Do You Think That it was Bigger's Fate to End up Where he Is?

Was there a way out? IS there a way out?
Can Bigger's character change positively even though he is black, in the 1930s, committed double homicide, and has little faith in himself?

Controversy Back in the Day

Before we began reading Native Son, we were told this book had caused an outrage among certain communities due to its telling of African American oppression in the 1940s. Many thought Richard Wright could have done a better job by telling a story where colored folk were shown as rising above, transcending, this oppression, but he took a risk and was successful. What do you guys see as the most controversial points in this book from what we've read? Do any of you believe that the gruesome murder of Mary Dalton had something to do with this controversy?

How Does Native Son Connect to the Situations in Your Life?

Does anyone draw parallels between their life and Bigger's? How do you compare you life to his? And does learning about his situation make you want to do better in life?

"Bigger?" As in better?

As we continue to read "Native Son" it occurs to me that Bigger is no longer a literal adaptation of his name. He has become an embodiment of cowardice to the limits and boundaries put before him by white society. He has himself internalized the segregative status quo.