Native Son
...e in the newsreel foreshadows her appearance in Bigger's life, and the advertisement for State Attorney Buckley foreshadows his own appearance towards the end of the novel. Bigger has carried a knife and gun long before he accidentally kills Mary, and this underscores the irony of Bigger's situation. Even when violence is obvious and fated, Bigger is not permitted to knowingly participate in his fate. Like any number of Greek or Shakespearean tragic cases, Bigger's accidents and passions mark the steps of his life and death. The structure of the novel foreshadows Bigger's crime of "fear," his "flight" and his "fate" in execution. In this regard, the foreshadowing produces a sense of dramatic irony in that, we are aware of Bigger's "fate" well before we see him go through the motions of his life. Similarly, the "cliffhanger" at the end of Book One is a false one; even if the death of Mary Dalton was unexpected; Bigger's self-assurance that he has covered his tracks is a specious one. Throughout the novel, Wright uses foreshadowing to build his argument that Bigger's "fate" has less to do with his individual actions and more to do with his circumstances. This provides some explication of the title Native Son and positions Wright well within the vein of "Naturalist" writing. As the narrative structure suggests, both timing and sequence are crucial in Wright's writing and in setting up the inextricably linked chains of fate, Wright gives himself ample opportunities to reveal glaring ironies of American society. There are coincidences in the novel, like the fact that Mr. Dalton's paternalism reveals him to be Bigger's landlord and employer, but the irony comes in the fact that his (Communist-sympathizer of a) daughter glosses over this obviously Marxist setup and seeks to unionize Bigger. Coincidentally, Bigger and Gus "play white" and Jan and Mary "play black." It is ironic however, that Bigger and Gus were uncomfortably watching a white pilot fly over the black neighborhood, while Jan and Mary are chauffeured into the Black Belt, unwittingly making Bigger feel uncomfortable (again) as an accomplice in their invasion. While Gus and Bigger had to stay in their own neighborhood to improvise their game, Jan and Mary are able to "see the real thing," with Bigger as a tour guide. There are other minor ironies in Book One. Ma's advice regarding the distinctions between rich and poor whites are exaggerated in the largesse of the Daltons and the deceit of Peggy, the Irish maid. She considers herself part of the upstanding, generous Dalton family but tricks Bigger into doing part of her work for her (unknowingly introducing him to the furnace where he will burn Mary's body.) Mrs. Dalton may be blind, but her hyper-sensitivity enables her to detect that something might be awry when Mary arrives home late; her presence however, provokes the pillowcase suffocation that her blindness prevents her from seeing. Book one is entitled "FEAR" and the Fear is mostly Bigger's. Certainly, his fears of invaded white territory are matched with his fears of never having a free territory of his won. Another source of Bigger's fears come from the buffeting of his slightly inflated masculine ego and the concept of "Manhood" is one of four major themes that Wright presents in Book One. Bigger detaches himself from his family's misery‹not because he does not care about them, but because he knows that he is impotent to support them, that there is simply nothing to hope for. When Ma upbraids Bigger and questions his "manhood," her words spark one of the day's refrains: in Doc's poolroom, in the theatre with Jack, in the Dalton's car and in Mary's bedroom, Bigger seeks opportunities to display and augment his masculinity, usually unsuccessfully. While the episodes in the theatre and Mary's bedroom were more sexually tinged, Bigger primary definition of "manhood" is one of violence. He relies upon his gun and knife as physical displays of his masculinity and even if most of Bigger's violence stems from the racist lynching of his father and his present socio-economic condition, Bigger is biased towards displays of strength and oppression. Bigger is happiest when he is dangling the bloody corpse of a newly killed rat or frightening his weaker friends to tears. Bigger is more than a bully, for despite his oppression (as a "colored" man in 1930s America) Bigger roots for tyrants and enjoys hearing stories of Japanese invasions and Hitler's murderous oppression of the Jews. Bigger hopes to reassert his deflated manhood by tyrannizing those around him. Book One's second theme initiates a discussion of youth and innocence. Early on, we learn that Bigger is only twenty years old. One of Wright's efforts in Book One, is to juxtapose Bigger's favorite youthful activities (masturbating, playing "white," poolroom fighting) with the grim adult activity that he unwittingly and then, knowingly commits in the end of Book One and the beginning of Book Two (rape, lying to police, murder). As much as Bigger has hardened himself into an adult, his criminal efforts belie his youth in that they are educated by fantasy and not by reality. Bigger kills by accident and afterwards, he tries to make something out of what he has done. Bigger does not want to rob Blum's deli, but he perceives the heist as an adult thing to do. Even though the Daltons have offered him a nicer room, after burning Mary's body, Bigger flees home to his bed with his brother, mother and sister surrounding. When Bigger wakes up in Book Two, he will be an adult and his "FLIGHT" is an effort to escape the Chicago police and also an attempt to undo the adulthood that has been foisted upon him. Neither of these endeavors succeeds, of course, but Bigger is able to mature once he honestly assesses the "adulthood" that has been forced upon him. Again, the title Native Son resonates in the loss of innocence that the "native son" suffers. Blindness is a third theme in Book One, and Wright's initial treatment of "blindness" is partially allusive to the ancient Greek dramas (most notably, Sophocles' plays) that use physically and spiritually blind characters to foreshadow tragedy and fuel tragic fate. Certainly, Mrs. Dalton fits within this rubric, as the only physically blind character in the novel. It is her blind presence that causes her daughter's death and provides much of the suspense of Book One's conclusion. Mrs. Dalton's physical blindness is, of course, the physical manifestation of a "blindness that she shares with her husband, her daughter Mary, Jan and much of Wright's America. Wright makes deliberate efforts to suggest that America is self-blinding, seeking to address the symptoms of racism while remaining deliberately incognizant of reality. Jan's reverie at the lake, when he promises Bigger an ensuing revolution reflects a "lake view" blindness that is as glaring as Mary's insistence that Bigger join a labor union. And just as Bigger murmurs that his self-deluded family is blind to his reality‹that a job at the Daltons' is not going to improve their economic condition‹he too, blinds himself with intense anger and rash acts of violence. All of Wright's characters blind themselves, one way or another, so that they do not have to look at life's realities; and as a Naturalist, this blindness is just another one of the details that Wright uncovers. Finally, the theme of "territory" is initiated in Book One and this will emerge as the most important theme of Book Two. In regards to the title of the novel, Wright is a little sarcastic in depicting Bigger as America's "native son." While Wright wants to make the argument that Bigger is a creation that can only be created in American territory, he also argues that part of Bigger's "native son-hood" is being treated as a non-native creature. As a result, the "Black Belt" ghetto of Chicago is what Bigger considers to be his "territory." All other areas of the planet‹excluding Harlem, but including Lake Michigan, the ditches of the US Army and the entire sky‹are part of what Bigger considers to be "alien, white world." Bigger tries to maintain the idea that the white world is "alien" and that there is a fixed barrier between his space and the white space, but this construction proves faulty. Bigger is afraid to rob Blum because his deli is in a white neighborhood but afraid or not, Bigger must trek into a white neighborhood to collect his menial chauffeur job. If this does not prove the permeability of the "color line," the idea of fixed territories is surely destroyed when Bigger drives Jan and Mary into the Black Belt so that they can "play black" at Ernie's Kitchen Shack. In effect, Bigger is forced into a realization that the "territory" that he considers his own, is not. The region to which black living space is confined is merely a "belt" within the city and in a most literal sense Bigger's family continually faces eviction by the South Side Realty Company owned by their landlord, Mr. Dalton. The relationship between America and her "native son" is little different from the medieval scheme that attached a feudal landlord to a throng of serfs. Trapped at home, in the streets and oddly enough, even while he is driving, Bigger has no "native" territory and Wright's effective thematic treatment of this question, rightly reduces Bigger's thoughts of "flight" to the realm of impossibility. Before it is written and read, Book Two: FLIGHT is a doomed, ill-fated fantasy. Book Two: Summary: Bigger does not get much sleep and when he wakes up in the bed that he shares with his brother Buddy, he slowly remembers the events of the previous night. As Bigger meditates on the murder he has committed, he looks around the small room at his sleeping family. It is Sunday morning and Bigger remembers that he must take Mary Dalton's trunk to the train depot. As he rises out of bed, Bigger notices that he has been extremely clumsy in his efforts to hide his tracks: Mary's purse as well as a bloody knife are only partially obscured in the chair where he set them. Bigger goes outside to throw the purse and knife away and he decides that he will keep Jan's pamphlets and put them in his dresser drawer at the Dalton's house, so that he will have evidence to cast doubts on Jan's character. Bigger's mind is reeling and he thinks to return to the Dalton's home to see if Mary's body has burned, but then he wonders if it would be better to leave town immediately. Either way, Bigger will have to get his suitcase if only to move his clothes to his new room in the Dalton's residence. When Bigger returns to the apartment, his mother is awake and she asks him about his new job and salary, casually mentioning that she tried to stay awake waiting for him but she fell asleep a little after 2AM. Bigger insists that he arrived before 2AM. Ma does not press the issue but when Buddy wakes up, he tells Bigger that he stayed awake until 3AM to see him, but he fell asleep. Buddy also tells Bigger that Bessie stopped by to visit. As Bigger listens to his brother and observes his sister and mother, he becomes more and more convinced that his accidental crime has put him in a different world. They are blind, just like Jan and Mrs. Dalton. Bigger takes his suitcase and leaves the apartment after borrowing a half-dollar from his mother: even though he has the money from Mary's purse, he does not want to raise any suspicions. Soon after Bigger leaves, Buddy chases after him and asks if he is in any trouble. When Bigger replies that he isn't, Buddy shows him a roll of cash that he has dropped in the apartment. Bigger is worried that Ma has seen it, but Buddy replies that he has covered Bigger's tracks. Bigger gives him a few dollars and asks Buddy not to tell anyone. Bigger continues his walk through the neighborhood and when he runs into his friends Gus, GH and Jack, he buys them a few packs of cigarettes and some beer. Bigger thinks about his crime and rationalizes that, instead of it being his fault, Mary has received what she deserved for putting him in an awkward situation. Still, Bigger feels a sense of pride in what he has done‹even if it was accidental; by the time he reaches the Dalton's mansion though, his pride has eroded and he is trembling. Peggy is about to tend to the furnace and Bigger offers to take care of the job. Bigger can see the outline of Mary's body in the bed of burnt coals and so he re-fuels the fire. After this, he puts Jan's pamphlets in his room and then tends to the half-packed trunk that he is to take to the depot. Peggy mentions that the car was left outside over night and Bigger makes up a lie: Jan and Mary were in the car last night, parked in the Dalton's driveway, and they asked him to leave them outside. Jan calls and after treating him brusquely, Peggy explains that Jan is a "bad kid" and that Mary is a little wayward. Mary is not upstairs so Bigger takes the trunk to the depot anyway, at Peggy's suggestion that Mary will perhaps get to the depot on her own. Mrs. Dalton is concerned and Bigger overhears her conversation with Peggy, during which she mentions that she smelled Mary's drunkenness the night before and notes that Mary did not pack all of the clothes that she intended to take to Detroit. Mrs. Dalton asks Bigger a few more questions and after he repeats his lying responses, Mrs. Dalton invites him to take the day off. As Bigger leaves, he wonders if he should have taken more money or actually planned the crime, and his inflated pride returns. Bigger decides to visit Bessie and as he is only interested in having sex with her, Bessie is concerned about the two white people that Bigger accompanied to Ernie's the night before. Bessie is especially worried that Bigger has taken a liking to Mary and that he is no longer interested in her. To soothe Bessie's concerns, Bigger reveals his large sum of cash, about $125, and he suggests that Bessie use some of the money to buy something. Bessie is not as impressed by the money as she is frightened by the large sum and she demands to know what Bigger did to get the money. Bigger does not tell the truth; instead, he makes up a story about Mary eloping with Jan and reveals that he plans to write a ransom note for $20,000. Bessie is still worried that something else is wrong and even after they go out for drinks at the Paris Grill, Bessie thinks that they would be better off to simply leave town with the little money they have. Bigger tells his story of Mary's eloping and Bessie's concern is that Mary will return home, revealing Bigger's ransom note to be a fraud. When Bigger adamantly repeats that he is sure Mary won't show up, Bessie is alarmed and she cannot shake the idea that Bigger has done something to the girl. Again, she tries to convince Bigger to leave town, rather than play for more money. But when Bigger threatens to leave her, Bessie caves in and agrees to help Bigger. Bigger heads for the Dalton's house to check up on things and his initial fear of the electric chair is dissipated. Now he feels that his destiny is within his grasp. When he arrives, he is told to return to the train depot to pick up Mary's trunk because she did not go to Detroit. Everyone is worried, especially after Bigger casually mentions that Jan was with Mary upstairs and that it was Jan who told him to take the trunk downstairs, for the depot. When Bigger returns, he feels a stronger impulse to leave town, but he convinces himself that he is strong enough to pull the whole thing off. After taking the trunk down to the basement, Bigger is confronted by Mr. Dalton and his private investigator, Mr. Britten. They open the trunk and see that it is only halfway filled; after this, Mr. Dalton supervises Mr. Britten while the investigator asks several rounds of questions. Bigger reveals that he did not take Mary to school as he was supposed to and that Mary met her Communist friend Jan. Britten shows Bigger the pamphlets that were found in his dresser and he accuses him of being a communist. Bigger replies that he never met any Communists until the previous night and that Jan gave him the pamphlets. Mr. Dalton affirms that Bigger did not know Mary before hand, and that he did not understand her rhetoric when she was trying to unionize him. Britten brings Jan into the basement and Bigger feels a sense of shame, but this does not prevent him from repeating the same lies that he told earlier. Jan lies about not seeing Mary the night before and when this is revealed as an untruth, Jan looks increasingly guilty. After Jan storms out of the house, Britten assures Mr. Dalton that the police will pick Jan up and hold him for questioning. Bigger flees the house and returns to his own neighborhood, stopping at a drugstore to collect a pad, pencil and envelope. After this, he goes to Bessie's apartment and he begins to write the ransom note. Bessie watches Bigger as his gloved hands scrawl a rather pitiful note signed "Red" (to implicate Communists). As he finishes, Bessie bluntly asks Bigger if he killed Mary. He begins to deny the charge, but Bessie says that she can look at him and tell that he has and that if he can kill Mary then there is little to stop him from killing her. Bigger admits his crime and hisses at Bessie, warning her not to snitch and threatening her that she is as guilty as he is. Bessie begins crying that Bigger has ruined her life and she wishes for death. Bigger grabs the knife and warns Bessie to stop crying. He adds that if she screams, he will surely kill her. After Bessie quiets down, Bigger takes her outside into the blizzard; Bessie tries to convince Bigger that he should simply run away with the money he has. Bigger slaps Bessie and points out the building where she is going to collect the ransom money. After this, Bigger returns to the Dalton's house for dinner and he decides that he will clean the ashes in the morning. Mr. Dalton bursts in with the news that Mary has been kidnapped; he has received the ransom note that Bigger has left outside. Britten is convinced that Bigger has played a role in the crime and he presses Bigger regarding his Communist ties, asking if the Communists have kidnapped Mary to raise money for their causes. Britten announces that Jan Erlone has been arrested and Mr. Dalton asks Bigger if there is anything that he has not told Britten. Bigger adds that Mary spent part of the night crying and that she got drunk with Jan. The press has arrived at the Dalton residence and they are planning a headline: "RED NABBED AS GIRL VANISHES." Bigger is told to keep quiet and not speak to the press. The reporters want to know if Mr. Dalton is pulling a stunt and they are intrigued by the alleged role of the Communists. At his press conference, Mr. Dalton reveals the ransom note and apologizes for Jan Erlone's arrest and he says that he is willing to pay the ransom and will follow the directions illustrated in the "Communist" ransom note that is signed "Red" and marked with a hammer and sickle. The newspapermen want to ask Bigger a few questions and they are in the basement when he is clearing out the ashes. There is an unusually large amount of ash in the furnace and Bigger's inability to contain the flames draws attention. As the basement fills with smoke, Bigger flees the house leaving the newspapermen to discover an earring and chips of bone in the furnace. It does not take very long for them to realize that they are viewing the burned remains of Mary Dalton. When Bigger flees, he heads for Bessie's place and he announces that the plan is off and that the authorities will be after him in a short amount of time. Now, Bigger feels fear. Bessie guesses that they have found the girl and that he really did kill her. Bigger merely replies that there is nothing that can be done to change things at this point. Bigger tries to explain to Bessie that he did not mean to kill Mary, that it was only an accident but Bessie begins sobbing because she knows that once Bigger is caught, he will be accused of raped. Bessie asks Bigger how they found Mary's body so easily and when he mentions that they saw bones in the furnace, Bessie begins howling. It is only at this point that Bigger begins to realize how lurid his crime was. Bigger rouses Bessie and says that they will have to leave her apartment and hide in the dilapidated houses because the police will soon be swarming the area. Bessie replies that she has no need to run off because she has not done anything, but Bigger forces her with him and drags her to a freezing cold warehouse where he rapes her. After Bessie cries herself to sleep, Bigger takes a brick and crushes her head again and again. After he is sure that she is dead, he throws her body down an airshaft and only then realizes that his wad of cash (now, $90) is in the pocket of her dress. Bigger reflects that this is his first real murder, the other one being an accident. Bigger sense that he is in "a new world" and the changes occurring within him are irrevocable. In a few hours he is stalking the morning streets and his eye catches a glimpse of the headline: "HUNT BLACK IN GIRL'S DEATH." Bigger learns that 5000 police are searching the Black Belt and have already ransacked his home, he is assumed to be a murderer/rapist, white vigilante groups are rioting throughout the city and the chief of police is convinced that the blizzard snow has trapped Bigger within the city limits. Additionally, Jan Erlone has been exonerated by the absence of his fingerprints at the crime scene. Nonetheless, the police maintain that Bigger's crime is too elaborate to be the work of a Negro. Bigger can only hide in the streets for so long and as he moves from building to building, he grows hungry as he listens to the bitter conversations of the blacks that live in the neighborhood. Many of them hate Bigger for all of the trouble that he has caused them. Not only must they suffer the indignities of police searches and violence, but also they will lose their jobs because many of the already-biased white population will think that all blacks are like Bigger Thomas. The police easily track Bigger Thomas down; amid the riots and tumult, the authorities raid over 1000 homes before chasing Bigger across the rooftops of a series of dilapidated buildings. A white civilian mob surrounds the police as Bigger is struck, beaten and dragged down a series of steps. His fingernails are ripped off and the "sea of noise" reverberates with the chant: "Kill that black ape." Analysis: Book Two marks the transition between Bigger's "flight" and "fate;" accordingly, this section is heavy with foreshadowing. There is a feeling of suspense that is sustained throughout Book Two, but this is not derived from the element of the unknown. Rather, the reader must watch Bigger become more and more entangled in the webs of fate. Certainly, Ma's warning of the "gallows" recurs as Bigger exhibits the "hubris" (pride) that precedes a great fall. Bigger's headlong rush towards his fate is not dampened when Bessie warns him that he will never be able to escape from the mobs and five thousand white police officers. And Bessie prophesies her own murder at Bigger's hands, adding that even if his confession of "accidental" homicide is valid, he will certainly be executed as a murderer/rapist. Bigger will be charged as the murderer/rapist of both Mary Dalton and his girlfriend, Bessie Mears, but it is his rape of Bessie that "proves" that he raped Mary. His brutal response to Bessie's foreshadowing brings an ironic sealing of his fate. When Bigger tells himself that he is entering a "new world," this foreshadowing is again, ironic. Certainly, Bigger is transforming into a "new person" living in a "new world," but the new worlds he will encounter are prison and the electric chair. Bigger's scene with the rat opened Book One and the metaphor of the rat is continued in Book Two. Certainly, the rat remains a symbol of entrapment and execution, as much as it is a metaphor that testifies to Bigger's fate. Just as Bigger has been the predator of the rat (not to mention, Bessie and Mary), he has now become the prey. He is as ruthlessly stalked as the rat, and he too is trapped to be executed. The "rat" metaphor is strengthened in the scene of entrapment, when Bigger is surrounded by the mob. Among the slurs hurled, Bigger is described as "primitive" jungle thing. Someone cries "kill that black ape" and not long after a reference to Bigger as a "woolly black lizard," he is struck in the head by a metal object. This is not very different from the cursing that preceded Bigger's murder of the rat‹banging it in the head with a skillet; indeed, both the mob and Bigger say the exact same phrase "sonofabitch" after they have trapped their prey. And both Bigger and the rat rip and tear at their overpowering adversaries. Book Two presents a darker sense of irony than the irony displayed in Book One. In one sense, Bigger is a young, inexperienced "petty thief" who has committed an adult crime. He is unable to keep track of the money he has stolen, he leaves visible tracks and his ransom note is pathetic. It is ironic that the authorities are convinced that Bigger has not worked alone because his crime is "too intelligent" to be the work of a black person. Even as Bigger's crimes are less than intelligent, Bigger's pride and overweening desire to prove himself push him to make unintelligent risks, losing his life in the gamble. Wright presents a highly critical portrait of the news media, the private investigators and police detectives. Britten, a private investigator, is a parody of both "private eyes" and insular, racist thinkers. The height of Britten's investigation is a series of questions to determine whether Bigger is a communist‹a fact that will be proven if he "talks funny" having "spent time with Jews." Britten's ridiculous logic pervades a line of questioning that is girded by a fear of blacks mixing with whites. After the reporters arrive, the scene explodes into a farce. Wright now satirizes the pedantic journalists who are looking for an "angle" that might bring to light Bigger's "primitivism" and angst. At the same time, other reporters have taken on the role of police investigator, snooping in the Dalton's basement and discovering the ash of Mary's burned body. It is no surprise that the satirized press reports are full of hyperbole, portraying a "NEGRO MURDERER RAPIST" whose "primitivism" is brought to light in countless capitalized headlines of mob-inciting rhetoric. Book Two makes several allusions, many of them to events well within Wright's social context as he was writing in 1939 and 1940. Wright makes references to the Scottsboro boys, and the "Lindbergh" and "Loeb" cases, situating Native Son within a certain vein of criminal-suspense novel. At the same time, Bigger's thoughts of how to commit a successful crime reveal that the tabloids are a poor education for the would-be murderer/kidnapper. Similarly, Jan's faith in the communist revolution is girded by the "Scottsboro boys" case. The hysteria and unique circumstances regarding these cases are ultimately of little value for the young, misguided characters. Wright's other major allusion in Book Two is to the ancient Greek dramas. Particularly in the "Oedipus" trilogy, the motifs of "hubris" and "blindness" were intertwined and Wright makes several direct allusions to the "tragic hero" whose angry pride leaves him spiritually blind. Bigger's fate robs him of his life, but this can only happen after his rage has robbed him of his sight. There are two motifs that recur in Book Two. One of them is the motif of "time." This was initiated in Book One with the alarm clock of the novel's opening and the large clock that was ticking during Bigger's interview with Mr. Dalton‹both of these suggested that time was not on Bigger's side. This continues in Book Two, when Bigger must struggle to reconcile the details of his crime with the false time-schematic that he has constructed as an alibi. The section opens with Bigger's argument with Ma and then with Buddy, who both accurately recall falling asleep after 3am, waiting for Bigger to return home after his first evening at work. The clocks and eventually the "ringing" sound of police sirens, are all set against the "racing pace" inside Bigger's mind. A second motif is the idea of "flight." Within the context of Book Two, Bigger goes to the "Paris Grill" with Bessie and as they become intoxicated, they discuss leaving for Harlem. In this time period, both Paris and Harlem are mythicized as havens‹not for criminals, but for black Americans in general. Certainly, Harlem was the more attainable of the two, but the "native son" is trapped at home and unable to free himself. The "flight" motif is also allusive in regards to the Greek story of Icarus: Bigger's dreams of "flight" create daydreams of being an aviator but in reality, he is running across the rooftops of dilapidated buildings, hoping to flee the mob. He is eventually caught and brought down low, unable to fly. This "flight" motif is related to one of this section's three themes‹that of psychological escape. In the previous section, Wright casts Ma's dependence on religion as a placebo that makes her think that her son will work himself out, even as she is increasingly ineffective in her modish attempts to reform his character. Bessie is the closest parallel to Ma, though she finds her turns to the bottle, rather than the Bible, as the source of her escape from the weighty troubles of her life. While Bessie and Ma rely upon their modes of escape to ease and soothe their troubles, Bigger escapes in the opposite direction. Especially in Book Two, we find that Bigger's intention is to glut himself with pain and misery in order to blunt the senses by overcharging them into oblivion. Bigger thinks that if he can yell enough, kill and steal enough, he can harden himself from being able to feel any emotions. He might numb himself by the excesses of his crime. Instead, Bigger only becomes increasingly fragile‹he's trembling in Book Two and he will sob and sputter in Book Three. Wright is especially unsympathetic towards characters who seek deluded, self-destructive and even spiritual escapes from the reality of the temporal world. Wright took issue with the established church, but he does not argue that religion is for the self-destructive or deluded, lumping churchgoers with alcoholics. Rather, religion like anything else in the life of a desperate, impoverished person can become a force that destroys the soul. A final thematic point worth noting is the violence that is enacted in the novel. Mary, the rat, Bessie and Bigger all suffer blows to the head, rather violent ones that snuff out their consciousness. In this Wright takes the literary principle of synecdoche "when a part of the body or organism comes to imply a condition for the whole," and turns it on its head. Just as these characters sought deluded escapes from reality, they lose consciousness before they die. (And in Book Three, we learn that Bessie survived the brick-blows to the head only to die of hypothermia in the air shaft, crawling in the direction of assistance.) The blows to the head imply a larger psychological condition, and of course, the blows to the head also have ramifications for the whole physical body because all of these creatures eventually die. A second theme is the idea of blindness, which Wright connects to the ideas of youth and "hubris." In the reader's eyes, Bigger's proud announcement that he is entering a "new world" is a testament to his blindness. With so many opportunities to escape town and reject the destruction of violence, Bigger is trapped in the city. Ironically, Bigger is a chauffeur with access to a car and he drove this car to the train station. Bigger's pride and rage alternate to keep control of his mind and prevent him from seeing clearly. Consequently, Bigger's "flight" in Book Two is doomed before it begins and Bigger's "escape" is really a blind and headlong rush into the "fate" that is waiting for him at the end of the novel. Blindness is pervasive in the world of Native Son. Besides Mrs. Dalton's physical blindness, the distorting stereotypes and disfiguring violence of the "blindly raging" mob all serve as testaments to America's spiritual blindness. The Daltons believe that donating Ping-Pong tables to the dispossessed might give them hope; they are as blind as Bigger and the trauma of Mary's death is no assurance that they will be shaken out of their complacency. The final theme of Book Two is "territory," continuing a thematic treatment begun in Book One. The "rat" metaphor and motif of "flight" interact in a way that heightens the importance of territory for Bigger. The ideas of the novel‹of racial segregation, of the predator and prey, invasion, capture and execution‹all of these are made explicit in Book Two and Bigger is the prey. He may have been emotionally trapped in Book One but in Book Two, Bigger is also physically trapped once the 5000 white police officers become a "swarm." With an vigilante sidekicks, the police easily close in on Bigger. Having invaded the Black Belt, they march from apartment to apartment until Bigger Thomas is found. Wright also makes "territory" an explicit concern by making the colors "white" and "black" literal. The swarm of police become a "sea of noise" and a "white and looming" force that is augmented by the white blizzard that is a "great natural force," complicit in its entrapment of Bigger. As Bigger sees the world, sky and snow are personified as more whites to augment and assist the white majority. At this point, the title of the novel is well past the point of irony, and the "native son" considers himself to be at war with his "native" land. Book Three: Fate Summary: Book Three opens in the 11th Street Police Station where Bigger Thomas is detained. Bigger has not eaten, his eyes are sunken and he is trying to assert "his own will" despite the horrible situation that his accidental murder has produced. Musing over his fear of death, Bigger decides that he was "born unlucky" and amid the crowd that surrounds him in the police station, Bigger is easy to find the faces of Jan, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton. Bigger's overriding emotion is a feeling of shame and as he struggles in and out of consciousness, he notices that his fingernails have been ripped out. After he is fully conscious, Bigger wishes he were already in the electric chair. An angry white mob has invaded the police station and when Bigger is taken to his inquest, they deride him as an "ape" and a "jungle beast." Everyone is well aware of the reality that Bigger Thomas will definitely suffer under the death penalty. Soon after arriving at the inquest, Bigger faints and this only stokes the hysteria that the journalists are fueling. Bigger awakens to find that he is again behind bars and his mother's minister, Reverend Hammond, arrives to visit Bigger in his prison cell‹at Ma's request. The Reverend urges Bigger to "turn to Jesus!" and in his rambling sermon, Hammond hopes to offer Bigger some hope of salvation and heaven, for he will surely be executed and in not very much time. Bigger resists the Reverend's invitation to salvation and after becoming frustrated with Bigger's obstinate antics, the Reverend intends to leave the boy, but not before setting a wooden cross necklace around Bigger's neck. As Reverend Hammond prepares to leave, Jan Erlone arrives and Bigger is surprised that Jan is willing to talk to hi and is also willing to "apologize" to Bigger. Even though Jan does not understand Bigger's emotions and motives, he does understand that Bigger is partially reacting to his social condition. Jan explains that as a result of lynching, so many black families have suffered and he and his Communist friend Max want to help Bigger. Jan knows that Bigger simply sees him as a "white face" but he hopes that Bigger might also see him as an "honest face." Certainly, the Reverend is impressed with Jan's candid apology. Soon after Jan tells Bigger that the Communist lawyer, Max, is willing to work for free, State Attorney Buckley arrives in the cell, joined by Mr. and Mrs. Dalton. Buckley assures Bigger that he has no need for tactics and that the young man is as already caught so he might as well confess. Mr. Dalton agrees and hints that things might be "easier" for Bigger if he says all that he knows and reveals the identity of his accomplices. Jan derides Mr. Dalton, arguing that Bigger's crime couldn't be prevented by the Dalton's generous donation of Ping-Pong tables for the South Side recreational center. Jan says that Bigger's crime testifies to a "fundamental" problem in America. At this point, Bigger, Jan, Reverend Hammond, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton and State Attorney Buckley are joined by Ma, Vera, Buddy, Gus, GH and Jack, all of whom crowd into Bigger's jail cell (!) Ma is sobbing and Bigger feels guilty and is unable to look at her. Buddy is as rash and youthful as Bigger and he assures Bigger that he will defend his innocence and get a gun and kill four of five people himself. Buddy's comment is not accepted well and after Bigger learns that Vera is ashamed to go to school because her classmates mock her, he feels a mixture of hate and shame. He is ashamed of what he has done to his family, but he hates them for existing. Bigger wants to be unencumbered and he is only irked by Ma's pleading questions if there is "anything" that she can do to help him. Bigger replies that he is fine and that he will be out of jail in no time. His mother's face is incredulous and Bigger realizes that this is one of the few times in his life where admitting the ugly truth is better than sugarcoating reality. Ma gives Bigger another chance to answer her question and he responds that there is nothing that she can do. Ma is rather unaware of the other people in the cell and she has a personal conversation with Bigger telling him to "go to God." Bigger replies that Ma should "forget" him, but Ma insists that all she has are her three children, not just the two non-criminal ones. Eventually, Bigger promises to "try" to pray and this is all that Ma has to sustain her faith. When Ma learns that the two people in the back of the cell are Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, she grovels at their feet, sobbing and begging for her son to be spared the electric chair. The Daltons insist that Bigger's fate is out of their hands but they will make sure that Ma, Vera and Buddy are not evicted from their $8/week apartment, as they are no longer able to pay. Ma's groveling only intensifies Bigger's feelings of shame and he is relieved when Gus, GH and Jack escort Ma, Vera and Buddy back to their home. After the Reverend, Jan and the Daltons exit the cell, Bigger is alone with Buckley and he succumbs to the State Attorney's intimidation. Buckley warns Bigger that it will be better for him to confess. He describes Bigger as a wayward youth who has broken his mother's heart and surely, if he might escape the justice of the state, he would meet a far worse fate at the hands of the angry, frothing mob that is only growing. Buckley tells Bigger that the authorities have found Bessie, and she did not die from the brick blows that Bigger delivered. The police know that Bigger raped her and that he threw her body in an airshaft. Bigger thought that Bessie was dead but she was able to crawl for a small distance, regaining consciousness only to die of hypothermia, freezing in the blizzard. Buckley suggests that Bigger's only way out is to confess, admit who helped him commit the crimes and settle for spending the rest of his life in a "hospital." Bigger is piqued and he confesses to the crime, denying his insanity and the existence of any accomplices. Buckley is joined by a "man with a pad" who records Bigger's confession and after they leave, Bigger is alone in his cell. He hears them joking outside the cell about how "easy" it was to record Bigger's self-betrayal. They expected that he would be harder. Hearing the reality of his own self-failure, Bigger sobs in his prison cell. The next morning, as Bigger is lead to his inquest, a member of the mob strikes Bigger in the temple and he is wounded. The theatrics continue in the inquest. Mrs. Dalton begins sobbing in the witness box when she discusses her family history and identifies the heirloom earring that was found in the ashes of her furnace. She adds that her family has given $5 million to various charitable causes. Jan is the next witness and he tries to evade Buckley's belligerent and insinuating questions. Jan and Bigger's lawyer, Max, argue that the State Attorney is trying to indict an entire political party as well as an entire race. Buckley is permitted to continue with few restrictions and he twists Jan's answers to cast aspersions on his character, suggesting that Jan offered Mary Dalton as Bigger's reward for joining the Party's efforts. Buckley also suggests that the content of the Communist pamphlets induced Bigger to rape and murder Mary Dalton. Max is more vocal when Mr. Dalton is placed on the stand and he exposes the exorbitant rents and segregating practices and policies of the Dalton's South Side Realty Company. Dalton admits that he simply assumed that blacks were happier living in their own neighborhoods and after he prides himself on helping his employees get an education, he admits that he has never offered employment to any educated blacks. Soon after this, the State offers Bessie's body as a piece of evidence indicating Bigger's criminal mentality. This stokes the mob's fury because it was a previously unknown piece of information. The Grand Jury easily finds enough information to warrant Bigger's criminal trial and several spectators chant: "Burn that black ape." After the inquest, prosecutors take Bigger to the Dalton mansion, lead him to Mary's room and try to intimidate him into showing them the mechanics of his rape and murder. Bigger will not oblige, saying "you can't make me do nothing but die." Bigger is returned to his cell, but on the trip to the jail, Bigger sees a throng of Ku Klux Klansmen who are burning a large wooden cross. They are delighted when they make eye contact with Bigger and he is confused by the burning cross and thinks that the Reverend has tricked him into a trap. Enraged, Bigger throws his cross away and after a prison guard tries to explain to Bigger that the cross around his neck is his only hope and that it is "God's cross" and not the Klan's cross, Bigger again throws the cross away. Bigger is soon joined in his cell by another young black man who has gone insane. He was a student at a local university and "too much reading" caused him to lose his mind. When Max returns to ...