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)?
Grigg, Ari, Kuhen, Allegra
ReplyDeleteBlog Analysis:
1. Bigger has many hopes and goals and wants to go on and be successful, but Mrs. Thomas accepts the reality of the white oppression. She is realistic. Bigger wants to make a change in the world. Bigger is a romantic and his mom sits back in the shadows and doesn’t strive for change. It is scene that Bigger has bigger goals when he says, “As he ate he felt that they were thinking of the job he was to get that evening and it made him angry; he felt that they had tricked him into a cheap surrender.” It is evident that Bigger has greater goals but his mom oppresses them. Mrs. Thomas is viewed as a symbol of oppression over Bigger, just like the white population oppresses African Americans. Mrs. Thomas puts a lot of responsibility on Bigger, depicting his as the father figure of the family. She expects him to provide for them. However Bigger is described breathing “with childlike wonder” and it is evident he is not ready fulfilling is mom’s expectations. It says “There was in his eyes a pensive, brooding amusement, as of a man who had been long confronted and tantalized by a riddle whose answer seemed always just on the verge of escaping him, but prodding him irresistibly on to seek its solution.” He is looking for an answer to why things happen to him in his life. It is taunting him because he sees all these great things that whites can do and he can’t. In the story it is stated about Bigger: “He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help them.” This shows how Bigger is ashamed of his family. He doesn’t want to accept the reality of their living conditions. His mom has already accepted this fate and this is a main difference. He lives with his family but doesn’t want to have anything to do with them.
Allegra Post 2
ReplyDelete2. Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone are both against racism and the oppression of African Americans. However, Jan is a member of the communist party and Mr. Dalton does not approve. This causes bitterness towards them. Mr. Dalton is somewhat of a hypocrite because he is so open to not discriminating African Americans yet he does not seem to like communists very much. He likes one group of people and dislikes another. Mr. Dalton is excepting to African Americans for different reasons than Jan. Mr. Dalton has a lot of money and his wife is a big influence on him. Jan's political party is what makes him believe that everyone should be equal. I also think Mr. Dalton isn't a fan of Jan because no father is overly excited about his daughter's boyfriend. Jan is a rebel, and it causes Mary to act rebellious under his influence.
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)?
3. The moment Bigger arrived at the Dalton's he was filled with fear. Fear caused him to be nervous and ashamed around Mr. Dalton, shown in the quote "There was an organic conviction in him that this was the way white folks wanted him to be when in their presence; none had ever told him that in so many words, but their manner had made him feel that they did." Bigger starts out paranoid in the presence of the Dalton's. Mary and Jan add to the paranoia and awkwardness when they make him eat with them. This is scary for Bigger because he is not used to having white people treat him like a normal man. Bigger's fear causes him not to say anything when Mary and Jan are getting drunk. His shamefulness causes him not to say anything when Mrs. Dalton is in the room looking for Mary, and fear and frenzy causes him to put the pillow over her face so she won't talk and Mrs. Dalton won't figure out he's there. The fear and adrenaline in Bigger keeps taking over and causes him to do stupid things. His instincts take over and he ends up putting himself in a really bad situation.
Grigg- 1st analysis
ReplyDelete2. I think that much of their hostility is the fact that Jan is a communist. Mr. Dalton is not a fan who Jan’s wild personality and beliefs. MR. Dalton is very concerned for his daughter’s safety and he knows that if she hangs around bad influences such as Jan he would not be in control of her fate. Mr. Dalton says to Jan, “‘Listen, Mr. Erlone. Mary’s the only girl we’ve got. I don’t want her to do anything rash. Tell her to come back. Or you bring her back’” (Pg. 170). He knows that Jan is a bad influence and thinks he is responsible for his daughter’s disappearance. Both Jan and Mr. Dalton are anti-racism and are very kind to African Americans. A difference, however, would be that Mr. Dalton gives a lot of his time and money fighting for the cause and it is unknown if Jan contributes much more than his kindness. It is said that Mr. Dalton: “…gave over five millions dollars to colored schools” (Pg. 56). I think that a lot of Jan’s kindness is for the promotion of Communism. I think he doesn’t want to put a bad image on the communist party by showing hatred towards the African American race. Mary asks bigger: “‘Bigger, do you belong to a union?’” (Pg. 51). I think this shows how they are focused on promoting their own personal beliefs. I think Mr. Dalton’s kindness towards the black race is from the heart and Jan’s is not as deep.
3. Bigger is caught having to take the drunk Mary upstairs to her room. He is already very nervous and scared that he will be caught in a white girl’s room, suspicious of foul play. Then when he is trying to exit the room Mrs. Dalton enters, but she is blind and does not yet see him. He is terrified that he will be caught and lose his nice new job. In the book it says: “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. He held his hand over her mouth…Mary mumbled and tried to rise again. Frantically, he caught a corner of the pillow and brought it to her lips” (Pg. 85). Words in this passage such as “frenzy” and “frantically” make it obvious how scared Bigger is. It is clear that he acted out of fear. If there was no oppression over blacks then Bigger would not have had so much fear being caught in the room with Mary. Under normal and fair circumstances he could have explained he was merely in there taking her to bed because she was drunk, but he was black and he feared they would not believe him. This fear led to Mary’s death.
Grigg- 2nd analysis
ReplyDelete1. Mrs. Thomas is portrayed as an oppressor over Bigger. I think that she is so used the oppression that she has lived through that she unknowingly oppresses her family and especially Bigger. Mrs. Dalton exudes a feeling of defeat. It is like she has given up. Maybe she was rebellious as a child, much like Bigger, but did not accomplish or change anything in this harsh community and environment and hence has given up and become that harsh steely woman she is now. Bigger is still childlike and young.
2. I agree with you Allegra in that he does seem like a hypocrite. For someone that is so anti-racism it is strange that he would oppress the communist party. I think that he is greedy and doesn’t want to lose his money. He is wealthy and wants to stay that way. I think that it would not be evident that Mr. Dalton has done so much to promote the African American race if he did not have his money. I think that Jan is the more friendly and anti-oppression.
3. The very oppression and racism gives Bigger his fear. He is scared of the white race and what they could do to him. This fear made him act the way he did in Mary’s room. Not only is he scared of being in a white girl’s room in the middle of the night, alone, but he is also fearful he will lose his job. This fear is what makes him carry her upstairs; he wants to hide the fact that he took her someone other than the school her father expected her to be at. Allegra I liked the quote that you used: "There was an organic conviction in him that this was the way white folks wanted him to be when in their presence; none had ever told him that in so many words, but their manner had made him feel that they did." I like this quote because I think it really does express how Bigger has created his own expectations of what he thinks that the whites expect of him. He creates this unnecessary fear that ends with Mary’s demise. He is very paranoid around the Dalton’s.
Grigg- 3rd analysis
ReplyDelete1. Bigger feels he has many dreams but doesn’t know how to accomplish them. His mom is not the most successful person for Bigger to look up to. No one has shown him how to accomplish his goals. Bigger is a romantic and Mrs. Dalton is a realist. Mrs. Dalton goes through life only accomplishing things that are absolutely necessary; she has no goals to accomplish and strive for in life. Bigger has many goals but no leader showing him how to accomplish them. Mrs. Thomas cannot provide the father figure that Bigger needs to model his life after. Bigger will never conquer his dreams if he doesn’t have the example to follow.
2. I don’t think that Jan or Mary was really trying to elicit Bigger to the communist party. When Mary asks if he belonged to a union she really is only trying to rebel from her father. I think that both Jan and Mr. Dalton are not on nice terms because of their different opinions on communism. This is at the heart of their disagreements. Mr. Dalton is a very patient man and Jan takes advantage of this, taking his daughter and making her a rebel. Mr. Dalton resents that his daughter is so rebellious much because of Jan. Both agree on equality but have very different views on how to bring it about. Jan’s young view on the world is very unrealistic compared to Mr. Dalton more palpable view. Mr. Dalton has great morals and is deeply grounded, treating everyone like an equal.
3. The Dalton’s would have been very judicious in their decision if they had caught Bigger in their daughter’s bedroom. He has so much fear of the white oppressor that he acts out of fear. The Dalton’s are a very anti-racist family so if he had gotten caught and shared his story then they probably would have not blamed him for anything or jumped to conclusions. After he kills her he starts to panic because he really didn’t mean to kill her. He is afraid of going to the electric chair. He doesn’t see himself as a murderer.
Arianna Post #1
ReplyDelete1. Look above, answered in the group question
2. I believe that both Mr. Dalton and Jan Erlone feel that discrimination against color is wrong, but they still discriminate against each other. The beliefs of Mr. Dalton and Jan conflict because Jan is a communist. Since Mr. Dalton does not believe in communism he does not like Jan. There hostility towards each other is different because they are both white and living decent lives. I feel that Mr. Dalton and Jan think it’s okay to discriminate against people of there own race, but not of different races. It also does not help that Jan is dating Mr. Dalton’s daughter and Mr. Dalton does not want Jan to change Mary’s beliefs and make her a communist. I believe the hostility is based of belief and Mr. Dalton trying to protect his daughter.
3. I believe that fear was basically the fuel to the murder of Mary. Bigger first feared taking on the job as the chauffer and he feared of Mary herself. He feared that the Daltons would get mad if he brought them Mary drunk so he tried to hide her from his parents. He feared that when her mom came up the stairs she would question why he was in her room, which made him, cover he mouth which in the end killed her. I believe that the fear of Bigger was the reason that Mary died because I do not believe Bigger meant to kill Mary. She pushed his buttons by getting herself drunk and leaving her in his hands on the first night of his job.
Arianna Post #2
ReplyDelete1. Bigger’s attitude toward the world around him is not to great. I mean would you blame him? Everyday he goes through obstacles and challenging that white people do not have to do through because he is African American. His family is in poverty which to work for a white family just to keep the family alive. The world has not been nice to Bigger therefore Bigger is not nice to the world, but he believes in dreaming. Bigger had many dreams to fly airplanes, raise a family, and live this extravagant life. He has not given up on life yet he just feels it hasn’t been nice to him. He has these dreams, but doesn’t know how to accomplish them. Mrs. Thomas has a rather poor outtake of life. She is really negative and is always complaining. She puts all the pressure of the household on Bigger and takes no responsibility. She just sucks up her bad life and wants to move on. Unlike Bigger she has no hopes or dreams except to end in heaven.
2. Allegra, I agree with your first post. I also believe that they are both open to African American culture, but their beliefs collide on the topic of Communism. Mr. Dalton feels like communism is not something that should not be accepted and he does not agree with it. Jan on the other hand fully stands for Communism.
3. I believe that he also fears of the whites and the white suppressor, which causes all this fear. If The Dalton’s would have found Bigger in Mary’s room I think they would have understood and hear his case. They knew he had already been to prison and they still hired him. Even though Mary was drunk, the Dalton’s were aware that Mary does get drunk and they would believe that Bigger was not the one that got him drunk. I believe that Bigger’s fear of the white suppressor labeled the Dalton’s and fixed his mind into thinking they would fire him if they found him.
Arianna Amini Post #3
ReplyDelete1. As I looked further into the context of the book, I feel that Bigger is also angry at the world. He is angry that he is deprived of so many things that white people can do and he blames it all on the world. "He was going among white people, so he would take his knife and gun; it would make him feel that he was equal to them, give him a sense of completeness" (Wright, 43). The white people in his life were like a different world for him. He was scared of them and did not know what to think. He does not accept that he is not equal to them and the one thing he really wants is for them to be equal. Mrs. Dalton does not believe in changes to her world. I think that because she has lost her youth and innocence she has accepted that the world will not treat her as an equal. All she wants is to get by in the world and block out the fact that she is not treated as an equal. She is also hardon Bigger because she feels he is not supporting them. "Bigger, honest, you the most no-coutest man I ever seen in my life" I think she kind of wants Bigger to not be so young and naive and realize he will never be equal to the whites.
2.Grigg, I love the quote you use from page 120 in your analysis. It perfectly describes how Mr. Dalton does not want Mary to be around Jan because he's scared he will turn her into a Communist. Jan is very laid back and like Mr. Dalton he does not believe in racism. "Bigger, please! Dont say sir to me.... I dont like it. You're a man just as I am; I'm not better than you"(70). I feel that unlike Mr. Dalton Jan does not feel that he is in charge or the boss of Bigger and that he is an equal. Mr. Dalton is the boss of Bigger so there is more formality in their relationship.
3. Bigger kind of fears the whole world. He fears the whites and he fears his family. He fears his friends and what they can do and he fears of Mary. He kind of hates her because he treats him with respect and is nothing like he ever imagined. All his life he feared whites and along comes this girl that does not fear him and he hates her more than he fears her. "The food was good. This was not going to be a bad job. The only thing bad so far was the crazy girl"(55). Mary was the one thing out of the ordinary in his job that he feared and he did not know what to make of her.
Allegra Post 3
ReplyDelete1. I'm pretty much staying the same on my opinion of this question that we answered all together. Ultimately, Mrs. Thomas, being older and wiser, has excepted the fact that she is unable to change the way things are. Bigger, being emotionally immature and young, is a dreamer and can not yet accept the fact that he is powerless. However, I think later in the book we will see that he DOES make an impact.
Allegra Post 4-Additional Analysis of question 2
ReplyDelete2. I found a concrete detail to support what I was saying. I think Mr. Dalton is also bitter towards Jan because of the fact that he suspects him to have something to do with Mary's disappearance. "Listen, Mr. Erlone. Mary’s the only girl we’ve got. I don’t want her to do anything rash. Tell her to come back. Or you bring her back” (Pg. 170). Also, as I said before, Mr. Dalton is somewhat contradicting what he says to believe in. It makes to sense to be for the rights of one oppressed race, but then hating a political party. At least Jan is consistent and believe in equal rights for all.
In comparison, they both try to treat Bigger equally, but really they aren't. Jan and Mary boss him around on their night out, and Mr. Dalton still owns a company that oppresses African Americans.
3. I do not change my mind on this question.