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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Wright, Richard
Bigger Thomas. Bigger Thomas is the protagonist of the novel. It could be argued that he is also his own antagonist.
20. You find out how old Bigger is while Mr. Dalton is interviewing him for the job.
Blum's. Bigger and his gang decide to do one more job together and this is the proposed target. They don't go through with it because more than one of them is wary of robbing a white man.
Gus. Bigger is afraid to rob a white man, but he cannot let his gang see his fear. To hide his own fear, he attacks Gus for his doubts and does end up pulling a knife on him.
Mr. Dalton. Bigger is going to work for Mr. Dalton, a very rich white man. Mr. Dalton likes to take in black men and better them by providing them money and education.
Chauffeur. Bigger is excited that he may get to drive one of Mr. Dalton's nice cars. He learned to drive a grocery truck for one of his previous jobs.
1. They all live in one room. The girls get dressed first while the boys look away. The kitchen is in the same room, simply divided by a curtain.
$25. The job was listed as paying $20, but Mr. Dalton is giving Bigger an extra five to spend on himself.
Mary and Jan. When Mary and Jan go out the night of the murder, they discuss Communist propoganda with Bigger. They desire to help Bigger and "his people" receive equal rights.
She is smothered.. When Mrs. Dalton pokes her head into the room, Bigger covers Mary's head with a pillow so she will not make a sound and give away his presence.
furnace. He slides her body into the furnace hoping it will burn away evidence of the murder.
Cuts off her head. Mary's body fits in the furnace only up to her neck. Bigger takes out a knife and begins sawing her head off. When that doesn't work, he finds a hatchet and cuts her head off and throws it in the furnance. Gruesome isn't it?
Purse. He discovers he has her purse AND the knife with which he severed her head. He puts the knife in the purse, takes the money in the purse, and throws it in a dumpster.
Yes. At the beginning of the book all she can do is complain about him and insult him. When she finds out he got a job and intends to keep it, she is all hugs and kisses.
Detroit. She was supposed to catch a train to Detroit. She had asked Bigger to take her trunk to the station for her.
Bessie. Bessie is Bigger's alcoholic girlfriend. She has helped him steal things from her employers in the past.
Bessie. Bessie talks about these two white rich boys who had murdered a young boy and then demanded ransom.
Mr. Britten. Mr. Britten is racist and he hates Communists.
$10,000. Bigger wrote the letter and was smart enough to sign it with the Communist's hammer and sickle so as to convince the cops that the Communists had kidnapped Mary.
Earring. One of Mary's earrings was discovered in the ashes.
Money. All the money he had stolen from Mary's purse was tucked away in Bessie's pocket.
Reverend Hammond. Reverend Hammond, from Bigger's mother's church, came to bless him and exhort him to call on God for mercy.
Jan. Jan came in to see Bigger and to tell him that he forgave him. Jan even said he thought he understood why Bigger did it and that he wanted to help with Bigger's defense.
Mr. Max. Mr. Max is a Jewish man who is friendly with the Communists and defending a Black man. His life is just full of excitement.
The Daltons. The Daltons enter his cell looking at him like they don't quite understand.
His family. His mom, brother and sister came to see him, as well as his group of friends. His mother sobbed, begging him to call on Jesus, but Bigger seemed pretty distant to all this, even embarrassed that his mother was there.
Miss Ashton. Miss Ashton identified Bigger as the criminal even though the reader knows this isn't true.
To re-enact the crime. Everyone wanted Bigger to re-enact the crime, even the rape that didn't occur.
60. He brought in 60 witnesses. Mr. Max tried to get the judge to not allow every single one to testify, but the judge waited while every last person testified to Bigger's crimes, real or imaginary.
A burning cross. He saw a burning cross that at first he didn't realize was for him. He knew the KKK was watching the trial.
1 hour. The judge only deliberated for an hour before convicting Bigger.
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