Symbolism In Bigger's Things Fall Apart

The snow could be interpreted as a symbol for white culture, as it envelops Bigger literally, as he being searched by a mass of white people, searching for him. The snow begins to fall after he kills Mary, and this could hint at how his emotions are starting to become buried and controlled by the white people, and how his world is being enveloped by their concern. He thinks he can stay ahead of them, but it blankets around him, nonetheless. The snow represents how white’s choices and decisions affect him, no matter how fast he runs and where he tries to hide. It oppresses him and encompasses him, and he is practically driven to madness at how it controls his every action, and how he must consider it every time he steps outside. The suffocating …show more content…
Initially a vermin to be ignored (Bigger is treated with more kindness though) the fear in Bigger causes him to lash out, leading to a series of attempts to drive him out. As the rat attempts to escape, Bigger blocks its escape routes, so it must fight. This echoes Bigger’s often said quote about being back into a corner and having nothing left to do but fight. The rat is an ugly sight, a symbol of how poor the family of Bigger Thomas is. The rat can also represent Bigger’s inner fear and shame, the root emotions of hatred. The rat, after the symbolic alarm clock that represents that time for change is ticking away, literally awakens Bigger’s lust for power. That, combined with the fear and shame, is a vicious mix, and a symbolic one as well, representing what drove Bigger’s search for power and, in a wider context, minorities’ search for …show more content…
It’s bleak South Side is the environment where Bigger grew up in, where his hostility and pain are hardened into a dark resolve. He hates being with his family because he knows they are miserable, and he views the cause of their suffering as a an unbeatable blanket of oppression against their skin color. Chicago is also the perfect place for Bigger to confront his shame. His small, dirty, and dingy apartment is a jail cell compared to the luxurious Dalton house, and Bigger is terrified to touch anything. The rising fear and shame contribute to his inner bitterness, and Wright uses these as tools to demonstrate how different black and white communities were, and that quick transitions like the one Bigger undergoes only contribute toward more suffering and fuel Bigger’s desire to level himself with the whites. Later, Wright effectively uses the setting of a jail cell to demonstrate how Bigger is trapped with himself and has a difficult time confronting the pain he’s felt and caused. He is trapped within a cell, where he cannot make his own choices and is at the mercy of a repressor. This setting perfectly mirrors how black felt on the South Side, trapped and ashamed. The perfect line separating Bigger and the outside world represents how the line between the black and white community can essentially be seen as a jail cell wall. Wright knows that having Bigger, and even the black community in a jail cell contributes to them feeling like