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)
The cat to me symbolizes death and gloominess in a way because of how the story is told. Bigger is presented to us as young, black, depressed, and over concerned with others thoughts of him person. On his interview he had with the Daltons' the novel describes how the cat looks at him in a way that he his unaware of Biggers' kind because he is use to seeing white people. Bigger felt angry because of how their cat looked at him and he was already upset with how nice they were treating him. Biggers anger leads him to killing Mary but then he puts the murder of Mary on the cat. So, that's why I feel that the cat symbolizes death and a gloomy unbelievable side.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the symbols sheet, bones symbolize strength and virtue. I believe the bones stand as a hint. It is mentioned in the book numerous times. Bigger is very afraid that the bones will give him away casting him as the murder. By reading the definition of the symbol of bones, I think that they will eventually reveal something. I don't think what the bones reveal will be positive. I think that is what will get Bigger caught if Bessie doesn't tell on him first because the bones represent strength. That can be taken as persevering through anything like a fire. I don't think that the bones have burned, and Bigger is too scared to look. Therefore, I think that will be his own personal trap of getting caught.
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DeleteThe furnace room is the most important room of the Dalton's home. It contain all of Mary's remains. It's where Bigger spend a lot of time. Bigger will do whatever he can to keep the fire going so that no one will be able to identified Mary bones. The furnace is a very hot place and because of this, the hired help is the one to make sure the fire keeps burning. It is now coming to pass that bones are being identified. Very soon the mystery of what happened to Mary will be known.
ReplyDeleteIn the story Native Son, Bigger looks at the white people as population. White people who are evil and disrespectful to the other race. Bigger suggest that all white people are the same. The author was using the snow because the snow represent the white society and because the white society havent found out about Bigger and his mistake on killing Mary Dalton, everyone is calm about Mary disappearance in the beginning. When the people find out about the bones Bigger freak out and suggest the white people might point the blame on him. The snow then transform into a blizzard so it shows everyone running around becoming eager to find out the killer so now the calm snow is not calm anymore, instead the white society upset so the snow become a blizzard. Bigger feel like know one will stop him, but he's getting nervous when Peggy is looking around and asking questions. Bigger is becoming a different person after the death of Mary, he is more independent and repulsive. Bigger threaten bessie to keep the money stash a secret . The snow represent the white society closing in on Bigger master plan, so by the snow falling faster on Bigger shows that hes soon to be captured.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel I think the symbolization of the cat is important because it plays a big role i the way that bigger thinks and reacts. Bigger is ultimately seen iun the beginning of the story as a heroic but manly figure when the rat is seen. As the novel preceeds bigger is such the total opposite of being seen as a patriarch of society. In his home he might be seen as a patriarch, but not to Mr. Dalton, society, and not even the cat. To me the cat looks at bigger in a malicious way and identifies with him because he it sees itself. In my opinion the cat wouldnt have identified Bigger the way he did if it hadnt saw anthing similar. However, Biggers turns out to be just as malicious and cunning as a cat to make a staement in this white society he is ultimately living in.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Tran Week 7
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel, Bigger kills a rat. This action can be seen as Bigger killing his humility and gentleness because the rat is a symbol for shyness and meekness according to the symbols and symbolic acts sheet. The Dalton's white cat symbolizes Bigger's cunning and ability to think and plan ahead. However, Bigger detests the Dalton's white cat because he feels like the cat is giving him away. "Bigger was still, feeling that the cat had given him away" (p. 190.) According to the symbols and symbolic acts sheet, a cat can also represent a serpent of the underworld; a serpent symbolizes temptation or evil. That’s why the white cat follows Bigger and is present at the time of Mary’s cremation because it overshadows Bigger’s acts of evil. The ironic thing about the white cat is that it is white. Usually, the color white represents purity, life, and innocence according to the symbolic sheet. Yet, the white cat was there when Bigger burned Mary, and it still followed him even though he was far from innocent. Because of his evil actions, I think Bigger can be represented as a black cat. He can’t be a white cat because he lost his purity and innocence the moment he burned Mary.
The cat and the rat coincide on a large scale. In the beginning, Bigger kills the rat to protect his family, however, the rat represents being shy and timid. The cat represents the opposite. While the rat represents being shy, the cat represents being malicious. The cat may also represent evil, which is why Bigger dislikes it so much. The cat is like Bigger's shadow, kind of following you hiding your secrets. Cats have a sneaky nature, just like bigger. I think the cat represents Bigger himself, because he was there for all the bad stuff Bigger did to Mary. The cat represents what Bigger is and what he has done.
ReplyDeleteStairs or ladders symbolize "the ascension and realization of potential; they are also symbols of intercommunication and the comings and goings between heaven and earth". In this section Bigger constantly talks about wanting to escape from the furnace room where the men are, however he has a hard time executing this task. This is representative of the fact that Bigger is not worthy of going to heaven or a good place because of the wrong-doing he has committed. However when he does leave, this is symbolic of him stepping into the real world. This is a world that will condemn him when they realize that he is Mary's murderer.
ReplyDeleteA snowstorm occurred as Bigger tries to flee from Chicago when the reporter had discovered Mary Dalton bones. He jumped out of the window to escaped but fell into the white snow enabling him to move. The snow represent the white society controlling everything. Also, the snow represents the how he feels that the white been controlling him for the rest of his life.Eventually, he got caught by the white police.
ReplyDeleteThe bones of Mary Bigger tried so desperately to hide will eventually come to the forefront. Bones represents truth. Since bones need to be a certain temperature and contain a certain amount of air to burn, it would be hard for all of Mary's bones to burn. Bigger does not clean the ashes because of paranoia so the bones really arent burning like they should be. Therefore no matter how much Bigger leaves the bones in the furnace to burn they will eventually come into play and ultimately reveal that Bigger is the murderer.
ReplyDeleteThe cat played a major role in this part of the story. When the cat jumped on Bigger remained still, feeling like the cat had given him away, had pointed him out as the murderer of Mary. (190) Cats symbolize cunning, forethought, and ingenuity. There are good at detecting the slyness of other organisms. In the beginning of the story Bigger had a slight quarrel with a rat. Rats are quick witted but are usually eaten by cats. These two tie together because like a rat, Bigger is mean, filthy, quick-witted, and a burden but just like the rat he is outed out by the cat and eventually defeated.
ReplyDeleteThe furnace room is an important symbol in the story. Of course it represents death because that is where bigger stuffed Mary's body. It is where all of the brutality occurred. It is also obvious that Bigger spends a lot of time in there and I would wonder why nobody ever questioned it. I bet now they will since that is where Mary's bones are hid. But the furnace also represents Bigger's demise. The death of his great plan and he eventually gets caught. When he keeps replacing the coal in the furnace it seems to me like he is digging his own grave. He is trying to bury the evidence but in turn it also symbolizes how he is burying himself in all the lies and corruption, which will eventually get him caught.
ReplyDeleteBones is a representation of strength and virtue. In a way the author foreshadows that the bones will turn out to be an important part of the novel. It is restated that Bigger believes there may be a chance that the bones did not burn all the way. If Mr. Britten or any other cop decides to open the furnace, there may be a possibility that the bone remains are still there. The bones are Bigger's biggest fear. Until Bigger is considered as being a suspect, I think he is safe. The bones symbolization of strength may be Bigger's worst nightmare as well.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to the rat being chased around and killed by Bigger, he is the rat that the cat attacks. His murder of Mary was his way of stepping out of his own uncomfortable role into a position of more power. This "power" he has over white people now that he killed own is a sick and twisted way of rebelling that essentially will put at the bottom of the food chain, as the symbol of the cat shows. Society, represented by the cat, will track him down and condemn him not only for being a murder, but also being a murder of a white woman. To white society, it speaks volumes about what the blacks believe is acceptable.
ReplyDeleteThe cat is a huge piece of symbolism in my opinion in this part of the novel. When i think of cats i think sneaky, quiet, and sometimes timid, which in-turn reminds me of Bigger Thomas. When the cat jumps on Bigger there is little movement because Bigger feels almost trapped. As a reader, i think back to the beginning of the novel when Bigger chased around the rat and eventually killed him. IF you think about it, Bigger has now turned into the rat because cats chase rats and eventually catch them. The cat is almost pointing Bigger out as the suspect in Mary's murder. The rat is also timid when he chases him in the beginning just like Bigger himself. He is scared and timid because he knows he is guilty and hopes he can get away with the murder.
ReplyDeleteThe furnace room is to the place where bigger spends most of his time when he's working for the Dalton's. The furnace is a very hot place and it can be easy to get rid of evidence if done right. Bigger was very terrified that Mary's bone wouldn't burn all the way in the furnace because he knew if someone seen them, they might think it's Mary's and Bigger would become a suspect. But Bigger is to scared to look and see If her bones burned.
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