Freedom
Something Mr. Mitchell said very often in class was a phrase Bigger used, explaining to Gus how he felt, that he was looking through a metaphorical fence all his life, being kept away from all the opportunities and resources that white people had. Physically, for much of the novel Bigger is trapped inside a cage, and before that he was trapped inside a neighborhood. It intrigued me how Wright could depict Bigger looking out and looking in at the same time, and it got me thinking about his freedom. Does Bigger ever feel free in Native Son ? I think not. Perhaps the closest he felt to being free was while he was running away from the law in Book 2. For a day, he's in full control of his destiny. But only for a fleeting moment; very quickly the lynch mob catches up with him, and until the very end of the book he is behind bars. A sense of resignation is instilled into him (other than the brief stint with the preacher where he loses even more hope afterwards). Even at the very last p