Paper Details  
 
   

Has Bibliography
9 Pages
2261 Words

 
   
   
    Filter Topics  
 
     
   
 

Strain Theory

Bigger Thomas, a young African American male, Twenty years old; vicious, vile and mean; he hates himself and all human society, especially that part of society which he attributes to making him a monster. Bigger Thomas is in rebellion on what he views as the white caste system; his crime is targeted at white society and the people that he views as being his oppressors. Bigger has the choice of taking on three roles, he can take on the role passivity designed for him by the southern whites and resolve his personal conflicts through the emotional catharsis of religion; or he can strive for and establish his own middle class society and thereby consciously or unconsciously become the white man's accomplice in oppression; or he can reject the entire southern white ideology and assume the role of a criminal, which will inevitably erupt into physical violence.Bigger is filled with anger, shame, frustration, guilt, hatred, and resentment. He feels that he is in a society that promotes the ideas of economic stability but produces no means of accomplishing those goals, or at least not in his community. Bigger then becomes a man with nothing to lose, he has no pride, no religion, no family and friends, nothing to look forward to. The ending result is bigger feeling useless in society.Bigger feels trapped and in the book there were a number of symbolism's that replicated his feelings about society, first there was that of the trapped rat, This rat was suppose to represent bigger and how he was a rodent in society. He was lost and eventually he would explode and become a hardened criminal, he felt that he was not given the opportunities he deemed necessary to become affluent and prosperous in a society that didn't care for his existence. He felt marginal. Bigger felt the only work for him was menial positions that exploited the African American race, as cheap labor. He also thought that in order for him to become noticeable in society he wo...

Page 1 of 9 Next >

    More on Strain Theory...

    Loading...
 
Copyright © 1999 - 2024 CollegeTermPapers.com. All Rights Reserved. DMCA