Bigger Thomas: A Tragic Position

Bigger Thomas is a dynamic hero. He is a man who has been born and molded into a world of pure injustice. The grim truth regarding his place in the world hit him at an early age. Bigger's father, who shares the ideals of the adult Bigger, participated in strikes and protests that got him shot and killed. After this, Bigger's mother embraced Bigger, telling him with strong emotion that his father was killed "because he was black".

Bigger is a visionary. He lacks the ability to conform to the demeaning social norm of his fellow blacks: submission to the white man. He gets into fights and frequently causes moments of discomfort for his friends when he speaks of his ideals. Whenever he is around Henry or Mary Dalton, Bigger shows extreme anxiety, and even intense fear. This is because his mind is almost always hovering around the topic of his unfair position in the world. He has a litany of things to say to these people, but is still forced to silence, for revealing his ideals to the Daltons would lose him his job, which is all he has.

With his tall and strong stature, enthusiastic ideas, and obvious hope to go on in life, Bigger Thomas would likely be a great contribution to a society that embraced him and provided him with opportunities for a real kind of success. Tragically, Bigger was born into a world in which he was destined to be oppressed. Unable to handle this, he falls to a life of crime, and ultimately loses his humanity by shedding the blood of Mary, and then his own wife.