Kevin McAdam
English 10 Honors/ Mr. George
4/29/09
Native Son Essay

NATIVE SON
In any judicial case, the decision of whether the accused is either guilty or innocent of committing a crime is obviously paramount. However, another element that is essential is the thought that has gone into committing that crime. As we have seen throughout Native Son, Bigger Thomas is a very troubled individual. It is very difficult to tell if Bigger acts the way he does because of the environment he lives in or because he actually has psychological problems. Whichever the case, Bigger committed several heinous crimes throughout the story. Each of those crimes took place because of reasons that seemed logical to Bigger at the time. These reoccurring lapses in judgment led to Bigger murdering Mary Dalton, writing a ransom note to Mr. Dalton relating to the false kidnapping of his daughter, and the murder of Bigger’s girlfriend, Bessie. Bigger’s first great lapse in judgment came on the night he murdered Mary Dalton. The major reason why Bigger performed this act was because of his isolation from the white community his entire life. This was Bigger’s first time interacting with white people and he had no clue how to act. Bigger’s insecurity around white people was displayed in this quote: “Jan smiled broadly, then extended an open palm toward him. Bigger’s entire body tightened with suspense and dread… Bigger’s right hand gripped the steering wheel and he wondered if he ought to shake hands with this white man” (Wright 66). Bigger did not understand how white people acted in certain situations. All he knew was that all white people hated all black people and oppressed them severely. Based on only knowing this information about white people, Bigger was petrified when forced with the situation of carrying Mary to her room late at night after both of them had been drinking. Bigger’s mind started swirling so rapidly with ideas of what would happen to him if he was caught that he believed saving himself was the most important thing. From then on, the feeling of saving himself first only heightened itself once he killed Mary and placed the body in the furnace. Unfortunately, once Bigger was in the clear of his accidental murder, he makes another costly mental lapse by sending a phony ransom note to Mr. Dalton for the release of his kidnapped daughter. Bigger’s poor decision making abilities were put on display when he decided to try and make money off of killing Mary. Bigger was so shocked when he had not been caught for the murder that it instilled in him a sense of power over the white people and that he could not be stopped. Bigger’s feelings at this time can be justified because he had been knocked down by white people his entire life, and Bigger felt he had finally reached the summit of the white mountain he had been climbing his entire life. Bigger’s newfound sense of equality with the white people is shown in this quote: “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). Bigger felt that if he could overcome an obstacle of this magnitude, he should continue his streak and try to benefit from the sudden good fortune at hand. This greedy attitude exploited Bigger’s immature and savage-like nature, and made it so he had shown no sense of remorse towards Mary and her family. As Bigger follows through on his plan, we finally see him as keen and observant. When Bigger decides to plan the murder on Jan Erlone, we were shown a glimpse of intelligence that, unfortunately for Bigger, was short-lived. Bigger realized that Jan was the best target to frame the murder on because Mary’s parents, and the government as well, hated Jan for his Communist beliefs. Bigger did not feel bad about framing Jan because to Bigger, all white people were part of one racist force against black people and that Jan was really out to get him. Bigger’s dominance over the whites did not last long. All of the evidence from the murder soon pointed at Bigger, and the police were out to get him. Bigger became conscious of the fact that he was not going to get his ransom money, and that his only reward would be getting away with his life. Once Bigger’s plan had been ruined, he decided it was time to run, but he first had to get rid of Bessie before it was too late. Bigger’s girlfriend, Bessie, had no affect on Bigger except in a physical manner. There was never any love connection between the two of them, and they never thought they would live happily ever after. Bigger thought of Bessie as an object and she meant nothing to him. This made the decision to kill her rather easy. Bigger had still been relying on the belief of saving himself first. In order to do that, he had to lose Bessie. He would not let someone else’s mistakes be the reason he got captured. Bigger knew carrying Bessie with him while he was on the run would definitely hinder his progress. Also, Bigger felt annoyed by Bessie’s emotional problems and worried about how it would affect the rest of his journey. Bigger was a lonely person and his continuing desire to be alone in the world is demonstrated in this quote: "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). Bigger killed Bessie because he needed to be alone, and all of his actions reflected upon his selfish personality. It was very easy to figure out that Native Son would end with Bigger’s death. However, there was a deeper meaning that went into the crimes committed in this book. There was a distinct thought process as to why Bigger killed Mary Dalton, writing a ransom note to Mr. Dalton relating to the false kidnapping of his daughter, and the murder of Bessie. Bigger’s intellect and judgment must be called into question when we think of the thought process for these crimes. Bigger Thomas was a troubled young man who had been pushed down by white society for so long that one day, Bigger committed several crimes that really have only one explanation as to why they were carried out. Fear.