Bigger and Smaller
All throughout Native Son we are given two different versions of Bigger Thomas, both of which could not be any more different from each other. We have the aggressive one who's capable of holding his friend at knifepoint and the other who must second guess trivial actions such as picking up a fallen object or responding to a simple question. However, if we look closer, both of these actions come from the same source, his deeply rooted fear.
When Thomas took part of the conflict in the pool room, it wasn't out of hatred or strong feelings against Gus but to ultimately save face. The Gang had planned an armed robbery against a white store owner prior to the incident and Bigger was having serious doubts about going through. He was never strong enough to voice these opinions, instead, thrusting his cowardice onto Gus who publicly voiced his 'no' to the planned course of action. In order to save face, Thomas would threaten Gus in an attempt to hide his own fear and in a way, give in to it.
Similarly, when faced by Mr. Dalton Bigger's fear was compounded and to the reader, almost palpable. He was unable to respond correctly, react to social cues; it was as if he had lost his humanity almost. Symbolic, as Richard Wright would have it, of the true nature of African Americans at the time in the presence of white people.
I'll leave it at this. Does Bigger really have two different personas? Or is the same fear being expressed in two different ways?
When Thomas took part of the conflict in the pool room, it wasn't out of hatred or strong feelings against Gus but to ultimately save face. The Gang had planned an armed robbery against a white store owner prior to the incident and Bigger was having serious doubts about going through. He was never strong enough to voice these opinions, instead, thrusting his cowardice onto Gus who publicly voiced his 'no' to the planned course of action. In order to save face, Thomas would threaten Gus in an attempt to hide his own fear and in a way, give in to it.
Similarly, when faced by Mr. Dalton Bigger's fear was compounded and to the reader, almost palpable. He was unable to respond correctly, react to social cues; it was as if he had lost his humanity almost. Symbolic, as Richard Wright would have it, of the true nature of African Americans at the time in the presence of white people.
I'll leave it at this. Does Bigger really have two different personas? Or is the same fear being expressed in two different ways?
While Bigger does appear to have different personas when with his friends and with Mr.Dalton I wouldn't describe the situation as unique personalities, rather different outlooks based on the situation. For example when Bigger is with his mother the aggression he expresses with Gus is suppressed but not to the degree that he is when with Mr.Dalton in the white world. As we discussed in class once Bigger enters Mr.Dalton's neighborhood he automatically appears to be on high alert, afraid that any action could be misinterpreted as threatening. All of his words are calculated so that he appears to be as safe as possible. While this is advantageous for him later its horrifying that Bigger has to abruptly change his behavior in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI think Bigger sees white people as this homogeneous, all powerful force which terrifies him. When he was talking to Mary and Jan, they were very calm and nonthreatening, but it's what Bigger thought they represented that scared him. When he backed out of the robbery, I don't think it was really because of fear of the store owner's backlash. The act of committing such an act against a white person is what terrified him, and he instead resorted to attacking his friend Gus.
ReplyDeleteGood point
DeleteResponding to your question at the end, I think he does have two personas, but not because he has like split personalities or something. It's interesting to think about how they are two very different manifestations of Bigger's same fear about losing control or showing weakness. His fear manifests differently with Mr. Dalton because Dalton is a member of the world of White people that he is afraid of. Here, his fear is directed outward. Here is mostly where his fear originated. His fear is not about losing control of his emotions but rather the immense fear of what the Whites will do if he says anything remotely wrong. When he's talking to his friends, his fear is directed inside. He is afraid of what other people will think of him but not as much in a palpable way where he's worried what they will do afterwords. If that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteAs most people mentioned before, I don't think it's that Bigger necessarily has two personas but rather simply two different reactions based on the situation. While it appears that he has two personas, I don't think that's necessarily because he is a different person based on whether he is with white people vs. black people, but rather, that he is just displaying the social norms and "rules" of how to treat white people that he probably learned growing up. I think it's really interesting how you point out Bigger's two drastically different reactions, but both stem from fear. Referring to your question at the end, in my opinion, the kind of fear that Bigger faces differs from his situation with Mr. Dalton vs. with his friends at the pool room. Yes, ultimately Bigger is afraid of the consequences of wronging a white person (wronging Mr. Dalton and robbing Blum's store), but I think Bigger's fear is much more concentrated on what his friends will think of him and saving face (like you said) in the pool room vs. being scared because of the power Mr. Dalton holds. I think you could even connect this to Invisible Man in the sense that he hides behind a mask like Dr. Bledsoe when he is with white people, but when he is with black people, his mask somewhat comes off.
ReplyDeleteBigger is simply afraid of white people and how white people will react to his actions. This is why Bigger does not want to rob the white man. This is why he has to think about what door to enter through. He fears what the white people will do to him if he does the wrong thing. On the other hand, Bigger is not afraid of his friends at all. When he is around them he acts more powerful and free but when he is around whites, he is very awkward. Like when Bigger is with Jan and Mary; he is terrified but when he is with his black friends he does what he wants.
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