Blog 12 (two responses) Final Blog!!! Make it good!!!

Comment on the last scene in the novel between Bigger and Max, pp. 388-392. What is Bigger trying to describe to Max?  Does Max understand?  If not, will he ever understand?  Will anyone understand? Do you, as a reader, understand?

Blog 11 (one response)

What is the significance of the two contrary images of the cross described on pp. 312-313?  How does Bigger's throwing away of the cross given to him by the preacher represent rebellion?  What is Bigger rebelling against?

Blog 10 (2 responses)

What is the significance of Buckley trying to pin other crimes on Bigger?  What other ironies (see methods of drama) begin to surface throughout Bigger's conversation with Buckley pp. 279-288.

Blog 9 (1 response)

"Passively, he hungered for another orbit between two poles that would catch him up with the tension of hate and love" (256). 

Explain what you believe this line means?  What is the space the Bigger longs to be taken to?  What situations, characters, symbols, and/or actions also represent this space--in the middle--between love and hate? 

Think about your Love and Hate I-Chart section that asks you to think about love and hate as unstable emotions.

Blog 8 (2 responses) pp. 217-247

How is Bigger's "treatment" of Bessie in this section of the novel similar to his treatment of Gus in the poolhall?  What parallels do you see between this willful act with Bessie and the accidental act with Mary?

Blog 7 (1 response) pp.187-216

Analyze one of the following symbols in this section of the novel. Look deeply into who interacts with this symbol and what its larger meaning represents.

The stairs (see ladders on symbol sheet)
The furnace room 
The snow (see symbol sheet)
The bones (see symbol sheet)
The cat (see symbol sheet) think about its connection to the rat at the beginning of the story.
The camera flashes referred to as "lightning" (see symbol sheet for lightning)

Blog 6 (2 responses)

Freewrite: Analyze a character, symbol, paragraph, quotation, or a single word in this section of the novel and discuss its importance.

Directions:
Answer the blog question fully and completely and then reply to one of your classmates' responses.
Use the reply button to reply directly to your classmates' responses.

Blog 5 (1 response)

"He shoved his hands deep into his pockets; he stood in a peculiar attitude that allowed him to respond at once to whatever they said or did and at the same time to be outside and away from them" (146-147).

In the above quotation, Bigger describes watching Mr. Dalton and Mr. Britten  break the lock on Mary's trunk.  How is Bigger's physical position in this scene representative of his position in the Dalton household and in society? How does this "position" allow Bigger to maneuver and enact his plan? Cite specific examples from the text.

Blog 4 (2 responses)

Why does Bigger convince himself that Mary's death is not an accident? What does he gain by believing that he killed her on purpose?  How does his view of himself and others change?

Directions:
Answer the blog question fully and completely and then reply to one of your classmates' responses.
Use the reply button to reply directly to your classmates' responses.

Blog 3 (one response)

Based on the notes from today's class, how can Bigger be deemed a tragic "hero"? What are some of the ways in which he does not fit into Aristotle's definition? How might you see Wright's tragic "hero" as a modern interpretation based on the context of racial inequities and injustices?

Click comment button.  Do not create a new post.

Blog 2 (2 responses)

What is it about Mary that Bigger finds so offensive?  What is at the root of his hate for both her and Jan?

Instructions:
When responding to this question, click the comment button on this posting. Do not create a new post.

When responding to one of your classmates responses, also use the comment function. At the beginning of your response put @the person's name you are responding to.

For example, @Ms. Williams. I believe you are correct in your assumption that . . .

Blog 1

How does Bigger Thomas fluctuate between innocence and experience in the beginning of the novel.  Think about the ways in which he demonstrates mature and immature behavior and behavior that feigns adulthood. Also think about how his personality shifts in the presence of different characters.

Provide specific examples from the novel with page numbers.