A blog for the students enrolled in ENGL 1020: Composition and Literature
Friday, March 2, 2012
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?
In both situations, Bigger sees the women as a threat to him. While Bessie could have actually been the reason Bigger got caught, Mary probably would not have caused any grief to Bigger if he had not overreacted. When pertaining to Bessie, Bigger feels that "he couldn't take her, and he couldn't leave her" (222). Bigger feels that she is the biggest asset to the authorities if they were to question Bessie. In both instances there was some type of sexual gratification that Bigger tried to gain from the women. Bigger's advances with Bessie went much farther than they did with Mary. It seems that Bigger genuinely wants to take care of these women, however he is unable to because of the fact that he believes that his actions are based on who he is.
This is very true. Bigger does see both women as a threat to him which is why he acts the way does. I never thought of the situation as Bigger wanting to provide for both of the ladies, or the thought of sexual gratification. What you say makes sense though because as I think about it, he did have some type of sexual relations, even his thoughts, with both of the women.
Bigger's "treatment" of Bessie in this section is similar to the situation that Bigger had with Gus in the pool hall because it proves that Bigger rationalizes with himself to start a fight of some sort to get out of whatever predicament he may be in at the time. He rationalizes with himself during the situation with Bessie by repeatedly saying,"He could not leave her here and he could not take her with him" (Wright 221). This is his reasoning for killing her. Just as when he finally thought through the robbing of Blum's he decided that he did not want to go through with it because he would be "[taking] a fool's chance when other things, big things, could happen" (Wright 36). This is similar to the Bessie situation because at first he wanted her to come along, but then realized that after she gained more knowledge to what was going on she would not want to participate in what Bigger had planned. A parallel that I see between the willful act with Bessie and the accidental act with Mary is that they were both done out of fear. The act with Bessie was fear that Bessie would be a complication to his escape plan. He thought that she would tell on him if she was left behind, or she would nag him too much if he brought her along. The act with Mary was done out of fear also because he was scared of what may happen to him if Mrs. Dalton found out he was in Mary's bedroom.
I agree with Keisha because Bigger defiantly acted out of fear. If he would’ve calmed down before acting, then his situation could have been different. However, Bigger just followed his instincts that were fueled by his fear of getting caught. That’s why he ended up murdering both Mary and Bessie. He couldn’t leave either of them alone because he was drawn to them through sexual curiosity and desire. In the end, he marked his own doom.
@Keisha I definitely agree. Bigger does seem to rationalize a lot. He has to make sure that even though hits actions are wrong, he finds a way to make himself seem right. In this chapter, right before and even after he kills Bessie, he keeps telling himself that he can't take her with him because it would become too complicated.
Bigger's treatment of Bessie in this section is horrific. It saddens me that he demanded so much of her and abused her the way he did sexually, (Wright 219) especially with her pleading the way she did. This treatment of Bessie is similar to the situation Bigger had with Gus in that he needs to start confusion to help him deal with the situation he is in. He did not know what to do with Bessie, he felt like he needed her near his side because he did not want to be along and he also wanted to let her go. His fear of letting her go would be she may turn him in and because of this he felt he had to kill her. The parallel that I see with the accidental killing of Mary and the willful killing of Bessie is that Bigger was afraid and he panic. In the case of Mary, he did not want Mrs. Dalton to know he was in Mary's bedroom. He knew he would have been in big trouble for this because its no way a NEGRO boy should be in Mary's (white heiress) room, although he was there to help her because she had been drinking. In the case of Bessie, Bessie knew too much and he could not allow her to interfere with his plan.
i do agree Bigger is untam and out of control. i also agree that Bessie situation was horrific and sad, but i feel like her situation was worst then Gus. Bigger is always having a sexually connection with the people he's about to kill. i suggest that bigger is sick in a mental psychological way. Bigger believes anyone he loves or trust can be a threat to him. Bigger only care for himself and not the likes of others
When Bigger was interacting with Gus in the poolroom, he treated Gus as a problem. Bigger blamed Gus for everything that went wrong with his plans. “…and toward the lone man who held out he felt a hot hate and fear; he had transferred his fear of the whites to Gus” (p. 28.) He felt hatred for Gus even though Gus didn’t do anything wrong. The reason why Bigger hated Gus so much was because he was reminded of himself in Gus; he saw his weak scared side when he looked at Gus. That’s why Bigger took action and initiated a fight between Gus and himself just to fix his problems. Similarly, Bigger treated Bessie the same way. He saw her as a problem to his plans, so he took care of her. “He could not take her with him and he could not leave her behind” (p. 220.) After that thought, Bigger immediately thought up of a plan to dispose of Bessie. He murdered her with a brick and tossed her body outside into the air shaft. Throughout the murder, Bigger never saw the killing as his fault; he pushed the blame on Bessie. His reasoning was because she kept nagging him causing him to pull her into his mess. “Well, it was her own fault” (p. 220.) Likewise, Mary’s death was similar to Bessie’s because Bigger blamed Mary for her own death. “Hell, she made me do it! I couldn’t help it” (p. 108.) Bigger blamed Mary because she kept bothering him and got too close like somebody getting too close to a gorilla. In addition, Bigger had a sexual drive when he was dealing with each girl. This sexual drive can be seen as his flaw because it caused him to end up killing both girls. If Bigger didn’t try to rape Mary, he could’ve sneaked out of her room without getting caught. However, he followed his desires and ended up killing Mary. Similarly, Bigger was caught up in his desires for Bessie that he wanted to bind her to him. This influenced him into telling her his situation, which led to her demise.
I agree with what you are saying 100%. I thought of the same thing as I was reading the story. The repetition of the hatred he had for people just because things wasn't going his way and then he never took responsibility for his actions it was always the dead fault.
I did not think about the idea that Bigger saw his scared and weak self in Gus but I totally agree. He sees everyone as a tool then a threat. I also noticed that Bigger blames everyone for his problems except for himself. He does not trust anyone so he thinks of outrageous plans to get out of situations when there are other ways.
Bigger treatment of bessie in the Naive Story was sad and cruel. Bigger is now the Antagonist of the story because he raped his friend and the person who was holding all of his secret (220). I dont think you can compare Bessie situation with Gus's situation because Bigger broke Bessie inside and outside. Bigger broke her dignity and pride as a woman. Bigger later killed her on page 223, where her body bleeds out on the floor. Bigger taking power from these young women and thinking it ok, he has become a monster. Bigger panic because now he's the mouse thats being chase by the white society. I feel like both death wasn't an act of fear that bigger exactly knows what he's doing or maybe he a confuse and trouble man. i also think he has a psychological problem in the head because instead of finding a good solution, Bigger thinks it ok and fast to kill people. Bigger also lucky these people can't tell black people apart because his tail would had been in jail.
I agree. He is the rat being chased by the white society looking for every dark hole hee can just to feel some sense of security when he's eventually going to be exterminated and have to keep running from hole to hole trying to stay out of the light (white society).
Bigger's treatment towards Bessie is him basically bullying her into getting what he want, just like he did to his friend at the beginning of the story. He felt some kind of guilt from what he did to her but he was to afraid that if he was to let her go she would turn him in for what he did. Bessie also knew too much information about him killing Mary. Bigger kills Bessie on purpose but it was also in a panic sort of way because he couldn't take the chance of freeing her and then his whole plan would be destroyed. On (221) it states how he couldn't leave her here neither could he stay with her and then later on in the story on (223) he actually kills her.
I completely agree that he felt it was his only option, but I also see this as a testimony to Bigger's intelligence. Had Bigger been smarter about the murder to begin with Bessie would have been involved to begin with because this was inevitable. To think anyone had the desire to plot in murder is pure foolishness.
Bigger treats Bessie just like he treated Gus in the beginning. Bigger is a bully, and he regards women as objects to be desired. When Bigger feels trapped, his rationalization is to kill whoever is in his way. With Bessie, when she rejected him, Bigger snapped. He tried to reason within himself, but the only reason he got was to kill her. He knew he could not leave her to expose him, but he could not take her with him when he left, "so he would have to kill her" (222). Bigger is out of control and he is trying to regain that control. However, killing is his release. Just as he had snapped on Gus in the pool hall, he also snapped on Bessie.
The way Bigger treats Bessie and Gus is quite similar. When Bigger feels guilty or scared, his ultimate decision is to get rid of the person/object that's making him feel that way. To get rid of Gus he ridiculed him until everyone understood his superior. To get rid of Bessie, he ultimately killed her because he knew she would get him in trouble. Bigger killed Bessie because he was afraid she would get him caught so his immediate thoughts were that he could not take her with him (222). Bigger killed Mary because he was afraid of being caught by Mrs. Dalton. In both situations he was afraid which eventually caused him to kill to elminate the problems.
Bigger is smart, manipulative, and conniving. he treats Bessie and Gus a certain way because they're both black and he knows he can easily control them. He knows how they will react to certain situations and if their reaction isnt what he expects he will take care of them. He knows that what he does to them will come with no repercussions because the law doesn't care about black on black crime. This leads to his willingness to kill Bessie because she surrenders to him often amd he know he can do whatever to her because he can control her. On the contrary, his accidentally killing Mary came from the fact that he can't get from Mary what he gets from every else. Mary can't give him the satisfaction of being intimidated by him because he can't do or say whatever he wants to Mary. The consequences would be too harsh. He was trying to avoid those consequence when he accidentally killed her. In reality, you can't escape fate. It's either going to get you one way or anotther.
In this section of the novel the treatment of Bessie to the the treatment of Gus are quite similar in that Bigger knows that he can basically take advantage of them. Gus and Bessie are both black individuals in their society. They really dont care too much about them like they care about Mary. This leads to the acidental death of Mary and the intentional death of Bessie. bigger knows that there wouldnt be any recussions if he killed Bessie that's why he ultimat6ely did what he did, but on the other hand he didnt try to kill Mary. But in my eyes what maked it look intentional both ways for Mary and Bessie is the way that he disposed of the evidence. He throwed Mary in the furnace and he throwed Bessie down the shoot.In my opinion Bigger's actions were intentional in all ways because of how he procceeded to do things, this is why you can charactiize both situations as being parallel.
The way Bigger treated Bessie in this section mirrors the way the way he treats Gus in the pool hall by the actions he throws at other people. Bigger belittles individuals who he sees he has an advantage over. Bigger feels as though he must start confusion in order to solve the situation that he is in. Bigger did not want to leave Bessie, but in the end he had to do what he felt would keep him out of trouble in the end. He knew he could not leave her to expose him, but he could not take her with him when he left, "so he would have to kill her" (222). The parallel act that was shown in the deaths of Bessie and Mary was that they were both done out of fear. Bigger knew that he could not keep Bessie around because she knew too much about Bigger's plan and may have got him caught. He killed Mary out of fear of getting caught being a black boy in a white girl's bedroom.
The way Bigger treated Bessie parallels the way he treated Gus in the pool hall. Bessie and Gus are both black and he knows that the white society would not care how he would treat them and he can easily take advantage of him. Mary death was an accidental death, but Bessie death is intentional. The white society only care for their own people that why they involved in Mary's case. Bigger spend his time trying to hide Mary body in the furnace, but he got rid of the Bessie body in the shoot. He killed Mary because he was afraid of getting caught, but eventually he gets caught.
I agree with you on the fact that Bigger treated Gus and Bessie the way he did because if anything happened to them (like when he killed Bessie), no one would really care. He knew white folks would not care about another black person being dead if anything they would probably rejoiced over it.
Bigger truly is racist to his own people. This is evident in his treatment of Bessie,Gus,and even his family. All of them are given Bigger's rear end to kiss, while his white counterpart are revered with the utmost respect. The only person of value to Bigger is himself. He displayed this when he killed Bessie to save himself. Both killings of the women of the novel was to save himself, but both murders could have been avoided. He didn't need to suffocate Mary and definitely did not need to murder Bessie. Bessie was not trying to be involved until he tried to bring her into it. He should have left town when he had the opportunity and saved himself a lot of trouble with the law and his own conscious. Mary's ghost haunts him, but Bessie's never does. It speaks again to what Bigger values. To Bigger, because of teaching through society, the only lives to be valued are white lives. And it shows in all his actions. Society has taught Bigger well.
I agree with Bria's comment. Bigger does show a sense of racism within his own people. He does value only himself because he only looks out for himself in every situation he comes in contact with. HE does drag other people into his trouble and then becomes angry when they don't follow his commands.
Bigger's treatment of Gus and Bessie is pretty similar. He tries to belittle people due to his own insecurities within himself. He tried to make Gus feel lesser than him and inferior to him and Gus in return left. With Bessie he wants her to follow his every direction with no questions asked, but Bessie is not that type of woman. HE later kills her because there is no way for him to completely control her and he cannot leave her alive because that would heightened his chances of being caught.
Bigger's treatment of Gus and Bessie are very similar. With Gus he started a fight with him because deep done he was scared to go through with the plan. So they way he got out of it was to blame it on Gus doing something wrong instead of revealing how scared he was. With Bessie he kept saying that she was going slow him down and that "He could not take her with him and he could not leave her behind” (220). In both instances he reasoned with himself to justify his violent outburst just to make himself feel better about the situation. According to a quote in Book two "In all of his life these two murders were the most meaningful things that had ever happened to him." Even though Mary's murder was and accident and Bessie's was on purpose they both made him feel the same way afterwards.He felt like he had all the power in the world. Like the could do anything he wanted. He got a certain thrill from both murders that he had never felt in his life. Also after both events he reasons with himself again to assure himself that there was no other way to handle the situation.
Bigger's treatment to Gus and Bessie are the same because with situations he uses confrontation to be kind of get the blame off just him during an argument and trys to but things on the person he's arguing with. Also Bessie and Gus are pretty much superior to Bigger so he does really see them as important and he treats them and kind of way. Bessie was more of a threat to Bigger than Mary was but Bigger killed both women out of fear.
In both situations, Bigger sees the women as a threat to him. While Bessie could have actually been the reason Bigger got caught, Mary probably would not have caused any grief to Bigger if he had not overreacted. When pertaining to Bessie, Bigger feels that "he couldn't take her, and he couldn't leave her" (222). Bigger feels that she is the biggest asset to the authorities if they were to question Bessie. In both instances there was some type of sexual gratification that Bigger tried to gain from the women. Bigger's advances with Bessie went much farther than they did with Mary. It seems that Bigger genuinely wants to take care of these women, however he is unable to because of the fact that he believes that his actions are based on who he is.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. Bigger does see both women as a threat to him which is why he acts the way does. I never thought of the situation as Bigger wanting to provide for both of the ladies, or the thought of sexual gratification. What you say makes sense though because as I think about it, he did have some type of sexual relations, even his thoughts, with both of the women.
DeleteBigger's "treatment" of Bessie in this section is similar to the situation that Bigger had with Gus in the pool hall because it proves that Bigger rationalizes with himself to start a fight of some sort to get out of whatever predicament he may be in at the time. He rationalizes with himself during the situation with Bessie by repeatedly saying,"He could not leave her here and he could not take her with him" (Wright 221). This is his reasoning for killing her. Just as when he finally thought through the robbing of Blum's he decided that he did not want to go through with it because he would be "[taking] a fool's chance when other things, big things, could happen" (Wright 36). This is similar to the Bessie situation because at first he wanted her to come along, but then realized that after she gained more knowledge to what was going on she would not want to participate in what Bigger had planned. A parallel that I see between the willful act with Bessie and the accidental act with Mary is that they were both done out of fear. The act with Bessie was fear that Bessie would be a complication to his escape plan. He thought that she would tell on him if she was left behind, or she would nag him too much if he brought her along. The act with Mary was done out of fear also because he was scared of what may happen to him if Mrs. Dalton found out he was in Mary's bedroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Keisha because Bigger defiantly acted out of fear. If he would’ve calmed down before acting, then his situation could have been different. However, Bigger just followed his instincts that were fueled by his fear of getting caught. That’s why he ended up murdering both Mary and Bessie. He couldn’t leave either of them alone because he was drawn to them through sexual curiosity and desire. In the end, he marked his own doom.
Delete@Keisha I definitely agree. Bigger does seem to rationalize a lot. He has to make sure that even though hits actions are wrong, he finds a way to make himself seem right. In this chapter, right before and even after he kills Bessie, he keeps telling himself that he can't take her with him because it would become too complicated.
DeleteBigger's treatment of Bessie in this section is horrific. It saddens me that he demanded so much of her and abused her the way he did sexually, (Wright 219) especially with her pleading the way she did. This treatment of Bessie is similar to the situation Bigger had with Gus in that he needs to start confusion to help him deal with the situation he is in. He did not know what to do with Bessie, he felt like he needed her near his side because he did not want to be along and he also wanted to let her go. His fear of letting her go would be she may turn him in and because of this he felt he had to kill her. The parallel that I see with the accidental killing of Mary and the willful killing of Bessie is that Bigger was afraid and he panic. In the case of Mary, he did not want Mrs. Dalton to know he was in Mary's bedroom. He knew he would have been in big trouble for this because its no way a NEGRO boy should be in Mary's (white heiress) room, although he was there to help her because she had been drinking. In the case of Bessie, Bessie knew too much and he could not allow her to interfere with his plan.
ReplyDeletei do agree Bigger is untam and out of control. i also agree that Bessie situation was horrific and sad, but i feel like her situation was worst then Gus. Bigger is always having a sexually connection with the people he's about to kill. i suggest that bigger is sick in a mental psychological way. Bigger believes anyone he loves or trust can be a threat to him. Bigger only care for himself and not the likes of others
DeleteWhen Bigger was interacting with Gus in the poolroom, he treated Gus as a problem. Bigger blamed Gus for everything that went wrong with his plans. “…and toward the lone man who held out he felt a hot hate and fear; he had transferred his fear of the whites to Gus” (p. 28.) He felt hatred for Gus even though Gus didn’t do anything wrong. The reason why Bigger hated Gus so much was because he was reminded of himself in Gus; he saw his weak scared side when he looked at Gus. That’s why Bigger took action and initiated a fight between Gus and himself just to fix his problems. Similarly, Bigger treated Bessie the same way. He saw her as a problem to his plans, so he took care of her. “He could not take her with him and he could not leave her behind” (p. 220.) After that thought, Bigger immediately thought up of a plan to dispose of Bessie. He murdered her with a brick and tossed her body outside into the air shaft. Throughout the murder, Bigger never saw the killing as his fault; he pushed the blame on Bessie. His reasoning was because she kept nagging him causing him to pull her into his mess. “Well, it was her own fault” (p. 220.) Likewise, Mary’s death was similar to Bessie’s because Bigger blamed Mary for her own death. “Hell, she made me do it! I couldn’t help it” (p. 108.) Bigger blamed Mary because she kept bothering him and got too close like somebody getting too close to a gorilla. In addition, Bigger had a sexual drive when he was dealing with each girl. This sexual drive can be seen as his flaw because it caused him to end up killing both girls. If Bigger didn’t try to rape Mary, he could’ve sneaked out of her room without getting caught. However, he followed his desires and ended up killing Mary. Similarly, Bigger was caught up in his desires for Bessie that he wanted to bind her to him. This influenced him into telling her his situation, which led to her demise.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying 100%. I thought of the same thing as I was reading the story. The repetition of the hatred he had for people just because things wasn't going his way and then he never took responsibility for his actions it was always the dead fault.
DeleteI did not think about the idea that Bigger saw his scared and weak self in Gus but I totally agree. He sees everyone as a tool then a threat. I also noticed that Bigger blames everyone for his problems except for himself. He does not trust anyone so he thinks of outrageous plans to get out of situations when there are other ways.
DeleteBigger treatment of bessie in the Naive Story was sad and cruel. Bigger is now the Antagonist of the story because he raped his friend and the person who was holding all of his secret (220). I dont think you can compare Bessie situation with Gus's situation because Bigger broke Bessie inside and outside. Bigger broke her dignity and pride as a woman. Bigger later killed her on page 223, where her body bleeds out on the floor. Bigger taking power from these young women and thinking it ok, he has become a monster. Bigger panic because now he's the mouse thats being chase by the white society. I feel like both death wasn't an act of fear that bigger exactly knows what he's doing or maybe he a confuse and trouble man. i also think he has a psychological problem in the head because instead of finding a good solution, Bigger thinks it ok and fast to kill people. Bigger also lucky these people can't tell black people apart because his tail would had been in jail.
ReplyDeleteI agree. He is the rat being chased by the white society looking for every dark hole hee can just to feel some sense of security when he's eventually going to be exterminated and have to keep running from hole to hole trying to stay out of the light (white society).
DeleteBigger's treatment towards Bessie is him basically bullying her into getting what he want, just like he did to his friend at the beginning of the story. He felt some kind of guilt from what he did to her but he was to afraid that if he was to let her go she would turn him in for what he did. Bessie also knew too much information about him killing Mary. Bigger kills Bessie on purpose but it was also in a panic sort of way because he couldn't take the chance of freeing her and then his whole plan would be destroyed. On (221) it states how he couldn't leave her here neither could he stay with her and then later on in the story on (223) he actually kills her.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that he felt it was his only option, but I also see this as a testimony to Bigger's intelligence. Had Bigger been smarter about the murder to begin with Bessie would have been involved to begin with because this was inevitable. To think anyone had the desire to plot in murder is pure foolishness.
DeleteBigger treats Bessie just like he treated Gus in the beginning. Bigger is a bully, and he regards women as objects to be desired. When Bigger feels trapped, his rationalization is to kill whoever is in his way. With Bessie, when she rejected him, Bigger snapped. He tried to reason within himself, but the only reason he got was to kill her. He knew he could not leave her to expose him, but he could not take her with him when he left, "so he would have to kill her" (222). Bigger is out of control and he is trying to regain that control. However, killing is his release. Just as he had snapped on Gus in the pool hall, he also snapped on Bessie.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Bigger's way of alleviating his problems is to simply get rid of them which is one of his main reasons he kills Bessie and Mary.
DeleteThe way Bigger treats Bessie and Gus is quite similar. When Bigger feels guilty or scared, his ultimate decision is to get rid of the person/object that's making him feel that way. To get rid of Gus he ridiculed him until everyone understood his superior. To get rid of Bessie, he ultimately killed her because he knew she would get him in trouble. Bigger killed Bessie because he was afraid she would get him caught so his immediate thoughts were that he could not take her with him (222). Bigger killed Mary because he was afraid of being caught by Mrs. Dalton. In both situations he was afraid which eventually caused him to kill to elminate the problems.
ReplyDeleteBigger is smart, manipulative, and conniving. he treats Bessie and Gus a certain way because they're both black and he knows he can easily control them. He knows how they will react to certain situations and if their reaction isnt what he expects he will take care of them. He knows that what he does to them will come with no repercussions because the law doesn't care about black on black crime. This leads to his willingness to kill Bessie because she surrenders to him often amd he know he can do whatever to her because he can control her. On the contrary, his accidentally killing Mary came from the fact that he can't get from Mary what he gets from every else. Mary can't give him the satisfaction of being intimidated by him because he can't do or say whatever he wants to Mary. The consequences would be too harsh. He was trying to avoid those consequence when he accidentally killed her. In reality, you can't escape fate. It's either going to get you one way or anotther.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Bigger is very manipulitive this is ultimately how he got away with all his actions and killed Maru accidentally and Bessie purposely.
DeleteIn this section of the novel the treatment of Bessie to the the treatment of Gus are quite similar in that Bigger knows that he can basically take advantage of them. Gus and Bessie are both black individuals in their society. They really dont care too much about them like they care about Mary. This leads to the acidental death of Mary and the intentional death of Bessie. bigger knows that there wouldnt be any recussions if he killed Bessie that's why he ultimat6ely did what he did, but on the other hand he didnt try to kill Mary. But in my eyes what maked it look intentional both ways for Mary and Bessie is the way that he disposed of the evidence. He throwed Mary in the furnace and he throwed Bessie down the shoot.In my opinion Bigger's actions were intentional in all ways because of how he procceeded to do things, this is why you can charactiize both situations as being parallel.
ReplyDeletei definitely agree with you. Bigger motives may seem accidental in Mary case and purpose in Bessie case, but he definitely have a motive behind it.
DeleteThe way Bigger treated Bessie in this section mirrors the way the way he treats Gus in the pool hall by the actions he throws at other people. Bigger belittles individuals who he sees he has an advantage over. Bigger feels as though he must start confusion in order to solve the situation that he is in. Bigger did not want to leave Bessie, but in the end he had to do what he felt would keep him out of trouble in the end. He knew he could not leave her to expose him, but he could not take her with him when he left, "so he would have to kill her" (222). The parallel act that was shown in the deaths of Bessie and Mary was that they were both done out of fear. Bigger knew that he could not keep Bessie around because she knew too much about Bigger's plan and may have got him caught. He killed Mary out of fear of getting caught being a black boy in a white girl's bedroom.
ReplyDeleteThe way Bigger treated Bessie parallels the way he treated Gus in the pool hall. Bessie and Gus are both black and he knows that the white society would not care how he would treat them and he can easily take advantage of him. Mary death was an accidental death, but Bessie death is intentional. The white society only care for their own people that why they involved in Mary's case. Bigger spend his time trying to hide Mary body in the furnace, but he got rid of the Bessie body in the shoot. He killed Mary because he was afraid of getting caught, but eventually he gets caught.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that Bigger treated Gus and Bessie the way he did because if anything happened to them (like when he killed Bessie), no one would really care. He knew white folks would not care about another black person being dead if anything they would probably rejoiced over it.
DeleteBigger truly is racist to his own people. This is evident in his treatment of Bessie,Gus,and even his family. All of them are given Bigger's rear end to kiss, while his white counterpart are revered with the utmost respect. The only person of value to Bigger is himself. He displayed this when he killed Bessie to save himself. Both killings of the women of the novel was to save himself, but both murders could have been avoided. He didn't need to suffocate Mary and definitely did not need to murder Bessie. Bessie was not trying to be involved until he tried to bring her into it. He should have left town when he had the opportunity and saved himself a lot of trouble with the law and his own conscious. Mary's ghost haunts him, but Bessie's never does. It speaks again to what Bigger values. To Bigger, because of teaching through society, the only lives to be valued are white lives. And it shows in all his actions. Society has taught Bigger well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bria's comment. Bigger does show a sense of racism within his own people. He does value only himself because he only looks out for himself in every situation he comes in contact with. HE does drag other people into his trouble and then becomes angry when they don't follow his commands.
DeleteBigger's treatment of Gus and Bessie is pretty similar. He tries to belittle people due to his own insecurities within himself. He tried to make Gus feel lesser than him and inferior to him and Gus in return left. With Bessie he wants her to follow his every direction with no questions asked, but Bessie is not that type of woman. HE later kills her because there is no way for him to completely control her and he cannot leave her alive because that would heightened his chances of being caught.
ReplyDeleteBigger's treatment of Gus and Bessie are very similar. With Gus he started a fight with him because deep done he was scared to go through with the plan. So they way he got out of it was to blame it on Gus doing something wrong instead of revealing how scared he was. With Bessie he kept saying that she was going slow him down and that "He could not take her with him and he could not leave her behind” (220). In both instances he reasoned with himself to justify his violent outburst just to make himself feel better about the situation. According to a quote in Book two "In all of his life these two murders were the most meaningful things that had ever happened to him." Even though Mary's murder was and accident and Bessie's was on purpose they both made him feel the same way afterwards.He felt like he had all the power in the world. Like the could do anything he wanted. He got a certain thrill from both murders that he had never felt in his life. Also after both events he reasons with himself again to assure himself that there was no other way to handle the situation.
ReplyDeleteBigger's treatment to Gus and Bessie are the same because with situations he uses confrontation to be kind of get the blame off just him during an argument and trys to but things on the person he's arguing with. Also Bessie and Gus are pretty much superior to Bigger so he does really see them as important and he treats them and kind of way. Bessie was more of a threat to Bigger than Mary was but Bigger killed both women out of fear.
ReplyDelete