Bigger's Refusal to Acknowledge Reality and Denial of His Environment

Early on in Richard Wright's Native Son, we get the sense that Bigger Thomas is isolated and disconnected from the dilapidated black area of Chicago where he lives. This notion manifests itself in Bigger's actions and attitudes toward several of the obstacles his life presents him with, and extends not only to his dysfunctional family dynamic, but his daily interactions with his friends and approach on life in general. Bigger's embarrassed and almost disdainful view of his family is evident almost immediately in the first few pages of Book 1, as it is clear after the rat scene that Bigger isn't exactly thrilled with his current living conditions yet despises when his family prompts him to do something to change them. Since Bigger absolutely loathes the conditions which he is forced to live in, but lacks the determination to do something about it, he resorts to simply casting all thoughts about his living situation out of his head as much as possible, essentially engaging in a mild form of reality denial. This reality denial, or perhaps more accurately termed a "refusal to acknowledge", which on the outside appears as indifference and simply portrays Bigger as aloof, is really a result of Bigger's insecurities regarding his ignorance of the intricacies of the harsh racial dynamic in Chicago and the resulting housing situation it has produced for him specifically. This concept of Bigger's refusal of reality, in conjunction with the resulting fear induced in him when forced to actually confront and acknowledge this reality, will provide explanation for several of Bigger's future outbursts and rude behavior in Book 1, causing the confusion and frustration he experiences in the altercation with Jan and Mary, and ultimately shedding light on Bigger's seemingly rash and irrational act of murdering Mary.

The complex psychology and rationale of Bigger Thomas that leads to his murdering of a young girl stems crucially from his housing conditions and position in his society, that is, his environment. We are immediately thrown into the rat predicament on only the second page of the book, showing how common and abrupt situations like these are. Bigger confronts the situation with strong resolve and a collected head, something we will not see much more of in Bigger past this point in the novel. While Bigger succeeds, his mother still scolds him and nags him to rid the house of the rat and help his sister. Bigger responds by expressing dissent towards his family, and explains how he is able to progress through his life while having to endure such difficulties daily: "He shut their voices out of his mind. He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help them. He knew that the moment he allowed what his life meant to enter fully into his consciousness, he would either kill himself or someone else. So he denied himself and acted tough" (10). Bigger states that he despises his family primarily because of the harsh environmental conditions which they all must live in, and feels insecure about his inability to do anything to help this. Despite the fact that we later learn that this isn't true, as Bigger can get the job at the Dalton's to directly support his family, it implies that he is insecure about that fact that he is powerless to improve his family's current economic standing. He feels that if he ever "allowed what his life meant to enter fully into his consciousness," that he would be pointlessly dwelling on an insecurity which he has no power to rid himself of. To cope with this, Bigger shuts himself off from and refuses to acknowledge the realities of his world to prevent any feelings of remorse from seeping in and sustain the integrity of his tough mental resolve.

Due to the self-protective nature of the figurative bubble that Bigger that built around him as a shield from his fears and outside factors which he has no influence over, Bigger expresses some extreme and varied reactions to several situations in which he is forcefully, though at times inadvertently, dragged out of his shield of reality denial. The two major instances of this occurring in the early parts of Book 1 are when Bigger lashes out and acts disparagingly towards Gus when planning Blum's robbery and, most importantly, when confronted with kindness by Jan and Mary. The importance of these two scenes, especially the latter, are that they show that Bigger's insecurities extend beyond simply his family's poor economic situation, but instead to his ignorance and therefore discomfort in nuanced interactions regarding race. Bigger has only known racism from powerful white people throughout his childhood in Chicago, and is ignorant about people like Jan, Mary, and other communists who don't see blacks as inferior in any way. Thus, when Jan and Mary act so carefree and and amicable towards Bigger in the chauffeur scene before they enter the restaurant, Bigger understandably expresses confusion and surprise internally: "He felt ensnared in a tangle of deep shadows, shadows as black as the night that stretched above his head. The was he had acted had made her cry, and yet the way she had acted had made him feel that he had to act as he had toward her" (72). We can observe in this scene the extreme confusion that Bigger experiences when confronted by Jan and Mary's excessive kindness as he states that he is essentially only acting how he thinks Mary, that is a privileged white person, would want him to act. Whenever Bigger does something that would normally please most of the privileged whites that Bigger has encountered throughout his life, Jan and Mary are more involving of Bigger, and try to incorporate him in their activities. Jan and Mary are fundamentally challenging the perception of the black and white racial dynamic of racism that has been imprinted into Bigger's mind ever since he was born, dragging Bigger out of his bubble by causing confusion and eventual frustration in him as he attempts to understand why these two privileged whites are acting so differently towards him. Naturally, Bigger doesn't immediately understand the reasoning behind Jan and Mary's kindness and instead fosters a feeling of distrust towards them, providing explanation for his constant thought that he "hates" Mary for simply being in a situation and talking, despite her good intentions for Bigger. Bigger feels that Mary is disadvantageous to have around and that she is borderline insane for interacting with him as lightly as she does. These notions of confusion, frustration, and distrust all come together in the a feeling of fear that is gradually growing inside of Bigger whenever he is around Mary, as she forces him to think critically about Chicago's racial dynamic as well as reevaluate his place in society. This fear finally manifests it in the culminating scene of Book 1, where out of panic and fear, resulting from perceived racial drawbacks, Bigger murders Mary, almost as if Mary's kindness and blindness while viewing race actually illustrated the degree of disparity between Mary's view and the conventional view of racism, inadvertently causing Bigger to be more scared than he would have been of being caught in a white girl's room at 2 in the morning.