Chicago hometown because for one, they are African American, and two they are in poverty. They both feel that the world around them is cruel and full of fear. What’s different about the two character’s points of view is Mrs. Thomas feels that no matter what happens, life must go on, so might as well take what is already there. As for Bigger, he has hopes and dreams of his own(of course, the anxiety the mother feels about the poverty is making Bigger feel as though he does not have a chance at all in achieving his dreams.) After the horrible encounter with the rat in the apartment, Bigger’s mother replies, “ ‘ Bigger, sometimes I wonder why I birthed you.’”(page eight.) Mrs. Thomas, like other African Americans in the story, has the tension of wanting to survive. She still loves her son, however, she does not have the luxury of exploring dreams and talents as Bigger does because of the poverty and racism she must deal with(also because Bigger does not have a father figure to help guide him.) After getting rid of the rat, Bigger thinks to himself, “…he felt that they had tricked him into a cheap surrender.”(page twelve.) Obviously, Mrs. Thomas’s wants of making Bigger get a job is eclipsing his chances of exploring more of his hopes and dreams. Mrs. Thomas treats Bigger as if he is a child (she also treats him as a grown up as well) because since women at the time do not go out and get a certain type of occupation men traditionally do, Mrs. Thomas is worried that she will not have much of a chance of getting hired. As Thomas prepares breakfast for Bigger and his siblings, “He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help them.” (page ten.) Bigger does not want to take the job because since he himself is emotionally immature, he is not able to help support his family and take on the role of a father. Also, Bigger’s mother does not treat him appropriately (she treats him like a child) because she is trying to teach him that life is tough and sometimes it has to be dealt with.
ReplyDelete(Athena Baker, second time, part one.)
2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both seem to be friendly towards African Americans, however at the same time they are hostile to each other. Mr. Dalton does believe that African Americans should have some basic rights and that they should be treated just like white people. As for Jan Erlone, he believes that African Americans and whites should be like best buddies, with the same basic rights, privileges, and ways of living (in other words, Jan is a communist. ) So, to him, simply overthrowing the government and changing the way white people and African Americans live so their lives will be more “equal” in rights and financial power is the right way to go..As Bigger responds to every answer of Mr. Dalton’s questions during the job interview, “ ‘ They’re Christian people and believe in everybody working hard. And living a clean life…It’s just like one big family.’” (Peggy, one of Mr. Dalton’s servants, page fifty six.) Mr. Dalton is humble and generous towards African Americans and his family. His idea towards equality in Caucasians and African Americans is much more realistic than Jan’s idea of a revolution to overthrow the government. As Bigger takes Mary and Jan out for a drive, “ He(Bigger) slid over and Jan took his place at the wheel. He was still feeling his hand strangely; it seemed that the pressure of Jan’ fingers had left an indelible imprint. Mary was getting into the front seat, too.”(page sixty seven.) Bigger finds the presence of Jen and Mary getting close to him very disturbing and bothersome because he has never experienced the kind of kindness and sense of companionship from Caucasians. Also, throughout his entire life, Bigger never had an education (so he is unable to figure out the truth behind the fact that all Caucasian people hate African Americans.) Jen As the police talk with Mr. Dalton on the case of his daughter’s murder,” ‘Well, this Erlone refused to go when they told him that Mr. Dalton had requested his release. It seems he had got wind of the kidnapping and said that he didn’t want to go out.’”(page 210.) Mr. Dalton is angry at Jan because he has messed around with his daughter, Mary. As for the main reason as to why Mr. Dalton does not really like Jen, well, it is rather complicated with the case of Communists and Nationalists. (Athena Baker, second time, part two.)
ReplyDelete3. Fear is really to blame for the murderer of Mary by since Bigger is afraid of all the racism, white power, no emotional capacity and number of times he always fails and feels powerless, deep down inside, all of that fear simply grows bigger and bigger inside of him until he could not stand it anymore. As Bigger gets himself ready to go to the Daltons, “ Inside his shirt he felt the cold metal of the gun resting against his naked skin…He felt that he would be safer if he took it.” (page forty three.) The gun is a symbol of Bigger’s power. So to eliminate and mask his fears and anxieties, he uses violence and physical power (of course the power of violence is new to him, so he is unable to control himself later on.) After Bigger tries his best to make sure Gus, Jack, and G.H. do not rob the store, “Doc was angry and Bigger was afraid. He shut the knife and slipped it in his pocket…Yes; they would have had time to rob the store…He had lied to Gus and G.H. and Jack.”(page forty one.) Bigger putting the knife away symbolizes his power fading away from himself. Also, the main reason as to why Bigger decides to be with Gus, G.H., and Jack is because gangs are suppose to balance the power struggle between themselves and society. As Bigger tries his best to kill the rat, “With clenched teeth, Bigger held the skillet; he was afraid to hurl it, fearing that he might miss.” (page five.) The rat being killed by Bigger symbolizes Bigger feeling hopeless that his dream of becoming shall never come true. Also, since both the rat and Bigger are scared of each other, it is clearly obvious that both of these two characters are rather, “mirrored images” of each other, therefore suspending that his demise shall come and devour his hopes and dreams. (Athena Baker, second time, part three.)
ReplyDelete1. Both Mrs. Thomas and Bigger hate the world and want to simply get away from it. Bigger has hopes and dreams of his own that he wishes to accomplish for himself. However, his mother only wants him to get an occupation because she believes that the only way in survive in the tough world of segregation and Caucasian racism is to simply work hard and not complain. After the horrible encounter with the rat in the apartment, Bigger thinks to himself, “ He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help them. ”(page ten.) Mrs. Thomas’s wants and worries eclipse Bigger’s hopes and dreams. To Mrs. Thomas, Bigger is a stubborn mule since she herself does not know about her son’s personal wants and desires. After getting rid of the rat, Bigger thinks to himself, “…he felt that they had tricked him into a cheap surrender.”(page twelve.) Mrs. Thomas is the norm of African Americans at the time. Since people who suffer from poverty (or racism) often have to focus on surviving during the tough times, Mrs. Thomas obviously has no ease(which is making Bigger feel uncomfortable and angry.) As Bigger tries his best to kill the rat, “With clenched teeth, Bigger held the skillet; he was afraid to hurl it, fearing that he might miss.” (page five.) Bigger does not have a father to help him figure out what it means to be a man (a man is respectful, disciplined, responsible, and obedient.)With that being said, his mother often treats him like a child since she is a woman and cannot teach him that concept.
ReplyDelete(Athena Baker, third time, part one.)
2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both seem to be friendly towards African Americans, however at the same time they are hostile to each other. Although Mr. Dalton does not specifically state that he is in support of African Americans and their culture, he does however try to help them out as best as he can. As for Jan Erlone, he believes that simply overthrowing the government and changing the way white people and African Americans live so their lives will be more “equal” in rights and financial power is the right way to go. Mr. Dalton hates Jan however because Jan is a communist and communists at the time had an atrocious reputation of trying to literally make life more equal.) Also, Jan is messing with Mary Dalton, so as a father, Mr. Dalton does not approve of that. As Bigger responds to every answer of Mr. Dalton’s questions during the job interview, “ ‘ They’re Christian people and believe in everybody working hard. And living a clean life…It’s just like one big family.’” (Peggy, one of Mr. Dalton’s servants, page fifty six.) Mr. Dalton is humble and generous towards African Americans and his family. He chooses to act that way because for one, his wife made him wealthy, and two, he and the Daltons are simply down to Earth. As Bigger takes Mary and Jan out for a drive, Jan exclaims, “ After the revolution it’ll be ours…There’ll be no white and no black; there’ll be no rich and no poor.’ “(page sixty eight.) Jan’s approach to creating equality for African Americas and Caucasians is not realistic since it is not possible to actually create true equality. Also, Jan is a bit naïve. During the job interview, Mr. Dalton assures to Bigger, “The relief people said some funny things about you. I’d like to talk to you about them. Now, you needn’t feel ashamed with me,’” (page forty nine.) Throughout the interview, Mr. Dalton treats Bigger like a normal Caucasian person. Bigger finds Mr. Dalton’s personality and attitude unusual since Bigger himself has never been treated that way.(Athena Baker, third time, part two.)
ReplyDelete3. Fear is really to blame for the murderer of Mary by since Bigger is afraid of all the racism, white power, no emotional capacity and number of times he always fails and feels powerless, deep down inside, all of that fear simply grows bigger and bigger inside of him until he could not stand it anymore. As Bigger gets himself ready to go to the Daltons, “ Inside his shirt he felt the cold metal of the gun resting against his naked skin…He felt that he would be safer if he took it.” (page forty three.) The gun is a symbol of Bigger’s power. So to eliminate and mask his fears and anxieties, he uses violence and physical power (of course the power of violence is new to him, so he is unable to control himself later on. While trying to get Mary back to the Dalton’s house, Bigger thinks to himself, “He tightened with hate. Again she was looking inside of him and he did not like it.” (page eighty one.) Bigger is nervous and does not like Mary because her attitude towards African Americans is very strange towards him. Also, the fear building up inside of Bigger is suspending the fate that will come of Mary later on. As Bigger tries his best to kill the rat, “With clenched teeth, Bigger held the skillet; he was afraid to hurl it, fearing that he might miss.” (page five.) The rat being killed by Bigger symbolizes Bigger feeling hopeless that his dream of becoming shall never come true. Also, since both the rat and Bigger are scared of each other, it is clearly obvious that both of these two characters are rather, “mirrored images” of each other, therefore suspending that his demise shall come and devour his hopes and dreams. (Athena Baker, third time, part three.)
ReplyDelete1. Bigger hates the world and he hates himself. He wants to be a pilot in the future, but his families needs eclipse his wants. This causes Bigger to hate his family, but he also feels sort of responsible for them, which causes him to hate himself. The text reads, “He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help them. He knew the moment he allowed himself to feel to its fullness how they lived, the shame and misery of their lives, he would be swept out of himself with fear and despair.”(10). Ms. Thomas has been poor her whole life and has had to work for as long as she can remember. This is why she is always on Bigger’s case and forces him to take the job. The only thing on her mind is how to provide for her family, which is the opposite of what is on Bigger’s mind. Bigger wants to have choices about what he does with his life, but his mom is standing in the way of this because she needs him to fill in as a father figure and provide.
ReplyDelete2. Mr. Dalton is hostile towards Jan because he thinks that Jan is the reason why his daughter has gone missing and also Jan is a red. Mr. Dalton only puts up with Jan because his daughter likes him and he respects what she wants. I don’t know exactly why Jan doesn’t like Mr. Dalton, maybe it’s because he wants everyone equal and Mr. Dalton is very wealthy. Jan’s approach towards blacks is that he wants to befriend them so that they will be communists like him and support his revolution. Mr. Dalton gives to blacks because he supports their culture and their people as a whole, he also thinks that everyone deserves and equal chance to do something with their lives.
3. I think that the fear of whites is what causes Bigger to murder Mary primarily. He suffocates her because he thinks that if Ms. Dalton finds out, he will lose his job and even be charged with rape. I think also that the fear he has of Mary contributes to it because he could have said no to taking her to pick up Jan, considering Mr. Dalton only instructed him to take her to the school. Also, the reader notices early on in the book that Bigger is attracted to Mary when he sees her in the movie theatre. The text reads. “Gus and Jack and G.H. hate and fear him as much as he hated and feared himself.”(29). The importance of this quote is that Bigger fears himself. He fears himself because he knows when something doesn’t go his way, he will resort to violence. I think this fear contributes to the death of Mary Dalton because he resorts to violence when Ms. Dalton walks in, even though he doesn’t really mean to.
Cypress Austin- First time
1. Bigger hates the world just as much as he hates himself, but he also expresses that he wants to be something in the world and do something with his life when he gets older. Towards his mom, Bigger is very brusque. He tries to stay away form her and avoid conversation, mostly because she is always interrogating him about his job and where he has been. Ms. Thomas isn’t really discussed much in the book, but it is obvious that she cares about Bigger because the reason she is always on his case is because she wants to make him better. The difference between the two is that Bigger wants to have options and wants to choose how he lives; he doesn’t want anything forcing him to do something or someone telling him what to do. Bigger’s mom sees it as there is no way for life to get better, she just knows that working is what ears a living and that’s why she pushes Bigger so hard to get a job. She sees life this way mainly because it is the only ways she knows how to see it, she was never offered any way else.
ReplyDelete2. Jan Erlone is a “red” or a communist. Everyone, in his eyes, is equal, no matter the color of their skin or social class. He strives to become Bigger’s friend and make Bigger see that they are both alike. Jan says in the text,” There’ll be no white and no black, there’ll be no rich and no poor”(68). Jan also shows interest in Bigger because he wants his to join the party, along with Mary. Mr. Dalton on the other hand is friendly towards African Americans because he thinks that everyone deserves an equal chance to succeed in life. The text reads,” He’s here to try to get a new slant on things. “(163). This is what Mr. Dalton says when he is asked about Bigger, he never actually says that he cares for African Americans and their culture, but by donating millions of dollars to black schools he clearly indicates that he thinks blacks deserve as equal a chance as whites. Mr. Dalton is hostile towards Jan because he has reason to believe that Jan is the cause of his daughter coming up missing. Also Jan is a red and reds had a very bad reputation in America at the time. The only reason I could think of that explains why Jan is hostile towards Mr. Dalton is because Mr. Dalton hires an investigator to capture and interrogate him. He also knows that Mr. Dalton doesn’t like him because he is messing with his daughter.
3. When Bigger was in the room with Mary and then Ms. Dalton walked it, it was the fear of being caught that had caused him to suffocate her on accident. The text reads,” He wanted to move from the bed, but was afraid he would stumble over something and Mrs. Dalton would hear him, would know that someone besides Mary was in the room. Frenzy dominated him.”(85). This is the main fear that had made him suffocate her. Another fear that led him to do this was the fear of white people in general. He thought that if he was caught, not only would he lose his job, but also the law and end up would probably charge him harshly lynched. A different kind of fear that played a crucial role in the death of Mary was Bigger’s fear of Mary. If he didn’t fear her, he would’ve said no to her about going to the “loop”, because Mr. Dalton told him only to take her to the school.
Cypress Austin- Second time
1. Bigger’s family is very poor, therefore Ms. Thomas has a poor person’s mentality. The first thing her on mind is when can she get the next meal to feed herself and her children. She is thinking about all of their needs right now and is not very concerned with the future at this point. Bigger’s families needs eclipses Bigger’s wants and needs because he has to fill in as a father figure/provide for Vera, Buddy and his mother. Obviously he is not ready for this task because he is emotionally immature and he doesn’t feel that he should be responsible for all of them. The text reads,” He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help them. He knew the moment he allowed himself to feel to its fullness how they lived, the shame and misery of their lives, he would be swept out of himself with fear and despair.”(10). Bigger basically hates his family because they make him feel powerless. Bigger knows that he needs to help and provide for them, but there also is a part of him that wants to do what he wants to do, which is fly planes. The difference between Bigger and Ms. Thomas’ point of view about the world is that she only knows one thing: provide by all means necessary and to her that means to get a job and this is what she pushes Bigger to do. Bigger wants to have choices, he wants to pick what he wants to do with his life and how he wants to make a living, but to his mother, this is unheard of, mainly because all of her life all she did was work.
ReplyDelete2. Jan Erlone is hostile towards Mr. Dalton because he believes that there shouldn’t be Mr. Daltons in the world, everyone should be equal, no matter what social class or skin color. Mr. Dalton’s hostility towards Jan is simply because he has reason to believe, at first, that Jan is responsible for the absence of his daughter and also because he is a communist. Jan’s approach towards African American’s is idealistic, because he thinks by befriending them, he can get them on his side and they can help the communists succeed in the revolution they are after. In the book, the reader notices that when Jan tries to befriend Bigger, the only thing he succeeds in is making Bigger uncomfortable and eventually leads to Bigger “hating” him. The text reads, “ But he did not understand them; he distrusted them, really hated them”(71). This is what Bigger thinks when he is forced into the black restaurant with Jan and Mary. Even though Jan has good intentions, he never takes into consideration Bigger’s feelings. Bigger has never in his life had white people try and treat him as an equal, so this whole situation is surreal to him and he takes it in the wrong way. On top of this, at the end of dinner, Jan slips Bigger some pamphlets that tell about communists and what they are trying to do, in an attempt to sway Bigger towards communism. Mr. Dalton, on the other hand, has a more realistic approach towards blacks. He treats them equally, not because he wants something from them, but because that’s how his values are, he believes anyone who is in his house is family. He donates millions of dollars to black schools because he thinks everyone deserves and equal chance at life.
3. What Bigger fears most is white people. I think this is one of the fears that led him to murder Mary Dalton. He feared that if he was caught, not only would he lose his job, but he would probably be charged with rape and sentenced to death. Bigger combats his fear with violence and this is why when he is in the car, house, etc. with white’s he has his gun close and handy. That is the only power he feels that he possesses and controls. He fears whites so much that he fails to realize what kind of people the Dalton’s are and this is what eventually gets him into trouble. If he would have explained the situation, before it got out of hand to the Dalton’s, he may have been reprimanded, but I don’t think anything to harsh would have happened. Bigger’s fear is a very complex fear, but I think another one that leads up to this is the fear of himself. He knows that when there is a situation he feels uncomfortable in or that he has no control over, violence will follow. Bigger also fears Mary, because he knows he is attracted to her and he knows that he should not be. He knows both of these things when he takes her to her room, so in a way, Bigger can be to blame for his own demise.
ReplyDeleteCypress Austin- Third time
AVERY DARGIE (FIRST TIME)
ReplyDelete1. Compare and contrast Bigger's attitude toward the world around him and Mrs. Thomas'.
Bigger’s attitude toward his mother and the world are generally the same. He treats them, “with an iron reserve,” because he treats his mother and the world with great hate only because he knows that he wants what he cannot have. He wants to be able to fly in the world and help out his family, but is under the impression (and rightly so) that he cannot do this because he is a man of color. “The difference in his feelings toward Mrs. Dalton and his mother was that he felt that his mother wants him to do the things she wanted him to do, and felt that Mrs. Dalton wanted him to do the things that she felt that he should have wanted to do.” (pg.61) Even when it come to another person’s mother, Bigger looks higher upon her than his own mother. Mrs. Thomas just wants Bigger to do everything for his family, basically step in and take the father position that the real father couldn’t take.
2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both profess to be friendly towards African Americans, yet they are hostile to each other. Compare and contrast their attitudes towards African Americans and explain their mutual hostility?
Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone both say that they are supporters of the African Americans being able to accomplish better things in their lifetime. The difference being that Mr. Dalton wants to give them chances to do things in a better manner, but still have the white folk in power, while Jan Erlone wants full equality in America. “’Listen, Bigger, that’s what we want to stop. That’s what we Communist are fighting. We want to stop people from treating others that way. I’m a member of the Party. Mary sympathizes. Don’t you think if we got together we could stop things like this?’” (pg.75) Jan is talking about how he wants complete equality and for everyone to have a chance at the same type of jobs and life as someone with a different race. “‘You see, Bigger, I’m a supporter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.’” (pg. 53) Mr. Dalton says this statement at the interview about hiring Bigger as his driver. He wants, “advancement,” but not full equality.
3. How is really fear to blame for the murder of Mary (this is a comprehensive question, be thoughtful and think of all aspects of fear that lead to the murder of Mary)?
Fear is to blame for the murder of Mary, because when Bigger killed her, he killed her from fear of losing his job. If Mrs. Dalton hears Bigger then she would make him lose his job, because he is in a rich white woman’s bed taking advantage of Mary when she is drunk. The reason he put the pillow over her face was so that Mrs. Dalton couldn’t hear him in the bed as well.