Native Son

Little Details

where does the story take place?

chicago

their apartment has how many rooms?

one

what frightens the family?

the black rat

how does bigger kill the rat?

a skillet and a shoe

what does vera do when bigger holds the dead rat in front of her face?

she faints

why is mrs. Thomas upset with bigger?

blaming him for the family's poverty and accusing him of thinking only of himself.

mrs. Thomas says bigger never says ____

thank you

who offers bigger the job as a chauffeur?

mr. dalton

why must bigger take the job?

he will lose his relief money and the family will starve

what time does he have to meet mr. dalton?

5:30

Across the street, men are putting up campaign posters for the State's Attorney, a man named _______.

Buckley

The words ___________ adorn the top of the campaign posters.

"If You Break The Law, You Can't Win!"

how much money did bigger have in his pocket?

26 cents

bigger and his friends plan to rob a store owned by _____

mr. blum

what is different about this robbery?

they are robbing a white man

Bigger knows that white policemen are largely unconcerned with ________ crimes.

black-against-black

Gus agrees that Bigger could fly a plane, but only if he ______

had money and were not black.

bigger says he can feel the presence of the _____ in him

whites

Gus and Bigger go to ______ to meet their friends Jack and G. H.

Doc's pool hall

the four agree to meet at Doc's at _______ to carry out the robbery.

three o'clock

there is a _____ at the end of the street at Blum's

cop

how much does bigger spend on the movie?

20 cents

Bigger says that he would rather _____ than take a job through the relief agency.

go to jail

what is the name of the movie that they watch?

trader horn

who is in this movie?

mary dalton

what do bigger's friends know that what was the reason for not robbing the store?

his fear of robbing a white man

what does bigger do to doc's table?

destroys it

what does bigger decide to bring with him to the dalton's?

his gun

what does bigger contemplate when he arrives at the dalton's? what does he decide to do?

thinks about entering from either the front or back door -- goes through front

how is the way bigger talks to the white woman different from the way he talks to his friends?

he is more formal, polite, nervous

what is the name of the maid?

peggy

bigger observes that mrs. dalton is _____

blind

mr dalton owns the south side real estate company, the same place where ______

the thomas' pay rent

how much does bigger's family pay for rent?

$8 a week

what did bigger go to reform school for?

stealing

how much does the job pay? how much does mr. dalton offer bigger?

pays $20/week, offers him $25/week

what does Mary ask bigger?

if he belongs to a union

dalton is a supporter of _____

NAACP

dalton decides to hire Bigger because of _______

his support for blacks.

bigger is told to drive Mary to ______

university of Chicago for a lecture at 8:30

Peggy tells bigger to work on the _____

furnace

who was the last person to work for the dalton's? how long did he work there? why did he leave?

green; 10 years; took a job with the government

how much money did dalton give to colored schools?

$5 million

what are the communists known as?

reds

where do bigger, Mary, and jan go to eat? why?

ernie's kitchen shack bc Mary and jan want to see how black people live

who do they encounter at the restaurant?

bessie, bigger's girlfriend

what do they drink?

rum

where did bigger grow up? what is his highest education level?

Mississippi; eighth grade

went to school in the _______(north/south)

south

how long has he been in Chicago?

5 years

how did his father die?

was killed in a riot in the south

Mary tells Bigger she is going to _____ at nine o'clock the next morning and that he should bring her small trunk to the station at ______

Detroit; eight-thirty

what does jan give bigger to read?

communist pamphlets

how do jan and Mary get home?

jan takes the bus and Mary drives with bigger

why did bigger place a pillow over Mary? what happened?

he did this to prevent her from saying something to mrs. dalton that would reveal his presence. bigger accidentally smothers Mary to death

mrs dalton leaves after she smells ______ on mary

alcohol

how does bigger transport Mary's body to the basement?

puts it in the trunk

what does bigger have to do to get her body through the furnace? what does he use?

he has to decapitate her and uses a knife and hatchet

who will he put the blame on? why will the daltons believe this?

jan - the Daltons see Jan as a dangerous communist

what does bigger take with him back to his apartment?

Mary's purse

where do the authorities take bigger? what is the place called?

they take him to an inquest called Cook County Morgue

bigger refuses to _____ when first arrested

speak

what does the headline of the newspaper read?

"Negro Rapist Faints at Inquest."

what does Edward Robertson, editor of the Jackson Daily Star, say about segregation?

total segregation and a curtailment of the education of the black population

what is the name of the pastor that visits bigger? what does he give bigger?

reverend hammond - gives a wooden cross

what does jan tell bigger when he visits?

he's not angry and doesnt blame him, he realizes the lost of black lives after losing mary

As Jan speaks, Bigger notes that this moment is the first time in his life that he has seen a white person as a________

human being

what does jan want to offer bigger?

a lawyer, max, for free

max is a lawyer with the ________

Labor Defenders

what is the name of the state attorney?

buckley

what did bigger realize about his crime when he saw his family?

that it is affecting everyone

what does bigger promise his mother? does he believe it?

that he will pray; no

Dalton says that despite the crime he is not angry with all black Americans. He announces that he has even sent some _______ to the South Side Boys' Club earlier in the day.

Ping-Pong tables

Mrs. Thomas tearfully begs the Daltons to have mercy, but they only reply that ________

they have no control over the matter.

how did bessie actually die?

she froze to death

does bigger sign the confession? how does he react?

he signs it and begins to sob

how long did mrs. dalton own the earrings? when did she start wearing it? when did she give it to Mary?

33 years; when she was "of age" (18 years); about 5 years ago

max asks Dalton why black tenants pay higher rents than whites for the same kinds of apartments. Dalton replies that ________

there is a housing shortage on the South Side.

how much do the Thomas' pay for rent?

$8/week

dalton says ______ regulates the housing prices

The law of supply and demand

how much did mr. dalton give to negro education?

$5 million

what was the last thing mrs. dalton did when she saw Mary?

prayed

max advised bigger not to _______ in the testimony

speak

bessie was merely "_______" of bigger's crime, he was only punished for Mary's death

evidence

what is bigger accused of?

rape and murder

what did the police force bigger to do back at the dalton's home? how did they react?

they wanted him to reenact the crime. the police spit on him

what does bigger see burning outside the window? what does this symbolize?

he sees a a burning cross. he feels that hammond has betrayed him and this symbolizes his loss of hope

what does bigger do with the wooden cross hammond gave him?

he throws it away

what does bigger see in the newspaper?

that he is certain to receive the death penalty

A hysterical black prisoner is brought to Bigger's cell, demanding the ________

return of his papers

Another prisoner tells Bigger that this hysterical prisoner went crazy from __________

studying too much at a university

what was the crazy prisoner trying to achieve?

The man had been trying to understand why blacks were treated so badly and had been picked up at the post office, where he was waiting to speak to the president

What were some things bigger couldn't do because of his race?

Bigger once wanted to be an aviator, but he knew that black men were not allowed to go to aviation schools. He wanted to join the army, but it proved to be segregated and based upon racist laws. He saw the white boys from his school go on to college or the military when he could not.

why does bigger find it ironic that the daltons donated the ping pong table to the south side boys' club?

because that's where he and his friends planned their robberies

why does bigger reject the church?

because it preached happiness only in the afterlife while he longed for happiness in this world

what does max tell bigger to plea the 1st and 2nd time

1st - not guilty

2nd - guilty with a plea for mercy

what changes with bigger after he talks with max?

he no longer wants to die

what does Buckley bring into the courtroom?

the dalton's furnace

Buckley presents his case over the course of _____ days

2