How Mary's Death Freed Bigger
I don't doubt that BIgger killed Mary by accident. Although his intentions were not entirely pure, the fact that Mary's death is accidental is made clear by the state of panic Bigger is let on to. Despite this fact, after inadvertently killing Mary, Bigger is filled with a sense of freedom and power. While reading Native Son, I often found myself questioning Bigger's decisions as well as his motives for his actions. This scenario was no different. Bigger's feelings and in a way, sense of pride for the murder, bewildered or even irked me. As I looked further into the situation, I found myself gradually understanding Bigger and the emotions that the murder evoked from him. Mary's murder not only opened my eyes to the racist society in which Bigger has little freedom but also helped me to understand how much those restrictions truly affected Bigger.
One of the first indications of Bigger's longing for a choice in certain aspects of society is the scene where he is talking to Gus and sees the airplane writing words in the sky. Bigger wishes he could fly one of the planes but ultimately is unable to because of the color of his skin, which restricts his occupation choices. This is one of the most notable elucidations of the racist society in which Bigger lives in Native Son. Had Bigger been born white, his options would have been much more abundant and his longing for a sense of freedom and power over his choices, gone. Simply being born black in a time of severe racism put Bigger in a situation where his choices were limited by something he could not control and trapped him in a dark alley with few ways out.
This would clearly affect and irritate a character like Bigger who seems to find satisfaction and enjoyment in power and being in control of his life. The reader can see this characteristic in Bigger even during moments that seem trivial at first glance. For example, during the opening scene of the book, Bigger kills a giant rat. He then proceeds to show it to his little sister Vera and finds joy in her fainting and screams of terror. Yes, I know well enough that this may just be a typical interaction between two siblings - trust me, I have two older brothers. Looking beyond the surface of this scene, I believe that Bigger's joy signifies his love of power and making his own choices. Does Bigger really find joy in his sister's screams or is it the power that he has over his sister in this instance that makes him happy? I choose to see the latter as more fitting as it gives us a deeper insight into Bigger's character.
The reader can also see Bigger's love of power and the freedom to make his own choices when seeing his friends in the pool room. When Bigger started his big fight with Gus, the fight began largely because of Bigger's fear of the consequences associated with robbing a white man as well as the power that Gus, G.H., and Jack had over him. In this scenario, his friends had power over him because they agreed to rob Blum's, making Bigger feel unable to back out and therefore unable to make his own choice of whether he really wanted to rob the store or not. This inability to make his own choice and his friends' influence on him makes him uncomfortable and angry.
Contrastingly, after killing Mary, Bigger is no longer nervous and scared around his friends like he was before attempting to rob Blum's. I believe this is a result of the feelings of power and freedom that Mary's murder gives him. Murdering Mary allowed Bigger to feel as if he could make his own choices and in this way, his friends' choices no longer had an influence on him. In addition, after murdering Mary, he visits his friends and even pays for several things. This small action indicates Bigger's sense of freedom and power because, once again, he feels he can make his own decisions and having money and being able to pay for his friends gives him feelings of superiority, and therefore power.
Keeping this background in mind, the reason behind Bigger's pride and excitement for Mary's murder becomes transparent. Killing Mary gives Bigger a new sense of direction and purpose to his life. This is explained by Max during his court trial. In addition, Bigger even describes the killings he committed as "the most meaningful things that had ever happened to him" (Wright 225). I don't think he described the killings as such because he was actually proud of killing Bessie and Mary, but rather it gave him a sense of freedom and power to choose his own fate and make his own decisions. Even though he ends up in jail and will be executed, Bigger finds meaning and happiness in the murders because he was able to live and act as he wished, despite the consequences. The power over his choices that he obtains by killing Mary essentially allows him happiness and frees him from the chains of society that once restricted him to fate as a chauffeur.
One of the first indications of Bigger's longing for a choice in certain aspects of society is the scene where he is talking to Gus and sees the airplane writing words in the sky. Bigger wishes he could fly one of the planes but ultimately is unable to because of the color of his skin, which restricts his occupation choices. This is one of the most notable elucidations of the racist society in which Bigger lives in Native Son. Had Bigger been born white, his options would have been much more abundant and his longing for a sense of freedom and power over his choices, gone. Simply being born black in a time of severe racism put Bigger in a situation where his choices were limited by something he could not control and trapped him in a dark alley with few ways out.
This would clearly affect and irritate a character like Bigger who seems to find satisfaction and enjoyment in power and being in control of his life. The reader can see this characteristic in Bigger even during moments that seem trivial at first glance. For example, during the opening scene of the book, Bigger kills a giant rat. He then proceeds to show it to his little sister Vera and finds joy in her fainting and screams of terror. Yes, I know well enough that this may just be a typical interaction between two siblings - trust me, I have two older brothers. Looking beyond the surface of this scene, I believe that Bigger's joy signifies his love of power and making his own choices. Does Bigger really find joy in his sister's screams or is it the power that he has over his sister in this instance that makes him happy? I choose to see the latter as more fitting as it gives us a deeper insight into Bigger's character.
The reader can also see Bigger's love of power and the freedom to make his own choices when seeing his friends in the pool room. When Bigger started his big fight with Gus, the fight began largely because of Bigger's fear of the consequences associated with robbing a white man as well as the power that Gus, G.H., and Jack had over him. In this scenario, his friends had power over him because they agreed to rob Blum's, making Bigger feel unable to back out and therefore unable to make his own choice of whether he really wanted to rob the store or not. This inability to make his own choice and his friends' influence on him makes him uncomfortable and angry.
Contrastingly, after killing Mary, Bigger is no longer nervous and scared around his friends like he was before attempting to rob Blum's. I believe this is a result of the feelings of power and freedom that Mary's murder gives him. Murdering Mary allowed Bigger to feel as if he could make his own choices and in this way, his friends' choices no longer had an influence on him. In addition, after murdering Mary, he visits his friends and even pays for several things. This small action indicates Bigger's sense of freedom and power because, once again, he feels he can make his own decisions and having money and being able to pay for his friends gives him feelings of superiority, and therefore power.
Keeping this background in mind, the reason behind Bigger's pride and excitement for Mary's murder becomes transparent. Killing Mary gives Bigger a new sense of direction and purpose to his life. This is explained by Max during his court trial. In addition, Bigger even describes the killings he committed as "the most meaningful things that had ever happened to him" (Wright 225). I don't think he described the killings as such because he was actually proud of killing Bessie and Mary, but rather it gave him a sense of freedom and power to choose his own fate and make his own decisions. Even though he ends up in jail and will be executed, Bigger finds meaning and happiness in the murders because he was able to live and act as he wished, despite the consequences. The power over his choices that he obtains by killing Mary essentially allows him happiness and frees him from the chains of society that once restricted him to fate as a chauffeur.
Great observation, I had never really thought about this in much detail until now. Bigger being a product of his racist Chicago surroundings and to our knowledge, essentially destined for inferiority is what drives him to make bad decisions and lash out. Being able to know something that the Daltons, his "superiors", don't know makes him feel powerful. In my opinion, this is why Bigger never shows any remorse for killing Mary, and tries to own up to it.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you describe Bigger's longing to have power over his life. I also really like the way you articulated his frustration. Throughout the book I felt his growing frustration with how people treated and on top of that the inability to explain why he felt that way. When Bigger kills Mary he almost feels pride in what he's done, but he doesn't think deep into why he feels accomplished in killing. I think that speaks to his eagerness to find something to have control over. if his life is in the hands of the environment around him, then it must feel good to know he has control over someone else's life.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how important the role of power plays in this story. Bigger longs for power, for the ability to control his own destiny. But Wright robs him of this opportunity and torments him into killing. It was cool how you connected your own siblings to the book. Excellent work.
ReplyDeleteI think Bigger longs for power and control of his life especially because he has so often been denied it. His little ways of taking control, like terrorizing his sister or robbing black-owned stores, were mainly aimed at other people of color since he would face less repercussions that way. It makes sense that killing Mary would be so freeing, since it upends the power dynamic completely instead of taking small measures of control within the confines of the status quo.
ReplyDeleteBigger's relationship with power is love/hate. He does love feeling in control of things because it is so rare for him to do so, but he also has an intense fear of being powerless. I sensed early on after the opening scene when he longs to be entertained by something in order to distract him from the looming question of how he could possibly solve all his family's problems. Not only that, he's incredibly afraid of the power which white people hold and that drives his anger as well. Mary's death did free Bigger, but only for a small amount of time, ultimately he was consumed again by his love and fear of power.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the idea that Bigger has more power, though I don't know how "free" Bigger really is. I think that although Wright makes it clear Bigger has little free will, once Bigger kills Mary he has some sort of power which he did not have before. It is as if he is stepping into this more violent role in which he is more powerful, after killing her, and acts accordingly to solidify this role. Whether or not he is conscious of doing so, or is more excited about this newfound "power", it is clear that the act of killing Mary has somehow given Bigger a deeper meaning. Though I would argue he is still not necessarily free, he is definitely more confident and powerful than he previously is.
ReplyDeleteI think the reality is that Bigger has felt tied down his entire life, by his family, his race and other social circumstances. The murder of Mary sets him apart, and disconnects him from the things which hold him down. He has a power over others that he has never experienced before in his short life, and I think his sense of importance, after the deed is the main contributer to his satisfaction after the murder.
ReplyDelete