Native Son #12

"He was alone, profoundly, inescapably. He rolled on the floor and sobbed, wondering what it was that had hold of him, why he was here" (Wright 310). He didn't know why it was that he could not even speak to the men, let alone stick up for himself. There was a power that he could not overcome and the fact that he didn't know what it was caused him to become very emotional. This is one of the few moments we have seen in the book of him expressing his emotions, which he hated so much to do. He knew what was ahead for him and although he acted as if he didn't care before, this proves that he does have a heart and does care that he has no hope for the rest of his days. He knows he is going to be put to death and he is finally looking back and wondering what it was that caused him to get himself into this position and have his life turn out this way.

Native Son #11

"He wanted to shoot, but remembered that he had but three bullets left. He would shoot when they were closer and he would save one bullet for himself. They would not take him alive" (Wright 267). Bigger's life was not worth living anymore. Everything had gone wrong and he no longer knew how to handle it. The excitement of keeping a secret from the white world had faded and his focus had turned to simply staying alive. At this point, even that light was dwindling. At this point it seemed as though there was no chance for his life to be normal again, so he wanted to go out with a bang. He would make his final statement by shooting the cops, once again defeating the whites and proving to himself he was capable of doing damage in the world. He would then end his own life, actually being remembered for something even though he was black.

Native Son #10

"But what was he after? What did he want? What did he love and what did he hate? He did not know. There was something he knew and something he felt; something the world gave him and something he himself had; something spread out in front of him and something spread out in back' and never in all his life, with this black skin of his, had the two worlds, thought and feeling, will and mind, aspiration and satisfaction, been together; never had he felt a sense of wholeness" (Wright 240). Bigger's whole life had been like that of all other blacks. Routine, meaningless, oppressed. He had become used to doing the same the over and over, hanging out, drinking, playing pool with his friends and staying out of any kind of spotlight. At the same time, Bigger knew deep down inside that this attention and spotlight was in fact what he was craving. He had craved the need to feel complete, like he had done something in his life in order to get his name known. Killing Mary was his way of achieving this fame and although he wanted to get away with it, he felt as though he needed to tell people so they knew that despite his black skin he was capable of doing something notable.

Native Son #9

"It was all over. He had to save himself. But it was familiar, this running away. All his life he had been knowing that sooner or later something like this would come to him. And now, here it was. He had always felt outside of this white world, and now it was true" (Wright 221). Bigger's entire life had been spent trying to run away from the white world. From how they treated him, what they expected of him, and how that made him feel. Finally, he was doing what all the whites expected of him. He was not running from them metaphorically anymore, but literally. He had committed a crime, exactly as expected of him due to the fact that hes black, and was now trying to avoid facing the punishment he deserved from the whites. This situation was not a surprise to him. This is so simply because he had heard so many times from the whites that he was a no good, black, criminal. They said it so much that sadly, he began believing them. It was official that he could never fit in in the white world, he had tried and quickly failed. Now that he had that experience, all that was left to do in his life was whatever he could to survive.

Native Son #8

"Again the thought that he had the chance to walk out of here and be clear of it all came to him, and again he brushed it aside. He was tensely eager to stay and see how it would all end, even if that end swallowed him in blackness. He felt that he was living upon a high pinnacle where bracing winds whipped about him" (Wright 189). Bigger had never been in such a position. He had never actually had options of what to do when it came to important things, things that could change his life forever. It was exciting for him to know that he could easily just up and leave, being just as "free" as he was before and leaving this whole messy situation behind.Yet for some reason, he did not want to do this. His whole life had been basically the same routine day in and day out, and now some excitement had entered which he was not willing to leave behind. He liked the feeling of having a secret and constantly being around others whom he felt superior to, due to knowing what they were frantically trying to figure out. It made him feel more powerful than he had ever imagined and he wasn't about to leave this feeling behind, even if he was putting his life at stake by doing this.

Native Son #7

"Unwittingly, Jan's desire to protect Mary had helped him. Jan's denial of having come to the home would not be believed now; it would make Mr. Dalton and Britten feel that he was trying to cover up something of even much greater seriousness" (Wright 169). Bigger's plan was working out perfectly at this point. He knew Jan was going to try his hardest to stick up for Mary and keep her out of trouble, which would consequently lead him to looking even more guilty. Everyone's focus would then turn to Jan, giving Bigger time to find Bessie and complete the ransom note plan. He did not even think twice as to whether or not Bessie would go through with helping him because he knew how well he was doing at tricking everyone. To the Mr. Dalton and Britten, he succeeded in making himself simply look like a confused black man who was overwhelmed with the situation and didn't know what to say. To Bessie, he was doing the right thing that would bring them both more money. Overall, every part of Bigger's plan was working perfectly. Although Jan's desire to protect Mary helped Bigger look innocent, it also made him feel increasingly guilty each time he tried to stick up for the woman he loved. Overall, Bigger's success in this situation was only making him more uneasy and angry as a person, most likely leading to more mistakes or crimes later in the story.

Native Son #6

"They wanted him to draw the picture and he would draw it like he wanted it. He was trembling with excitement. In the past had they not always drawn the picture for him? He could tell them anything he wanted and what could they do about it?" (Wright 158). This was a completely foreign experience for Bigger. Never in his life had he felt so powerful. What gave him this feeling was having a secret that was completely his own, which he had never had before. Everything in his life was either shared or controlled by other people. He lived in a one bedroom apartment with his whole family, leaving no privacy or room for him to have things to himself. When he was outside of that one bedroom apartment, he still had no freedom. Everything Bigger, and all other blacks did completely followed the stereotype that the white world had made them a part of. Because of this, it is logical to blame the whites for all the crimes and other bad things most blacks were responsible for. As we see in Bigger, by lashing out and taking some type of "revenge" on the whites, the blacks become excited and feel free. These are good feelings that don't come too often for them, leading them to committing these crimes more and more. Bigger loved this sense of power and the fact that a white man wouldn't be able to prove his story wrong will most likely cause him to do other things that he believes he can get away with.