BOOK 1

1. BOOK 1 p3—Wake-up call First word is an onomatopoeia It is literally a wake up, much like the book Let me know how as you read along The first book is called fear P6—notice the fear stricken rat Diction—fear

2. Notice that the setting so far is hostile and with much anxiety • The novel opens w/ a man anxiously beating a rat to death • Does this set the stage of what is to come in Bigger’s life? • Yes!

3. P9, 2nd para.—BT’s mom berates him • Notice that his mom treats him essentially the same as the rest of society does • The racism has penetrated their home and the people themselves to the point that they treat each other as cruelly as the world does.

4. P10—”Vera went behind the curtain…” • Diction—notice ‘powerless’ and “behind a wall, a curtain.” • BT is powerless to feel as though he can control anything—not his family, himself, his feelings, his life b/c of how he is treated and perceived • The wall is a barrier that prevents him from achieving.

5. P13--BT has the urge, the dream • Lack of $$ frustrates him • P14, 2nd para—He is stymied b/c this is not his world • Notice social division— “…alien white world…” • Robbing other blacks easier than robbing whites • This prospect causes fear • Frustration illustrates white barrier

6. P16-17—thwarted careers in aviation • They discuss wanting to be pilots • Whites “get a chance to do everything” (16) • “If you wasn’t black…and if they LET you…” (17) • This suggests the power the white social structure has • This account for their frustration • It suggests they ore outsiders looking in

7. P20, first para—extent of frustration penetrates his entire body. • He refers to life as jail=barrier • “…a red-hot iron down my throat.” • We will see diction that describes physiological impact repeatedly. • Middle—”I feel like something awful’s…” • Foreshadowment

8. P21—sense of hope for a pigeon, but not BT • Notice contrast of bird with BT and his friends • The bird is free and BT is not • This suggests an absence of hope

9. P24, middle, “If old Blum…” • Notice that white provokes fear • P25, last paragraph, middle—Discussion of the robbery is steeped in fear • Diction—notice fear, hot hate (physiology), feared, hate • Notice the deep impact this robbery has on BT

10. P29, first 8 lines—Circumstances inform his life • “..the rhythms of his life: indifference and violence.” • Notice both similes—like water, like a strange plant—both suggest he has not control

11. P43, first para—Environment informs his feelings. • “He was going among white people, so he…” • He is going to the white neighborhood. • Notice how his confidence and bravado dissipate

12. P45, last para—BT’s encounter with White America • He is instantly uneasy • Is afraid to look at the paintings • P46, 2nd half—Meet Mrs. Dalton • She is blind in two ways--Symbolism

13. P47, last 4 lines—BT sits like an ape • Notice mental stress • He doesn’t know why is responding this way • We see his inner violent desire “to wave his hand and blot out the white man…” • We will see this motif repeated throughout the novel when BT feels environmental stress

14. P48, first 7 lines—Involuntary submission • No one asks BT to act this way • It is an understood response • Imagery of BT as an ape • P59, below middle, “…except that girl. She worried him.” • Foreshadowment

15. P66-67—Car ride with Jan and Mary • P66, last 2 lines, “He flushed warm with anger.” • Notice is frustration with Jan • His reactions are instinctual, and their impact is physiological

16. P67, rest of para • He hates his black skin • He is embarrassed to be seen w/ them • He has no idea how he should respond • So he feels bewildered • He feels he is in “a shadowy region, a No Man’s Land.”

17. P68—Jan is characterized as sincere yet naïve • He believes in unity and the betterment of mankind • But he fails to understand how this is impossible for BT • P69, bottom—Mary, too, is naïve • She seems foolish • Is she?

18. P70, 1st full para--BT feels tense and trapped • Again we see BT’s feelings urge him “to seize some heavy object…and blot it out.” • P73, 1st 3 lines—What’s the answer to that question??

19. P85-93—Drunk Mary, dead Mary • In this scene, we see BT fully seized in every way • The experience consumes him fully to the point he is almost in a dream-like state • P85, 1st full para, 1st sentence • Diction—terror, seized, dream

20. P85—Notice words that describe his experience • Words w/ physiological and psychological tension • Fear, tensely, afraid, frantically

21. P86, 1st full para • Clenched teeth, intimidated to the core, etc • Suggests fear is so powerful that it is consuming him fully • 2nd full para, last sent • Mary releases he last breath— “it seemed final, irrevocable.” • This suggests the finality of his fate • Recall p20

22. P87, first full para, 1st 4 liens—the white people’s influence on BT • Thee people made him feel a way he did not like or want • He hates this

23. P89, 1st full para, middle • “It was unreal. Like a nightmare” • “he had been dreaming of something like this for a long time” • The experience is bizzare • He is fighting to preserve his life • This is also suggesting a sense of empowerment.

24. P89, 2nd to last full para • “…body was instantly wrapped in a sheet of BLAZING terror…” • Diction—connotation of heat and fear • Physiologically consumed

25. P91—He cuts her head off • P93—It’s naptime