"It was not Mary he was reacting to when he felt that fear and shame. Mary had served to set off his emotions, emotions conditioned by many Marys. And now that he had killed Mary he felt a lessening of tension in his muscles; he had shed an invisible burden he had long carried" (114)
I believe this quote is significant because it works like the Winter quote from A Separate Peace. For every Mary in this qoute, it can be replaced with White, and so it would then read: "It was not Mary he was reacting to when he felt that fear and shame. Mary had served to set off his emotions, emotions conditioned by many whites. And now that he had killed a white he felt a lessening..." So, in actuality, for it make to sense, you would only substitute one Mary for white, but I believe Mary represents all of the whites in Bigger's life. They have oppressed him all his life, and in the act of killing Mary, that burden was lifted; he rebelled against White Oppression.
Will Bigger kill again?
If Bigger tells Bessie, would she rat him out?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment