Native Son to p.340

Quote #1: "Well, you jarred me....I see now. I was kind of blind"(287).

Significance: Bigger seemed so relieved through this quote. All through the text Bigger has been saying how everyone is blind and does not see what the truth is. Jan has finally shown Bigger that there are some white people out there that can see they are blind. He thought no one would ever know what he really did. Jan now realizes what Bigger's intentions were.

Question: How will people feel if Bigger is sentenced to death?


Quote #2: "For the first time in his life a white man become a human being to him; and the reality of Jan's humanity came in a stab of remorse: he had killed what this man loved and had hurt him. He saw Jan as though someone had performed an operation upon his eyes, or as though someone who had snatched a deforming mask from Jan's face"(289).

Significance: Through this quote, we now see that Bigger has allowed himself to have an open mind. After talking to Jan, Bigger sees that Jan is a good person and is not like some of the other white people he knows. Jan wants to help Bigger and he does not want them to be enemies. Jan seems to have good intentions with Bigger and this shows that they could be really good friends later on in the book.

Question: How will Jan help Bigger get out of this mess?

Quote #3: "Never again did he want to feel anything like hope. That was what was wrong; he had let that preacher talk to him until some where in him he had begun to feel that maybe something could happen" (340).

Significance: This quote shows how Bigger views things in different ways. In this case, the cross symbolizes hope. He had hope before that he would not get caught and he could continue to live his life. Having hope got him no where and look where he is now. It does not seem like he has much of a life anymore, but maybe with a different kind of hope he can overcome this obstacle in his life and will be able to see something positive come out of this experience.

Question: Will Max be true to Bigger or will he make his situation worse?