1. What are some of the reasons that Bigger begins to trust Jan and Boris Max?
2. Why does Bigger attack Reverend Hammond and discard the cross Hammond has given to him?
3. What two incidents in the novel indicate that the author believes that the psychiatric profession has contributed to racism?
2. Why does Bigger attack Reverend Hammond and discard the cross Hammond has given to him?
3. What two incidents in the novel indicate that the author believes that the psychiatric profession has contributed to racism?
Group Analysis: Allegra, Ari, Kuhen, Grigg
ReplyDelete1.The Fact That Jan apologizes and says that he is not mad at Bigger makes Bigger realize that Jan is more human. Both Jan and Max act very kind and humane towards Bigger and he is not used to this kindness. Jan didn’t have to help them. He can also kind of relate to Jan and Max because they are minorities, Jan is communist and Max is Jewish. With the realization that they are oppressed as well he feels a deeper level of trust and he realizes they have the same enemy. Max shows empathy towards Bigger with the quote: “I know how it feels to walk along the streets like other people, dressed like them, talking like them, and yet excluded for no reason except that you’re black” (Wright 308). Max does everything in his power to save Bigger’s life. At first Bigger is lenient to trust Max but when he sees just how much Max is sacrificing for Bigger’s life he begins to appreciate it: “Max was somewhere behind him, lost in the crowd. It was then that he felt more deeply than ever what Max had grown to mean to him. He was defenseless now” (wright 381). Bigger has become interdependent upon Max.
2.He attacks Reverend Hammond and discards the cross because he believes everything the reverend has said is lies. He no longer feels there is a god or that he will be saved. When Bigger sees the burning cross he says, “that cross was not the cross of Christ, but the cross of the Ku Klux Klan. He had a cross of salvation round his throat and they were burning one to tell him that they hated him! No! He did not want that! Had the preacher trapped him? He felt betrayed” (Wright 338). When the white societies burns that cross it completely changes Bigger’s outlook on religion. He gives everything up, loses hope. He feels the cross is no longer a symbolism of hope but one of death. The way he feels about the cross around his neck after this realization is seen through the quote: “his fingers ached to rip it off; it was an evil black charm which would surely bring him death now” (Wright 338). Bigger has given up hope and this leads him to attack the man that gave him hope, Reverend Hammond.
Grigg-
ReplyDelete3. I think one of the incidents that proved the author believes that the psychiatric profession has contributed to racism was when the insane man was admitted into Bigger’s jail cell. While Bigger is awaiting his trial the police bring in a crazy black man that was once a professor at a university. Another man in the adjacent jail cell tells Bigger, “He was writing a book on how colored people live and he says somebody stole all the facts he’d found” (wright 343). This was much of the cause of this man’s craziness. This man was merely executing his rights of speech and he wanted to express his beliefs of how his people were being treated. He was very emotional and outward with his belief that someone stole his data on the subject and the white people so his lashings and information as a threat. It says in the story: “But soon a group of men dressed in white came running in with a stretcher. They unlocked the cell and grabbed the yelling man, laced him in a strait-jacket, flung him onto the stretcher and carted him away” (Wright 344). Richard Wright is trying to express how the black people did not have a chance for change in their oppressed world because every time they went against government they were pinned as a psycho and insane person. I think that this part in the story is related to how Richard Wright himself must have been treated trying to publish a social critique like Native Son. I believe that the second incident of insanity in the story was the media’s projection of Bigger’s insanity, or lack thereof. In a newspaper article (found on page 365 in Native Son) the press expresses how a doctor has diagnosed Bigger as not being insane. The press wants to do this because they want the people to truly believe that Bigger is raw and of sane mind to commit murders of this degree. They do not want the people to think it was a mental condition that drove him to the murders. In the newspaper Dr. Calvin is interviewed and he says, “‘There is no question but that Thomas is more alert mentally and more cagy than we suspect’” (Wright 365-366). The paper has a doctor state Bigger’s sanity so it proves Bigger is truly guilty and deserves death for his actions, and not an insane asylum or life in jail. The author adds this to the story because he feels that the psychiatric profession has contributed to the racism. If the media projected all black killers as being insane then the people would almost feel sorry for the Black killers, thinking that if they were of sound mind maybe their lives would be better. Projecting them as insane takes the blame away from the actual person and places more on the mental condition. The media wants full-fledge hatred towards the African Americans as a whole.
Grigg- 2nd analysis
ReplyDelete1.Bigger slowly begins to trust Jan and Max as the story unfolds and his death is imminent. As Bigger is stripped from his dignity and pride Max and Jan strive to give it back to him. Bigger’s dignity is so important to him and he realizes that Max and Jan have his best interest at heart when they fight for his freedom. Bigger confides in Max and finds he can tell him anything: “…It was not until after Max was gone that he discovered that he had spoken to Max as he had never spoken to anyone in his life; not even to himself. And his talking had eased from his shoulders a heavy burden” (Wright 359). Bigger and Max have created a trust stronger than many people have. They have become great friends and strive to find the meaning of life together.
2.Bigger feels that Reverend Hammond has tricked him into a false hope. He feels he was duped into believing he will be saved by God. When he sees the burning cross he no longer looks at the cross as a symbol of hope but a symbol of hatred toward his people, an attack on him. He sees the cross burning and he feels the cross’s burning symbolizes the whites domination over the Black society and he is tired of it. He doesn’t like to be so powerless and wants nothing to do with their supremacy.
3.The incident in the jail cell with the
psychiatric university professor proves the white dominance over the African American society. Much like Bigger this man had gained the knowledge that the whites were being unfair to his people. He tried to teach others his knowledge but the white’s stopped him. Whenever in society a black gains the knowledge that they are being treated unfair the whites tear them down. They make him seem crazy so no one will listen to his ideas, which are in fact correct. The second incident was when Max makes the plea that Bigger had no control over his murders. Buckley takes this as a plea of insanity. Buckley knows that if Bigger is deemed insane then he will not be sentenced to death which is what he ultimately wants. Buckley is blinded to the message Max is really trying to send. He looks past this message and ultimately only wants Bigger dead. He only sees it as an attempt to escape death.
Grigg- 3rd analysis
ReplyDelete1.The realization that Max is risking his own life pushes Bigger to opening up to Max. Max is in the same boat and Bigger can relate to this. They are both oppressed. When he opens up to Max he sees their intentions are truly good. He realizes that Max is his last hope and if he wants any chance at life at all he must open up to Max. He opens up to Jan when he realizes that Jan isn’t even angry that Bigger try to make Jan seem guilty. When Bigger pulls a gun on Jan he expects some animosity in return. Instead Jan is understanding and knows what Bigger is going through.
2.When Bigger attacks Reverend Hammond it is evident that he has lost all hope of survival. It sends the message that he has already written off his life. He comes from a fairly religious family and his whole life he has rejected religion. Richard Wright describes Bigger as an outcast of his own people’s religion and this action of attacking the Reverend proves this. Bigger is not a part of the black society or the white society. He has nowhere else to turn and he reaches a breaking point.
3.The white society is power hungry and they strive to keep their control. They limit the education a black person can receive to limit revolts. They know that as soon as the greater mass of the black population realizes that they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity a revolt will be imminent. The man in Bigger’s jail cell is an example of an educated black man that tries to motivate rebellion. They make him look crazy, send him to jail, and corrupt his ideas to ensure he will not lead a revolt. By making him look insane they ensure that no one will believe what he says.
Buckley’s ignorance to Max’s arguments that Bigger had no control over the murder is also very important. It signifies the ignorance of the entire white population. They control the blacks and make them all seem insane and do not listen to what is really being said. Buckley’s lack of compassion towards Max’s client, Bigger, shows how nasty the society really is.
Allegra Post 2
ReplyDelete3.When an African American man who is considered insane by the white authorities is put in the same cell with Bigger, this makes it seem like the profession is racist. Also, Bigger reads newspapers about his crime, and psychologists are quoted as saying that African American men cannot resist white women. This is racist.
Arianna Amini
ReplyDeletePost #1, Question 3
We deal with insanity a little bit during Bigger's trial, but it comes into play with the media a lot. The media constantly accuses Bigger of being insane and blames insanity for the reason he killed Mary.The media and other people are playing with Bigger's mind and trying to get him to commit to things he did not do. If he acts sketchy with his story they will think he is insane leaving him no way of escaping the death penalty. "Come on now boy. We've treated you pretty nice, but we get tough if we gave to, see? Its up to you! Get over there by that bed and show us how you raped and murdered that girl!"(336, Wright). They are trying to make Bigger angry and get him to admit to things he didnt do. Again they are playing with his mind and driving him to insanity. We are introduced to this again when Bigger is put in jail. He shares a cell with a man who seems a little messed up in the head. At first Bigger does not understand why everyone is mean to him until he realizes the guy was crazy. Bigger had no idea why they had locked up the man and was not sure of his feelings for the man either. "He say's hes got to the bottom of why colored folks are treated bad and he's going to tell the president and have things changed, see?"(343). The man was considered insane because he had a couple of ideas he wanted to share. These ideas did not go in accordance to the beliefs of most people so they considered him insane to hid the truth. In both these scenarios insanity is used to cover up the truth and keep people from believing what they should.
Allegra Post 3
ReplyDelete3. The mass media has doctors give their professional view on Bigger's case. They express racist views that have nothing to do with their medical degree. The public is open to these ideas and it seems more believable since it is coming from a doctor.
Arianna Amini
ReplyDeletePost 2
1. All his life Bigger had told himself not to trust white people. Trusting Jan and Max was the first time he did open up and trust a white person and the did not dissapoint. They helped him through his hard time and both had his back. Even though he had done something wrong they found the good in him and tried all they could to keep him alive. Both these men kind of taught Bigger that all white people are not evil.
2. The reverend was only trying to help Bigger by telling him was a good person who was just unlucky, but Bigger knew they were all lies. He wasnt going to be sit there and get told by a reverend that what he did was not a sin and he god still loves him. He had committed a horrible crime and he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Having a preacher giving him hope and kindness was not what he needed at this time.
3. Racism has a lot to do with how the mind behaves. If white children are raised thinking that they are to marry and live among whites and disregard the black race that is what they will do. Just like they elarned how to read and write they learned how to be racist. If a black kid is raised with the understanding that they are inferior the white race and are not given as many privledges are white children, their minds will automatically think they are inferior to whites for the rest of their lives. If a government preaches these ideas to their audience it is only a matter of time for racism to take over people's minds and set stone in their liv
Arianna Amini
ReplyDeletePost 3
1. I agree with you Grigg. He begins to trust Max the most when he knows his life is on the line and he is close to death. The closer he gets to death the more he needs help to stay alive and Max can provide him with some sort of hope.
2. Grigg, I agree with what you said about a false hope. He knows thta his life is coming to an end and there is no way of excape. He does not need some man telling him he will be loved and good things will happen to him because he knows all odds are against him.
3. Allegra, I love your comments about this question! When we see Bigger but in a jail cell with a man who is considered "insane" because of his views of racism proves that if you are not the type of racist that the government wants you to be, you are insane. it shows how the government uses the mind to its advantage and tricks people into believing what they want them to believe