We Real Bigger Thomas Analysis

Your Honor, allow me to be begin by informing you about little something about this man here, the twenty year old, always penniless, Bigger Thomas. He lives in a cramped apartment along the, primarily black, south side of Chicago. Since as long as he can remember, Bigger has lived his life defined by the hatred he feels toward the whites. He is constantly haunted by his confirmed hatred toward white people. Bigger has been molded from his young innocent years to be a bad citizen. He has been taught American ideals of life, in school and in the cheap movie houses, but when it comes to achieving them, he has been denied that privilege. Which explains his anger and random outbursts. Surprisingly, he wanted to be a pilot. He wanted to soar high …show more content…
Bigger would have never acted in such manner if there were no discrimination in his society. Everything he has ever done has been against the establishment because that’s how he was raised. In the poem, “We Real cool,” Gwendolyn Brooks writes, “We left school. We lurk late. We strike straight.” This goes to show that since the beginning Bigger has gone against all the rules because this is his lifestyle. He know nothing better. While the whites went to school and followed the rules, he went against the society. This is who he is. He was doing what he has done all his life. This is something that has been implanted in his blood and bones. His hatred for whites and everything they have put him through has led to this. The society has forced him to live with hate and fear aspired in him. Every thought he potentially has is of murder. So you can mot blame him for what he has done, blame society. In the poem, “Ku Klux,” Langstone huges writes, “I’d believe in anything if you’d just set me loose.” This resembles Bigger’s frightened attitude toward America. He faces disenfranchisement in addition to feeling that he has no place in America. Ever since the beginning, Bigger has had his methods of a physiological escape. He likes to hear about things that are happening outside of his world. It helps him forget about that fact that he is part of a race that that is oppressed and held down in every …show more content…
There is a lot negative emotion built up inside of Bigger that leads him to the breaking point and eventually, committing these crimes. At first, Bigger feels that his murder of Mary is justified by the shame she makes him feel, but he knows that the source of the shame is much more complex then that. Bigger felt that he was owned by the whites, and that he could not be his own person. He felt an over powering sense of lack of identity. He felt controlled at all times, in a way that they controlled him. This power of control the white had on Bigger conditioned him to act a certain way. The oppressive force of the white on the blacks was present in his society. Leading him to have these feelings of madness and insanity. One certain example I would like to point out is the hypocrisy of the “philanthropy” of Mr Dalton. Mr. Dalton is someone who supports the NAACP, yet he is pushing Bigger away, not even giving him the time of day. For someone like Bigger who has been in an emotionally unstable situation all his life, he should not be put to death. This has already taken a strong emotional toll on him. In the article, “The New Yorker,” the author explains, “Life imprisonment without the possibility of release is an adequate and sufficient penalty.” Does Bigger Thomas deserve to die? No. No one deserves to die. The article, “The New Yorker,” also states, “..the death penalty is