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 . . .
Brianne Jones Week 2
ReplyDeleteBigger is definitely taken aback by how nice both Mary and Jan are towards him. Mary and Jan are working to implement things in Bigger's life so that he may have as much equality as possible at this time which Bigger finds very odd. This odd feeling towards Mary and Jan comes from his belief that whites do not like blacks or that they will do something to hurt blacks. He is having trouble finding a way to break the stereotype that he has experienced in his life.
What Bigger finds so offensive about Mary is how nice and casual she is towards him. He finds it very awkward and offensive that she interacts with him as if he was on the same level as she is. (66)His anger towards Mary and her friend Jan comes from confusion. He's very confused because he can't read Mary and Jan. He's not sure if they're being sincerely nice or if they're making fun of him. Bigger is very self-conscious and seems to be panicking on the inside which brews about his anger. Maybe there are genuinely nice white people? This is very unfamiliar to Bigger and he doesn't know what to do in the situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Bigger have this strong hatred toward this white society and when Mary and Jan treated him with respect, he felt confused. Thus, this made him feel very uncomfortable and make him act irrationally.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Tran: Week 2
ReplyDeleteWhen Bigger first met Mary, he already hated her because she was asking questions that he didn't know anything about (53.) Bigger didn't like the way she made him feel inadequate for the job. He also didn't like how she created an opportunity for Mr. Dalton to reject or fire him. Then, Mary introduced Bigger to her friend Jan. Bigger hated him too because Jan also made him feel akward. He felt that Jan and Mary were making fun of him because they were treating him like a wary child. For example, Bigger didn't shake hands with Jan when he first extended his hand; Bigger was hesitant and didn't shake hands until Jan told him to (67.) That's why Bigger hates Mary and Jan because of the way they make him feel.
I agree with @JenniferT
DeleteMary was treating him like african american were a new species and that she wanted to learn everything about that species.
@ YolandaJackson
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because I think that Bigger uses hatred and anger when he's confused or doesn't know what is going on. Bigger likes it when he can read other people and predict, in a way, what they are going to do next. When Bigger incounters Mary and Jan, he finds himself unsure of what is going on because he figured that white people wouldn't talk freely with black people. Since Mary and Jan broke that sort of rule, Bigger doesn't know what to do and in that sense of confusion, he starts to harbor anger and hatred against Mary and Jan.
Bigger first met Mary when she asked him about being in a union. He didn't like, nor appreciate the nature of the question. He didn't quite understand much about the union and that itself made him uneasy. He felt as though her questioning him about that might cost him his job and he didn't like that. He didn't know anything about Mary or what she was about and that added to his anger.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jan told Bigger to call him by his first name and not sir, that also made him uneasy. Also when Jan held out his hand for Bigger to shake that didn't sit right with Bigger. It confused him in a way, he wasn't sure if it was right to shake hands with a white person. When Mary laughed it made him fierce with anger, he wondered if they were making fun of him and he hated that.
I agree. When being thrown into a situation similar to the one Bigger experienced you really wouldn't know how to react. During that time and age it was normal for an African American to address someone white as sir and ma'am and when Jan and Mary reacted the opposite of what he was accustomed to, he felt like they were playing some sort of trick on him.
DeleteBigger finds Mary offensive because he feels as though they are engaging in nice gestures, free conversation and other nice actions. This wasn't something familiar that whites were known to do with Blacks in their time, so instead of taking advantage of the opportunity Bigger found it as their way of mocking him. For example, when Bigger first met Mary she had free conversation with him and ask him a lot of different questions, and Jan tried to shake his hand, so bigger found it as if Mary was trying to intimadate him. Bigger was quite confused at their actions.
ReplyDelete@JenniferT I agree with you because Bigger didn't not really understand why they were being so hopeful, or rather nice to him in addition that he was a black man. I also agree that they were treating Bigger as a child.
ReplyDeleteInitially Bigger was not very fond of Mary because he felt offended when she asked him if he was apart of the union in front of Mr. Dalton. Bigger knew that the union was associated with negativity so he figured that may have ruined his chances of getting the job.Bigger feels uneasy around Mary and Jan because they treat Bigger as if he is not African American. Instead of Bigger being the chauffeur for the night, Jan decides to drive Mary and Bigger around in the front seat. Bigger is learning that these are not the typical white people.
ReplyDeleteI agree Bruce
DeleteBigger is introduce with all this at one time and i think it was overwhelming for a young african american male to take in. For Bigger to think about hurting his own friend Gus, it tells us he has a mental problem. Hurting someone not his own race would'nt be hard because he already dislike the white society.
Bigger feels Mary is offensive because of her abruptness and talkative ways. It is not normal for African American men to even look at white women and for Mary to approach him the way she did upon first meeting each other. This made Bigger nervous. He felt a hatred towards both Mary and Jan because he felt they were using him for their own pleasures. He felt a concern because at the time white men did not shake African Americans hands and Jan actually holds his hand.Bigger also felt Mary and Jan made fun of him.
ReplyDelete-Michaela H.
@Chelsea_C
ReplyDeleteI agree, Bigger was not exposed to this type of behavior before and did not know how to react especially because he was on an interview with her father.
-Michaela
@Chelsea_C I definitely agree. Bigger is having a hard time letting go of his prior experiences, which in turn could cause him to miss out on fostering some helpful relationships in the future.
ReplyDeleteBigger feels uncomfortable because of the white society and the fact that he's working for the people he spite the most is unpleasant for him as a african american. i suggest that african american males were prideful, hard-headed and hardworking. During this time whites and black look at each other like two armies on a battle field. African american always had to prove themselves to the the white society, so getting a job in a white society would be hurting the pride of a african american male because he will always feel enslave to the white society. Bigger felt bad that he can't live in a world like the Dalton family, and that Mr. dalton pretty much owns him because his family lives in the building that Mr. Dalton owns. he feels that the white society always look down down on the black society by staring or smart comments toward african americans. Bigger feels offensive by Mary kindness toward him. He finds it very awkward and offensive that she interacts with him as if he was a white male. i feel like Bigger has a mental problem, he can't believe that another race can be kind to another. all his life he lived in a world where black and white doesnt get along. mary on the other hand believe that white and black can work together. Mary did things that made Bigger uncomfortable, like eating with him in a public area, speaking to him kind and leaning her head on his shoulder. I also felt like Jan treated african american like zoo animals, because on pages(74-76) Jan wants to make friends with black people and ask him 101 question about african americans.
ReplyDeleteBigger finds Mary offensive because she is not like any other white person that he has encountered. He did not like her when she asked him "do you belong to the union?" (pg 53) because he felt nervous already with being in a white man's house for a job. When she asked him that question he did not know how to respond. He is not used to the way that is more like a normal human being and not someone who is separated by race. The main problem Bigger has with both her and Jan is the way they act towards him. They make it seem as if they are just introducing another friend to them. Their sincerity is being mixed up by Bigger and being thought of as humiliating. He thinks that they are laughing at him and making a fool out of him because he does not know any better.
ReplyDelete@Chelsea_C I agree with you when you say that he was not familiar with their gestures. It is so much of a shock to him that he does not know how to take it. He feels that the only possible way it could be taken is in a negative and humiliating way.
ReplyDeleteBigger doesn't care for Mary because he finds her to be extroverted and outspoken. He has never had a white person talk to him in such a manner. He doesn't necessarily know how to react to what she says to him which makes him more infuriated because he doesn't like to seem like a dumb person. The root of his hate for Jan and Mary are because he is being forced into experience of knowing the fact that he isn't in his comfort zone anymore. Jan and Mary want to learn more about him and he has never experienced that before which is causing his nervousness.
ReplyDelete- Keisha Murray, Post 2
@ bjones232011 I completely agree with you. He is afraid of what is happening. I think he will soon come realize that it is ok to become friends with people who are reaching out to him or he will retaliate in some type of form or fashion that will cost him his job or maybe even his life.
ReplyDelete@KeishaMurray I completely agree with you. Bigger is being forced into knowing that all white people aren't prejudice. Experience is something one tends to fight against because they are comfortable with what they already know. It's like going to a foreign country and being uncomfortable because they speak French and you speak English but you have to learn French in order to survive. Bigger doesn't want his black world and the white world to conjoin and it causes him to become enraged because he doesn't know what to do.
ReplyDeleteCecilia Tran: Week 2
ReplyDeleteBigger holds a lot resentment towards the white because his whole life he have been living under the whites as a poor and uneducated man. During this period, the white have more power over the African Americans. Bigger feels like the white people owns him by telling him where to live and what to do. He holds this grudge against the white people; therefore, it is hard for him to cooperate with Mary and Jan when they were trying to be nice to him. He take it highly offensive and reacted irrationally towards them. When Mary asked Bigger if he was in a Union, he started to fine it very offensive. Then he would keep secret from Mr. Dalton about Mary boyfriend, Jan, whom also treated Bigger with respect. The root for the hate of this couple is that they treated him respect, but it's hard for him to accept the fact that they just wanted to keep things mutual. Because he have his mindset on how he viewed the white people as higher class people.
Bigger looks at Mary as a source of intimidation because of the way she comes at him with loads of questions, which he's confused about. He doesn't understand why her, a white woman, was being so nice to him when all his life white people actually looked down upon his kind.Later on in the story he meets the gentleman, Jan, which he finds him to be offensive as well. Jan reaches out his hand but Bigger is puzzled about why would a white man want to shake a black mans hand. The root of Biggers' hate toward both of them comes from them being overly nice and treating him with respect that he's never had before.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletejmeyers2015 I agree with the comment that you have made. Bigger is totally confused about why they are being so nice to him. He was going by what he seen or heard about white people and now that he's introduced to whites' that's nice he doesn't know how to accept it.
ReplyDelete-Carletha
Bigger is offended by Mary because of her approach toward him.She approaches him with many questions which begin to puzzle him. He is not as educated as she expects him to be, so the questions she is asking him are confusing him. Mary asked Bigger if he belonged to a union and if he thought her dad was a capitalist. The root of his hate deals with the fact of the white people respecting him. From since he could rememeber, he a black person, has been seen to be beneath white people so for them to show him respect he is slightly thrown off by that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with @YOlandaJackson post. Bigger is confused on how to receive Mary and her friend. He does not know if he should take them serious or take it as them poking fun.
ReplyDeleteBrandalyn Anderson (week 2)
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Jan and Mary were white immediately intimidated Bigger. When Jan and Mary were nothing like what he expected he became puzzled. He couldn't understand why they were so fascinated with his race and culture. When Mary asked Bigger the question regarding unions he felt offended because he knew nothing about unions and thought she was tryna jeopardize his job in a sneaky way. In actuality, Mary actually supported unions and everything they stood for.