Native Son pg. 381 "Could Max really save his life? In the act of thinking the thought, he thrust it from him. If he kept hope from his mind, then whatever happened would seem natural" (381)

I chose this quote because it shows how Bigger does not want to think about what will probably result from his trial, which is his death. Bigger is wondering whether Max could help him or not and Bigger realizes that it would not help him to think about the trial at all so he blocks it from his mind. In a way, Bigger the only way Bigger can keep any hope at all is by not thinking about how much hope he has. If Bigger thinks that there is any hope of surviving, he will realize what will happen so he does not think about it.

Would it be better if Bigger is killed because of what the mob would do if he lived?

Native Son pg. 340-363 "Never again did he want to feel anything like hope. That was what was wrong; he had let that preacher talk to him until somewhere in him he had begunt to feel that maybe something could happen" (340)

I chose this quote because it shows how Bigger does not believe he will survive his trial. When the preacher came to Bigger, he gave him hope. Max and Jan also tried to give Bigger hope. They only gave him false hope that some other result besides Bigger's execution would take place. That false hope only let Bigger think he may come out okay and then realize his situation is hopeless, and Bigger does not want to go through that depressing loss of faith anymore.

Why does Max want to help Bigger so badly when he knows Bigger is guilty?

Native Son pg. 286-240 #1 "For the first time in his life a white man became a human being to him; and the reality of Jan's humanity came in a stab of remorse: he had killed what this man loved and had hurt him" (289)

I chose this quote because this is the first time Bigger realizes that what he did affected other people besides himself. The entire time after killing Mary, Bigger was worried about how this would affect himself, but in his conversation with Jan, he notices how sad Mary's death made Jan. This is even worse for Bigger because he finally realized that Jan was just trying to help him. It is sad because Bigger hurt the one white person that was on his side.

Why is Jan still willing to help Bigger?

Native Son pg. 287-240 #2 "Do you want me to die and atone for a suffering I never caused? I'm not responsible for the state of this world. I'm doing all one man can. I suppose you want me to take my money and fling it out to the millions who have nothing?" (295)

I chose this quote because it shows how Mr. Dalton is, deep down, not as honorable as we think he is. People think of Mr. Dalton as a kind and generous man and he is. However, he is not very modest in his charitable work and he makes it seem as though he is better than he actually is. Max was the first person to finally call him out on that. Mr. Dalton had been saying how he just bought several ping-pong tables to give to poor black kids. Max called him out and said that ping-pong tables do not matter to kids that live in such poverty. Mr. Dalton does all of these things to hide the fact that he is one of the people who is forcing poverty upon all of the black people that live in the south side with his South Side Real Estate Company. Although Mr. Dalton may give back to those in poor communities, he only does it to hide his own flaws as a person.

How will Mr. Dalton feel if Bigger is sentenced to death?

Native Son pg. 287-240 #3 "He had lived and acted on the assumption that he was alone, and now he saw that he had not been. What he had done made others suffer" (298)

I chose this quote because it once again shows how Bigger is feeling the guilt of his actions. Bigger had never thought that what he did affected other people, but now he sees that his family will obviously have to live with the memory of Bigger for the rest of their lives. This is bad for Bigger because he must now constantly think of how his family is struggling psychologically worrying about how Bigger is doing and it is not fair to them. I think that Bigger feeling this guilt is a sign of maturity, but it came just a little too late.

What will happen to Bigger and how will it affect his family?

Native Son pg. 271-286 "Toward no one in the world did he feel any fear now, for he knew that fear was useless; and toward no one in the world did he feel any hate now, for he knew that hate would not help him" (273)

I chose this quote because I think it shows how Bigger is completely helpless now that he is captured. Bigger knows now that there is nothing he can do so he does not have a choice in what happens to him. All the time that Bigger was free, he did not have to think about who was responsible for killing Mary, but now that Bigger has been captured, all he can do is feel the guilt of killing Mary. Especially when he meets Mr. and Mrs. Dalton and Jan, Bigger is forced to think of how he deeply hurt those people and it was all his fault.

How will Bigger be affected psychologically because of his capture?

Native Son pg. 242-270 "'There he is!' The three words made him stop; he had been listening for them all night and when they came he seemed to feel the sky crashing soundlessly about him" (265).

I chose this quote because I believe it displys Bigger's surrender physically and psyhcologically. When Bigger was captured, he gave up on running. Bigger gave up psychologically because he had felt so high when he had gotten away with killing Mary, but felt more insecure once he was on the run. Finally, Bigger lost all hope of getting away with murder when the police came and captured him. This just shows how in this society, Bigger can never overcome the power of the white people.

What will happen to Bigger with the police?

Native Son pg. 187-209 "When Britten's voice ceased Bigger was smiling. Yes; Britten was trying to trap him, trying to make out a case against him; but he could not find anything to go upon"(192).

I chose this quote because I think Bigger thinks he is smarter than everyone. Bigger has started to be arrogant because he still has not been caught, but I think Bigger over looks this because this is the first time Britten took a close look into Bigger's story. I think that Bigger is perhaps getting a little sloppy in covering up his tracks and his laziness may ed up hurting him.

Will Bigger's arrogance get him in trouble?

Native Son pg. 164-186 "The knowledge that he had killed a white girl they loved and regarded as their symbol of beauty made him feel the equal of them, like a man who had been somehow cheated, but had now evened the score" (164).

I chose this quote because I think Bigger is trying to justify killing Mary. After all the years of white people being mean to black people, Bigger feels he has finally stepped up and gotten even with the white people by taking someone who was truly important to them. I could understand Bigger's actions if they had personally done something bad to Bigger instead of getting back at white people for being mean to black people he does not know. It is surprising to me how much pleasure Bigger receives from witnessing the struggles of white people. Bigger does not just want revenge, he wants to humiliate white people.

Why does Bigger not try to become friendly with white people instead of pushing them away even more?