Native Son Guiding Questions
From How Bigger was Born: I made the discovery that Bigger Thomas as not black all
the time; he was white, too, and there were literally millions of him, everywhere.
Questions from Book One - Fear
Part One: From the wake-up to Bigger and Jack heading to the movies [1-29]
What is the name of three books of Native Son?
What onomatopoeic word opens the novel?
What were the two Thomas boys trying to prevent while averting their eyes from their
mother and sister? [4,3]
What is used to kill the rat? [5,4]
As you read, you will see that Bigger lives his life in fear. Even though he is afraid,
Bigger stands up to the forces that are against him. Show how the rat is symbolic of this.
[6]
How does Vera react to Bigger’s taunting with the rat’s body? [7]
Where does Vera take her sewing class? [8]
Who tells Bigger that he is “the most no-countest man I ever seen in all my life!” [9]
According to his mother, what is “the end of the road” for Bigger and his gang? [12,9]
What could cause Bigger to be “swept out of himself with fear and despair?” [10] Be
sure that you can put this in your own words!
Why did Bigger “[deny] himself and acted tough.” [9] Put this in your own words.
What is Bigger’s mother planning to do with the money they will get from Bigger’s job?
[11]
How does the family survive now; where do they get their money? [12]
What is one possible negative consequence of Bigger not taking the job? [12]
Bigger’s mother gave him money for carfare, but Bigger also wanted to spend his money
on _______ [13].
Whose face appears on the billboard across from Bigger’s apartment? [13]
What are the name of the three ‘friends’ in Bigger’s gang? [14]
What is the name of the Delicatessen that they are planning to hold up? [14]
Why did Bigger and his gang believe that “it was much easier and safer to rob their own
people?” [14]
What is ‘symbolic’ about robbing Blum’s? [14]
Who first though of robbing Blum’s? [15]
When Bigger is talking to Gus on the street corner, what in the sky attracts their
attention? [16]
What does Bigger wish he could do “if [he] had the chance”? [17]
What causes Bigger to become so frustrated that he “sighed and swore”? [19] Put this in
your own words.
On page 20, Bigger has a premonition that is similar to his mother’s earlier warning.
Explain.
What do you think Bigger means when he says that white folks live “Right down here in
my stomach.” [21]
Why does Bigger fear Gus? [25]
What were the “rhythms of [Bigger’s] life”? [28-29]
Wright states that violent action would make Bigger forget. What will he forget? [29]
Part Two: From Watching the movie until just before Bigger takes Mary out for the
drive [30-62]
What does the sexual perversion in the movie theater tell us about Bigger and Jack’s
concept of normality and morality? [29-30]
What is the name of the girl Bigger sees in the news reel? [32]
What specifically does Jack tell Bigger about Communists? [32-33]
How did watching the newsreel affect Bigger’s perception about his job? [33]
How did the Dalton job affect the way Bigger looked at Blum’s? [34]
Bigger becomes mad at Gus for being a coward. According to G.H., why is this
perspective skewed? [36]
Bigger attacks Gus. Bigger then attacks Doc. What causes Bigger to react so violently?
[37-40]
What causes Bigger to “rebel”? [42]
As Bigger ventured into the white community, what did he take with him to give him a
sense of completeness? [43]
Why was Bigger ‘intimidated’ as he sat in the Dalton home? [45]
What’s wrong with Mrs. Dalton? [46]
Why was Bigger worried about whether or not the man had seen him “staring at the
woman”? Why did he have to “be careful here”? [47]
What feeling causes Bigger to “hate himself at that moment”? [47]
What’s Mr. Dalton’s connection to the Southside Real Estate Company? [48]
What young woman interrupts the meeting between Bigger and Mr. Dalton? [51]
What question does Mary ask that makes Bigger feel uncomfortable? [51]
Why didn’t Bigger respond to Mary’s question: “Isn’t he [my father] a capitalist,
Bigger?” [52]
Mr. Dalton is a supporter of the NAACP. What is this an acronym for? [53]
What’s the name of the Dalton’s servant? [53]
What job duty does Bigger have down in the basement? [54]
What is one contribution that Mr. Dalton has made to colored schools? [56]
When the Dalton’s got married, who had the most money? [56]
When Bigger is finally alone in the Dalton house and is in his new room, what feelings is
he having about his new job? [59]
How did most white women react around Bigger? How was Mary different? [59]
According to Bigger, what is the central difference between Mrs. Thomas and Mrs.
Dalton in regards to their attitude towards him? [61]
Does Bigger have any interest in going to night school? [62]
What type of car did the Dalton’s own? [62]
Part Three: From the beginning of Bigger driving Mary to the end of book one [64-93]
What surprising news does Mary tell Bigger as they begin to drive to school? [64]
Fill in the blank. “He remember seeing many cartoons _________________ in
newspapers and always they had flaming torches in their hands and wore beards. . .” [65]
When Bigger first meets Jan, he swears he has seen him before. Is he right? [66]
What made Bigger so conscious of his black skin? [67]
In your own words, explain why Bigger was so angered by Jan and Mary’s attitude and
behavior toward him. [67]
What are the two “white looming walls” that Bigger is between? [68]
Justify the fact that Mary has at least an academic curiosity towards Bigger’s life [69-70]
What makes Bigger consider leaving his job at the Dalton’s? [72]
How long has Bigger’s family lived in Chicago? [74]
What happened to Bigger’s father? [74]
Who are the Scottsboro boys? Look at page 495 in the back of the book [75]
Where is Mary planning on going the next morning? [79]
What does Jan give to Bigger before saying goodbye? [80]
Name two emotions Bigger is feeling as he is helping Mary out of the car. For each
emotion, offer a brief justification [81]
What do Bigger and Mary do as he is holding her up in the bedroom? [84]
Once Bigger realizes what has happened, “the reality of the room fell from him.” What
came into focus instead? Why would Bigger be thinking about this? [87]
How does Bigger buy three days of time? [89]
As Bigger carries the trunk downstairs, he is on the lookout for the ‘white blur’. Who is
the white blur? [90]
After the bloody deed in the basement, what does Bigger do with the hatchet? [92]
Where does Bigger get the role of bills? [93]
Questions from Book Two – Flight
Part One: From the beginning of book two until Bigger is asked to find the hatchet [97156]
Why does Bigger decide to keep Jan’s pamphlets? [98]
What argument do Bigger and his mother get into the next morning? [100]
How does Bigger compare home to the Dalton’s in regards to the smell of food? [105]
What conclusion does Bigger come to when he thinks about his living conditions? [105]
What formed a “barrier of protection between him and a world he feared”? [105]
Bigger felt that this crime was an act of creation. Explain. [105]
What did Buddy give to Bigger in the stairwell? [110]
How does Buddy look at/feel about his older brother? [110]
What evidence is there that Bigger doesn’t totally trust his younger brother? [111]
How does Bigger ‘buy’ admiration from Gus, Jack, and GH? [112]
Bigger’s new perspective on how to act rises him above his circumstances. Explain.
[113]
True or False. Bigger does feel somewhat remorseful for what happened to Mary? [114]
What was it about Mary that caused him to fear so much? [114]
How did Bigger and other blacks look at white people? [114]
Blacks lived in a ‘prescribed corner’. Explain [114]
Bigger dreamed of united with other blacks and standing up against their oppressors.
Why didn’t Bigger follow through with this dream? [114]
Explain how or why a man as evil as Hitler could be looked at by admiration by Bigger.
[115]
What fear caused Bigger to fight Gus in the poolroom? [115]
Why is Peggy uncomfortable when Bigger greets her in the basement? [117]
Why does Bigger feel kindly towards Peggy in the kitchen? [122]
When Bigger is upstairs, how is he able to listen to conversations downstairs? [123]
Why won’t Mrs. Dalton ask the questions she really wants to ask Bigger? [128]
What is one thing that really bother’s Bigger about his crime? [129]
In what way does Bigger want his crime to be a symbol of power? [130]
Even when he is with Bessie, Bigger has a terrible vision. What is that vision? [132]
How much of Mary’s money is left when Bigger and Bessie count it? [134]
Explain the significance of the Leopold and Loeb reference. Look on page 500. [136]
What idea does Bigger come up with after hearing about Loeb? [137]
What job did Bessie have and how much did she work? [139]
Why did Bessie ‘party hard’? [139]
What did Bigger like most about Bessie? [139]
True or False. Bessie believed Bigger’s story that Mary ran off with Jan. [144]
How has Bessie helped Bigger in criminal activities prior to the Dalton’s? [145]
What does Bigger give to Bessie before he leaves? [146]
What caused Bigger to feel that “he had destiny in his grasp. He was more alive than he
could ever remember having been.” [149]
What do Mr. and Mrs. Dalton ask Bigger to do re: the trunk? [152]
Bigger always toys with the idea of ___________, but then talks himself into staying
[154]
In hindsight, why was Bigger happy that he had given the money to Bessie? [154]
What is Mr. Britten’s relationship to Mr. Dalton? [155]
What does Mr. Dalton ask for that Bigger can’t supply? [155-154]
Part Two: From when Britten opens the trunk until Bigger is asked to clean the furnance
out [156-215]
When questioned, Bigger said that _______ gave him instructions about the car and the
trunk. [160]
When Britten asks Bigger about the “Party” what does Britten mean? [160]
At one point, Mr. Dalton makes a brief acknowledgement of how blacks are limited in
their opportunities. What does he say? [163]
What ‘evens the score’ with the Daltons and all whites in Bigger’s mind? [164]
What surprise guest does Britten bring up to Bigger’s bedroom? [166]
Under intense interrogation, Jan lies twice. What are those two lies? [168]
What is Bigger’s assumption about why Jan lied? [169]
Unwittingly, Jan’s ‘desire’ to protect Mary helped _______ [169]
Before going to see Bessie a second time, who does Bigger run into on the street corner?
[171]
What physical threat does Bigger make to Jan? [172]
What do we learn about Mr. Dalton’s business practices? [174]
What does Bigger wear when writing the note? [176]
How did Bigger sign the note? [177]
What terrible foreshadowing does Bessie make? [178]
True or False. While in her apartment, Bigger threatens to kill Bessie with the knife.
[180]
Where did Bigger place the ransom note? [184]
While Bigger is eating in the kitchen, what suddenly causes him to lose his appetite?
[186]
Explain the Bruno Hauptmann reference. Page 502. [193]
What ‘repulsed’ most white men? [197]
Bigger “knew that whites thought that all Negroes ____________ for white women.”
[197]
How do the reporters try to bribe Bigger for information? [199]
What request does Mr. Dalton make of the police regarding Jan? [202]
How does Mr. Dalton justify this action? [205]
How does Jan refuse Mr. Dalton’s request? [210]
How is Jan’s alibi that he is innocent strengthened? [210]
How does Jan justify Bigger’s lies? [211]
Why was Bigger scared of cleaning the furnace? [215]
Part Three: From when a reporter begins digging through the ashes until the end of
book two. [216-270]
What daunting evidence do the reporters discover? [218]
What old feeling returns to Bigger when his crime is discovered? [219]
What harsh accusation does Bessie say the police will bring against Bigger? [227]
How does Bigger define rape? [228]
What decision does Bigger arrive at regarding Bessie? [229]
What does Bessie do to make Bigger believe that she had truly given up? [233]
What crime does Bigger first commit against Bessie? [234]
What is the ‘it’ that Bigger wants to toss out the window? [235]
Where does the body of Bessie end up? [238]
What mistake does Bigger make with his money? [239]
How do these murders relation to Bigger’s notion of free will? [239]
Bigger has killed many times before. What does this mean? [239]
For Bigger’s mother, _______________ “can help her make believe that it was solved,
make believe that [she] was happy when she was not.” [240]
When Bigger was around other people, he felt what he wanted, which was. . .[240]
What would mean ‘death before death came’? [243]
As a result of Bigger’s crime, ‘several Negro men were _______ in various North and
West Side neighborhoods.’ [244]
In what other ways does news of Bigger’s crime affect blacks in the black belt? [244]
How did real estate agents enforce the black belt? [249]
While on the run, what does Bigger buy for five cents? [250]
Unlike his mother, Bigger could never put his faith in the church. Why? [254]
What simile does Wright use to compare how Bigger felt when he looked at the picture of
the shrinking lack belt in the paper? [256]
How old is Bigger? [256]
What did Bigger do to the man who poked through the roof’s trapdoor? [261]
What is the location of Bigger’s last refuge? [266]
How did Bigger lose the gun? [269]
Book Three: Fate
What did Bigger leave untouched in his first few days of jail? [273]
What part of himself does Bigger now wish to do away with? [274]
What is Bigger hoping for, despite his predicament? [275]
The whites regarded Bigger as a symbol of that “black world which they . . .” [276]
What causes Bigger to spring up, out of his stupor? [276]
What warning does an editor of the paper make against the mixing of whites/blacks?
[281]
Besides Mary, what does Bigger believe to be his first murder? [284]
According to Jan, what does Bigger have a right to do? [288]
How did Jan’s speech to Bigger affect Bigger’s perception of whites? [289]
Whom does Jan introduce Bigger to? [290]
Max is partly defending Bigger out of selfish reasons. Explain. [292]
What odd gesture of kindness does Mr. Dalton show to the South Side Boys’ Club? [294]
What causes Bigger to cringe while in the cell with Buckley? [295]
What does Buddy say that makes the crowd gasp? [296]
Why does Bigger disregard the previous lie that he will get himself out of this? [297]
What are some things that happen that cause bigger to realize that his actions affect
others? [298]
What plea does Ma make to Bigger? [299]
What news causes Bigger’s family and friends to circle him, hugging and crying? [300]
What is the essence of Mrs. Thomas’s plea to Mrs. Dalton? [302]
What scares Bigger when he looks out the jail window? [303]
What conclusion does Bigger come to as far as the difference between Mary’s and
Bessie’s death? [304]
How did Bessie die? [304]
What accusations to Clinton and Ashton make? [305]
What two things motivate Bigger to talk and eventually confess? [306]
Under what circumstances would Bigger have “gladly admitted his guilt”? [308]
What does ‘pride’ get in the way of for Bigger? [311]
True or False. The trunk was used as evidence at Mary’s inquest. [312]
How old was Mary? [313]
What does the coroner place in Mrs. Dalton’s hand? [314]
After Jan is questioned, why does Bigger begin to think that he and Jan are similar? [325]
In the testimony, Bigger learns that the Daltons habitually hired blacks who suffered one
or more of the following: [325]
When the Thomas’s pay their rent, who eventually receives it [albeit somewhat
indirectly]? [326]
How does Mr. Dalton justify the inequitable rent he charges, despite the fact that he is in
control of rent costs? [326]
What disturbing piece of evidence was pushed into the inquest by the two attendants?
[330]
For which crime was Bigger going to be punished? [331]
At what point does Bigger feel the deepest sympathy for Bessie? [331]
What is the name of the jail where Bigger is staying? [333]
Where do the police drive Bigger after the inquest? [334]
What do the police officers want Bigger to do? [335]
What did Bigger want to ‘scream’ to the police officers, even though he knew no one
would believe him? [336]
What bright object catches Bigger’s eye when he is coming back from the Dalton’s?
[337]
Why does this sight confuse Bigger? [337]
What sends the preacher ‘reeling backwards upon the concrete’? [339]
According to Buckley, what is at the root of many unsolved crime? [342]
While in his jail, Bigger’s ‘fear of death, [and] all his hate and shame vanish’ briefly.
Why? [343]
What did Bigger try to do ‘over and over,’ albeit unsuccessfully? [345]
How does Bigger respond to Max’s question “Did you like her [Mary]?” [349]
Why did Bigger feel threatened by Mary? [350]
How does Bigger justify killing Bessie? [352]
Explain what Bigger is thinking/feeling when he utters ‘They like God…’ [353]
What is a Jim Crow army? [353]
Besides the army and aviation, what else did Bigger express interest in? [354]
What action leaves Bigger feeling ‘scared no more for a little while’? [354]
While Mr. Dalton sent Ping Pong tables to the South Side Boys’ Club, what did Bigger
and his gang do at that same location? [355]
Why didn’t Bigger go to church? [355]
Fill in the blank. ‘Nobody but __________ get happy in church.’ [356]
What is Bigger referring to when he states, ‘I wanted to be happy in this world, not out of
it.’ [356]
What do you think Bigger means when he says, ‘If I was religious, I’d be dead now.”
According to Max, why are the whites angry with Bigger? [358]
What causes Bigger to, ‘stand and see vague relations that he had never dreamed of.’
[360]
What is something that Bigger thinks he has been ‘blind’ to all along? [362]
To whom does Bigger acknowledge that hid is indeed praying for his life? [364]
How does one professor at the University of Chicago perpetuate stereotypes of race and
rape? [366]
Fill in the blank. “In a certain sense, every ______________________ is on trial today.’
[368]
What surprise move does Max make at the beginning of the trial? [370]
How many witnesses does Buckley call? [375]
Max argues that the purpose of the trail is not to focus on why Bigger killed, but instead
to argue why. . .{376]
How many witnesses does Max call? [381]
According to Max, why would a jury trial be a ‘mock’ trial? [384]
According to Max, what is the ‘first wrong’ committed against blacks? [387]
What are the ‘tokens of mockery’ and what does Max mean by this description? [395]
Finish this sentence. Bigger accepted his crime because it ‘gave him the possibility of
_______, of ___________, the opportunity to act and to feel that his actions
______________. [396]
When does ‘happiness come to men’? [398]
According to Max, what ‘form of expression’ DO blacks have access to? [399]
Bigger’s crime was an act of ____________. [400]
Briefly summarize the third paragraph on page 400. Think about this underlying
question. Why is Bigger’s very existence a crime?
On the night of the crime, when Mrs. Dalton walks into Mary’s bedroom, Bigger knew
that he was in a position which could ‘warrant the death penalty’. Explain. [400]
What, according to Max, makes our ‘future seem a looming image of violence’? [402]
What are some reasons why prison would be good for Bigger? [404]
In Max’s final plea, he states, ‘I beg this in order that not only may this black boy live,
but that we ourselves _______________________________.’ [405]
According to Buckley, what did Mary do in the final moments before her death? [412]
What is the central crime, as Buckley argues? [413]
After Buckley’s final argument, the judge announces that court will adjourn for
________, clearly sealing the fate of Bigger. [415]
What bad news does Max deliver to Bigger via telegram? [420]
What do the buildings outside of the jail cell symbolize? [426-427]
Whom does Bigger ask Max to say hello to? [430]