Sunday, December 5, 2010
Week of December 5th--Native Son!
1. Describe some of the many ways in which Bessie Mears, Bigger's girlfriend, is trapped in a life that is not of her own choosing (use concrete details).
2. Describe the way Bigger is hunted down after he has fled the Dalton home. How would this manhunt have been different if Bigger were white?
3. Mr. Dalton's private investigator, Mr. Britten, alternately expresses his hatred of African Americans and of Communists. After he interrogates Bigger, Bigger thinks to himself that "Mr. Britten was familiar to him; he had met a thousand Brittens in his life." What is it about Mr. Britten's thinking that makes him so easy for Bigger to understand, and how does Bigger intend to use Mr. Britten's prejudices to his own advantage?
2. Describe the way Bigger is hunted down after he has fled the Dalton home. How would this manhunt have been different if Bigger were white?
3. Mr. Dalton's private investigator, Mr. Britten, alternately expresses his hatred of African Americans and of Communists. After he interrogates Bigger, Bigger thinks to himself that "Mr. Britten was familiar to him; he had met a thousand Brittens in his life." What is it about Mr. Britten's thinking that makes him so easy for Bigger to understand, and how does Bigger intend to use Mr. Britten's prejudices to his own advantage?
1. Some of the many ways in which Bessie Mears is trapped in a life that is not of her own choosing are the love she has for Bigger, the poverty she must endure, and the segregation she must endure. As Bigger forces Bessie to drink a bit of alcohol, “ ‘ I ain’t had no happiness, no nothing. I just work. I’m black and I work and don’t bother nobody…’” (page 180.) Just like Mrs. Thomas, Bessie feels that the segregation and poverty around her is forcing her to focus only on survival. Also, just like Bigger, she two is afraid of making terrible decisions. As Bigger tried his best to get Bessie to help him hide the money, “He knew that she was trying to see how badly he wanted her, trying to see how much power she still had over him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him…” (page 131.) Although Bessie actually did have a choice of whether or not she would help Bigger, she felt like her love with Bigger is chaining her. Also, she felt that in the world of love, a woman is forever her lover’s slave. As Bigger continues to have the feeling of wanting to murder her, Bessie replies,“ ‘But I don’t want to do it, Bigger. They’ll catch us. God knows they will.’…’If you scream, I’ll have to kill you, so help me God!’(Bigger.)” (page 180.) Bessie is afraid of getting in trouble, just like Bigger. However, at the same time she feels that she has no choice but to listen to him because her longing to be with Bigger is stronger than the power of the law. (Athena Baker, part one, first time.)
ReplyDelete2. The way Bigger is hunted down after he has fled the Dalton home is Bigger is hunted down as if he were King Kong (in other words, Bigger is a strange being.) This manhunt would have been different if Bigger were white by if Bigger were caught, he would have probably got better treatment when it comes to deciding what his fate shall be. As the news reports of Bigger’s crime continues to spread, “It was reported that several hundred Negro employees throughout the city had been dismissed from jobs.”(page 244.) Since the Great Depression was a time of terrible poverty and racism for Caucasians and African Americans alike, it surely created a lot of problems for the African Americas. Also, Bigger’s guilt is giving the community a terrible reputation of being murderers. As Bigger read more of the paper, “Maintaining that they feared for the lives of their children, a delegation of white parents called upon Super-intendment…and begged that all schools be closed until the Negro rapist and murderer was captured.” (page 244.) Bigger’s crime caused a lot of fear on the Caucasian people. Not only that, it gave many Caucasian people a reason as to why Bigger should be caught and taken to jail. As Bigger tries to run away from his crime, “He saw one of the men rise and flash a light. The circling beams lit the roof to daylight brightness and he could see that one man held a gun.” (page 264.) When wild animals (especially violent animals) escape from a zoo, they are usually captured by either nets or guns. This is the same way the white people are doing to Bigger.
ReplyDelete3. The thing about Mr. Britten’s thinking that makes it so easier for Bigger to understand him is the way Bigger connects his personal feelings about white people. Bigger intends to use Mr. Britten’s prejudices to his own advantage by trying to write a kidnap note” signed” by a communist in hopes he won’t get the blame for his crime. As Mr. Dalton and Mr. Britten talked about Mary’s crime, “‘Now, listen Peggy. Think and try to remember if his voice goes up when he talks…I’m trying to find out if he’s been around Communists…’” (Mr. Britten, page 192.) Mr. Britten appears to hate Communists than he does of African Americans. The three dots at the end of Mr. Britten’s sentence emphasize how much he hates communists. After hearing the conversation between Mr. Dalton and Mr. Britten, Bigger thinks to himself, “Yes; Britten was trying to trap him, trying to make out a case against him; but he could not find anything to go upon.” (page 192.) Bigger knows that Mr. Britten is confused on the case of Mary Dalton. Also, Bigger is rather cautious with how he plans on what to say. As Mr. Britten cross examines Bigger, “Bigger knew the things that white folks hated to hear Negroes ask for; and he knew that these were the things Reds were always asking for.” (page 195.) Although Bigger does not know too much about the battle between nationalists and communists, he certainly does know what is it that white people tend to hate a lot. Also, Mr. Britten is rather a man who gets fooled easily until he finds the real truth later on. (Athena Baker, first time, part two.)
1. Some of the many ways in which Bessie Mears is trapped in a life that is not of her own choosing are her personal feelings for Bigger, how much she had to work, and the way her relationship with Bigger is not a trusting one with lots of communication. After Bigger allows Bessie to have a little bit of alcohol(even though she’s still drunk) Bessie replies, “ ‘ I ain’t had no happiness, no nothing. I just work. I’m black and I work and don’t bother nobody…’” (page 180.) Just like Mrs. Thomas, Bessie feels that the segregation and poverty around her is forcing her to focus only on survival. So for her guilty pleasure to escape from the hardships she must endure, she drinks. As Bigger tried his best to get Bessie to help him hide the money, “He knew that she was trying to see how badly he wanted her, trying to see how much power she still had over him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him…” (page 131.) Bessie really does love Bigger, however, after seeing Bigger with Jan and Mary at the diner, she felt rather insecure. Also, Bigger does not tell her of his whereabouts because he does not want her to tell on his family or worse, the police. As Bigger tries to urge her not to be scared of his plan, Bessie replies, “‘If you killed her you’ll kill me,’ she said. “ (page 178.) Bessie’s words foreshadows that later on in the story, Bigger really will murder her. Also, it seems that Bigger does not actually love her. (Athena Baker, second time, part one.)
ReplyDelete1. Bessie is trapped in a life that is not her own because Bigger forces his problems upon her. She has nothing to do at all with Mary’s death, but is dragged into the situation by Bigger and is eventually killed over the whole situation. “I ain’t got nothing and you do this to me. After how good I been to you. Now you just spoil my whole life.”(180). This is how Bessie feels after Bigger forces her into his problem/life. However, Bessie does ask to be included in whatever Bigger was doing and by accepting the money Bigger gave to her, she chooses to take part in whatever Bigger’s plan was.
ReplyDelete2. The main difference is that when the police discovered that Bigger had committed this crime, the proceeded to investigate every single black citizens in Chicago. The text reads,” Police and vigilantes, armed with rifles, tear gas, flashlights, and photos of the killer began at 18th street this morning and are searching every Negro home under a blanket warrant from the Mayor”(224). Also they would have been more elaborate with their search because a quote from the newspaper in the story reads “…they feel that the plan of the murder and kidnapping was too elaborate to be the work of a Negro mind.”(245). If you notice, all the white people do is really just briefly search through every house, there was no mention of an police dogs, helicopters, etc.
3. Bigger says this because he feels that Britten is just like every other white person he has met. Britten is disrespectful towards him, doesn’t trust him at all and doesn’t’ think Bigger is too bright either. Bigger knows how to sort of manipulate Britten to be on his side of this whole thing because this is how he has to act towards every white on a day to day basis. The text reads,” Bigger knew the things that white folks hated to hear Negroes ask for; and he knew that these are the things the Reds were always asking for. And he knew that white folks did not like to hear these things asked for even by whites who fought for Negroes.”(195). All Bigger knows he has to do is tell Britten what he wants to hear. He knows Britten and Mr. Dalton both have their own reasons to be hostile towards Jan and Bigger simply uses what he knows to his advantage.
Cypress Austin- First time
1. Bessie Mears life was all work, there was never any fun or happiness. In the book she says,” Lord don’t let this happen to me! I just work! I ain’t had no happiness, no nothing. I just work. I’m black and I work and don’t bother nobody..”(180). Bessie has no intention to hurt anyone, she just wants to work during the week and get drunk and party on the weekends. After Bigger introduces his idea to get ransom money from the Daltons, her whole life changes. Bessie says,” All you ever caused me was trouble, just plain black trouble…I didn’t’ want to see it before. I was too busy thinking about how good it felt when I was with you. I thought I was happy, but deep down in me I knew I wasn’t. But you got me into this murder and I see it all now… Now I got to run away and I know deep down in your heart you really don’t care”(230). Bessie is involuntarily dragged into Bigger’s life, and is killed for it later. Although she asks to be apart of whatever Bigger was doing, she never knew how dangerous and how risky this plan Bigger had for them, this is how she is living a life that is not hers.
ReplyDelete2. The difference is that the police searched through every NEGRO’S house in Chicago, if it would have been a white person they obviously would have had much more trouble finding him/her because there are more places that they could be. The text reads,” Police and vigilantes, armed with rifles, tear gas, flashlights, and photos of the killer began at 18th street this morning and are searching every Negro home under a blanket warrant from the Mayor”(224). Most likely, if it would have been a white person that was being searched for, there would have been no vigilantes involved, it would have been a regular police chase. Also, the police maybe have searched a little more thoroughly, because they think that a black people are not smart in general, they just did a basic search of the whole city, if it were a white person the police would have had a more elaborate plan to capture the person. They had no specific suspects, they just searched every black house they could find.
3. Just like Richard Wright had met many Biggers in his life, Bigger had met many Brittens in his life. Britten is symbolic of white oppression, he is the kind of person that would lynch a black person for any little crime he/she committed. This kind of person is the kind that inject fear into Bigger, the only kind of white person Bigger has ever met until he meets the Daltons. One can say that people like Britten caused Bigger to kill because of the hatred and fear of whites that they caused for Bigger. Bigger knows that to get past Britten, all he has to do is tell him what he wants to hear and make him feel superior to him. Britten thinks Bigger is dumber then he actually is and Bigger uses that to his advantage and in a way manipulates Britten for his benefit.
Cypress Austin- Second time
1. Bessie is a hardworking black woman who drinks her feelings away. Her reason from drinking is that she works so hard during the week, that she drinks just to escape. Bessie loves Bigger and helps him every chance she gets. She even used to help him steal from the white people she works for whenever he asked for or needed something. This was the first time where she was dragged into something that she had nothing really to do with. After this, Bigger decides that she will participate in his plan to collect ransom money from the Daltons after he has killed Mary. In the text, Bessie says “All you ever caused me was trouble, just plain black trouble…I didn’t’ want to see it before. I was too busy thinking about how good it felt when I was with you. I thought I was happy, but deep down in me I knew I wasn’t. But you got me into this murder and I see it all now… Now I got to run away and I know deep down in your heart you really don’t care”(230). She is dragged into part of Bigger’s life that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with. Another way she is trapped in a life that is not of her choosing is by being black. Bessie is forced to basically slave herself to earn a living. There are no opportunities for her, she has no education, all she really knows how to do is cook and this is how she earns a living. In the book she says,” Lord don’t let this happen to me! I just work! I ain’t had no happiness, no nothing. I just work. I’m black and I work and don’t bother nobody..”(180). In both of these cases, Bessie is involuntarily forced to live a life that is not of her choosing.
ReplyDelete2. The obvious difference is that instead of searching every house in the city, the cops and vigilantes only searched houses which were occupied by blacks. A quote from a newspaper in the book reads,” Police and vigilantes, armed with rifles, tear gas, flashlights, and photos of the killer began at 18th street this morning and are searching every Negro home under a blanket warrant from the Mayor”(224). Also, unless they were after a serial killer, there’s no way that the Mayor would have been involved in searching for one person, especially if he was white. The mayor himself is an oppressor of blacks and he wants to see Bigger lynched just like every other white person after him. Another quote from the text reads, “…they (the police) feel that the plan of the murder and kidnapping was too elaborate to be the work of a Negro mind.”(245). Basically, the vigilantes, not even the police, did a basic search of every black person’s house in the city, they didn’t expect anyone to try and hide Bigger or even for Bigger to come up with a plan to hide himself, they just felt that it would be easy finding him. If this were a white person they would looking for, I’d imagine that the search for him or her would be way more elaborate than the search for Bigger was.
3. Just as Richard Wright had met many Biggers in his life, Bigger had met many Brittens in his life. Britten is essentially a white Bigger. He is the only type of white person known to Bigger until he meets the Dalton family who treat blacks as equals. Britten is symbolic of white oppression and is the type of person that would lynch a black person over anything. In the text Britten says,” Well, you see ‘em one way and I see ‘em another. To me, a nigger’s a nigger”(163). Since this is the only type of white person Bigger has ever known, he is quite accustomed to dealing with them. He knows that all he has to do is act dumb and tell Britten what he wants to hear if he wants Britten to leave him alone. In a way, Bigger basically uses Britten’s prejudice to his advantage by sort of manipulating him without Britten knowing.
Cypress Austin- Third time
2. The way Bigger is hunted down after he has fled the Dalton home is when the police were trying to catch Bigger, they actually investigated every single African American to see if any of them were involved with the case or not. If Bigger were white, then the police would simply just search all of the places where the white people usually hang out at. As the news reports of Bigger’s crime continues to spread, “Police and vigilantes, armed with rifles, tear gas, flashlights, and photos of the killer began at 18th street this morning and are searching every Negro home under a blanket warrant from the Mayor” (page 224). Since in Chicago, the African American committee is very small, it is easier for the police to find Bigger. Also, Bigger’s guilt is giving the community a terrible reputation of being murderers. As Bigger read more of the paper, “…they (the police) feel that the plan of the murder and kidnapping was too elaborate to be the work of a Negro mind.”(page 245). To the Caucasian police, Bigger is like the rat he had to kill earlier in the story. In other words, Bigger is trapped not just from the segregation around him, but also from the guilt of his crime. As Bigger tries to run away from his crime, “He saw one of the men rise and flash a light. The circling beams lit the roof to daylight brightness and he could see that one man held a gun.” (page 264.) When wild animals (especially violent animals) escape from a zoo, they are usually captured by either nets or guns. This is the same way the white people are doing to Bigger.
ReplyDelete3. The thing about Mr. Britten’s thinking that makes it so easier for Bigger to understand him is the fact that Bigger knows he hates white people. So Bigger is able to manipulate Mr. Britten and blame the murder of Mary Dalton on someone else. As Mr. Dalton and Mr. Britten talked about Mary’s crime, “‘Now, listen Peggy. Think and try to remember if his voice goes up when he talks…I’m trying to find out if he’s been around Communists…’” (Mr. Britten, page 192.) . The three dots at the end of Mr. Britten’s sentence emphasize how much he hates communists. So knowing that, Bigger is able to write a ransom note signed “Red.” After hearing the conversation between Mr. Dalton and Mr. Britten, Bigger thinks to himself, “ But the man would not poke into that fire; nobody suspected him. He was just a black clown.”(page 206.) Bigger acts like stereotypical version of African Americans so he’ll be less obvious of a suspect. Since Bigger knows that the communist philosophy deals with equality in races and races, he believes it will be much easier for Britten to get angrier at Communists than at African Americans. As Mr. Britten cross examines Bigger, “Bigger knew the things that white folks hated to hear Negroes ask for; and he knew that these were the things Reds were always asking for.” (page 195.) Although Bigger does not know too much about the battle between nationalists and communists, he certainly does know what is it that white people tend to hate a lot. Also, Mr. Britten is rather a man who gets fooled easily until he finds the real truth later on(according to Bigger. )(Athena Baker, second time, part two.)
1. Some of the many ways in which Bessie Mears is trapped in a life that is not of her own choosing are when Bigger drags her into a situation in which she’s not comfortable with, the cruel, hard work she must endure from the white people because of the color of her skin, and how she does not have much opportunities to do what it is she wants to do for a living. After Bigger allows Bessie to have a little bit of alcohol (even though she’s still drunk) Bessie replies, “ ‘ I ain’t had no happiness, no nothing. I just work. I’m black and I work and don’t bother nobody…’” (page 180.) Just like Mrs. Thomas, Bessie feels that the segregation and poverty around her is forcing her to focus only on survival. Also, she drinks because to her it is a guilty pleasure that lasts only temporarily. As Bigger tried his best to get Bessie to help him hide the money, “He knew that she was trying to see how badly he wanted her, trying to see how much power she still had over him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him…” (page 131.) Bessie really does love Bigger and she even helps him steal things from some of the white people she works with when Bigger wants her to. As for Bigger, he does not tell her much about what happened at the Daltons because he does not really love her. As Bigger tries to urge her not to be scared of his plan, Bessie replies, “‘If you killed her you’ll kill me,’ she said. “ (page 178.) Bessie is rather intelligent in knowing that her demise is coming. However, the reason that she chooses to continue to work hard for the white people is because she knows she is never going to escape the white oppression that has been circling around her for so long. (Athena Baker, third time, part one.)
ReplyDelete2. The way Bigger is hunted down after he has fled the Dalton home is when the police were trying to catch Bigger, they actually investigated every single African American to see if any of them were involved with the case or not. They do that because since the African American community in Chicago is small, it is easier for the police to simply go around from section to section to find Bigger. If Bigger were white, then the police would simply just search all of the places where the white people usually hang out at. As the news reports of Bigger’s crime continues to spread, “Police and vigilantes, armed with rifles, tear gas, flashlights, and photos of the killer began at 18th street this morning and are searching every Negro home under a blanket warrant from the Mayor” (page 244). Since in Chicago, the African American committee is very small, it is easier for the police to find Bigger. Also, Bigger’s guilt is giving the community a terrible reputation of being murderers. As Bigger read more of the paper, “…they (the police) feel that the plan of the murder and kidnapping was too elaborate to be the work of a Negro mind.”(page 245). To the Caucasian police, Bigger is like the rat he had to kill earlier in the story. In other words, Bigger is trapped not just from the segregation around him, but also from the guilt of his crime. As Britten grows suspicious of Bigger, Bigger thinks to himself,” There would be a thousand white policemen on the South Side searching for him or any black man who looked like him.” (page 224.) The reason Bigger did not hide in a different part of town is because since the other territories of Chicago include Caucasians, it would easier for Bigger to be recognized right away and get caught. So there is really no place for Bigger to hide.
ReplyDelete3. The thing about Mr. Britten’s thinking that makes it so easier for Bigger to understand him is the fact that Bigger himself hates white people. So to Bigger, Mr. Britten is a symbol of white oppression. That is helpful to Bigger because he himself actually knows what it is like to hate a certain race. So Bigger is able to take Mr. Britten’s hatred of Communists and put the blame on Jan in hopes Bigger himself would be innocent of his own crime. As Mr. Dalton and Mr. Britten talked about Mary’s crime, Bigger thinks to himself, “The knowledge that he had killed a white girl they loved and regarded as their symbol of beauty made him feel the equal of them.” (page 164.) Bigger sees that perhaps African Americans and Caucasians are not so different after all. Knowing that, Bigger is able to sort of get into Mr. Britten’s mind and see how he could remain innocent in Mr. Britten’s eyes. After hearing the conversation between Mr. Dalton and Mr. Britten, Bigger thinks to himself, “But the man would not poke into that fire; nobody suspected him. He was just a black clown.”(page 206.) Bigger acts like stereotypical version of African Americans so he’ll be less obvious of a suspect. Since Bigger knows that the communist philosophy deals with equality in races and races, he believes it will be much easier for Britten to get angrier at Communists than at African Americans. As Mr. Britten cross examines Bigger, “Bigger knew the things that white folks hated to hear Negroes ask for; and he knew that these were the things Reds were always asking for.” (page 195.) Bigger is clever in knowing how to manipulate people. So he is able to think more carefully on what to say to Mr. Britten if Mr. Britten himself gets suspicious of Bigger.
(Athena Baker, third time, part two.)