Native Son Lesson Plan

Take note of the instances in which we see Bigger being haunted by his actions. How does Wright convey these moments, and what do they reveal to us about Bigger's state of mind?

Bigger is haunted by waking images of Mary, especially when he fears her discovery in the furnace, but he is also haunted by several surreal dream moments when he manages to sleep. He dreams of mobs of white faces coming for him, and he sees his own bloodied head wrapped in newspaper. Besides the obvious thing of Bigger knowing that the discovery of Mary's body will quickly lead to the discovery of his guilt, we are also shown that Bigger is in a state of sleep deprivation. He is exhausted, which...