If you choose to submit a reading response for Richard Wright's "Big Boy Leaves Home," please do so in the comments section of this post. Remember: your response should be thoughtful, it should evidence a careful consideration of the text, and it should include at least one question for your instructor/your classmates about the text. Your response should be no less than 200 words and no more than 500 words, and at least relatively well-written (you will not be graded on grammar, but please remember that poor grammar/syntax reflects poorly on you/your ideas). If other students have posted before you, your response can be, in part, a response to their posts--feel free to take up other students questions or concerns and use this space as a forum for intelligent discussion. You may also post more than once, particularly if your initial post is short or ambiguous. Your grade for the reading response will be based on your collective input in the comments sections of this post.
In the story of "Big Boy Leaves Home," I found it interesting how both communities came together, if even for different purposes. When Big Boy runs home, the first thing that his mother does is call his father in for help. Then, his father calls in members of the community for help. Together, they determine the best way to get Big Boy out of trouble.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the story does not cover what the whites do to gather the lynch mob, I assume it was a similar situation. Jim's wife runs to her father-in-law's house; her father-in-law calls on members of the community for help. They decide to form a lynch mob and look for the remaining culprits.
One striking difference in these two similar situations is that one group is a mob, the other a community. What is the difference between a mob and a community? A mob comes together in situations of unrest, generally with ill intent. Most often, the mob mentality is associated with rioting, mayhem, and destruction. A community comes together to make one another better, safer, and more prosperous. Big Boy's community assisted him in hiding to save himself from injustice.
The mob comes together to perform an act that, individually, many of the performers would not participate in. In fact, the story cites that many of the women had to look away as Bobo was ravaged and burned alive.
When looking at the role the group plays in "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" and "Big Boy Leaves Home," I cannot think of an instance of racism that was displayed by less than 2 individuals. I feel like that is an important aspect of the stories, that the racism and humiliation was often a display of superiority.
After slavery had been outlawed, there was simply no reason to subjugate an entire population. While slavery is obviously an unnecessary evil, some sort of explanation can be derived from the institution: a cheap means of manual labor. Whereas, no value or meaning can be derived from the subhuman classification of blacks in post-slavery America.
With that being said, I find myself with one lasting question: Is it more evil to enslave a race of people in order to advance your own prosperity or to create a situation like the one we have seen so far from these two stories? That is, would you rather be beaten, raped, and enslaved for a reason, or none at all?
And another question straying from the theme of the group's role in the Jim Crow South, was Big Boy wrong to shoot Jim? Was Jim within his rights as a land owner (or at least the son of the land owner) to shoot anyone that was trespassing on his land?
-Adam Hardesty
In response to the question above regarding the choice between being enslaved for a reason or for no reason at all, I would argue that it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other: There is no substantive difference. For Buck and Lester, and eventually Bobo in the story, they are no more or less dead for violating the unwritten laws of the segregated south than they would have been for violating the formal laws of chattel slavery.
ReplyDeleteTo the group victimized by such social situations, they have a tendency to feel equally binding and restrictive. In the story, Big Boy was well aware of the potential consequences of being caught where he shouldn’t be (a white man’s swimming hole), and those consequences were no less brutal or dire than they would have been during slavery. He didn’t talk about the potential for arrest. He spoke specifically about being lynched … no different than would have been the case in slavery. In fact, one might argue that the violence became more brutal after slavery because racist whites may have been more reluctant to kill “property” from which they profited financially.
The thing that stands out to me in the story that I think transcends racism and applies to human interaction on the whole on many levels (although it’s obviously made plain in a racist example like this one) is the fact that we don’t hear what the other person is saying very well when we’re locked into our prejudices and preconceptions. Big Boy said repeatedly that he just wanted to get his clothes (or cloes). In light of the fact that there were four young men/boys dripping wet and nude in front of her, presumably coming out of the swimming hole she was in front of, this declaration didn’t even register to her. She continued to scream bloody murder (pardon the pun) apparently believing that these boys had nefarious motives and couldn’t possibly be just trying to get their clothes and leave as stated.
Life has taught me that this is a common problem in human interactions. Sometimes past experience causes us to prejudge in the next situation and other times it’s no experience at all. It’s just generational or societal beliefs, based many times on nothing substantive, that cause us to prejudge and disregard or completely miss the evidence or information being presented by the victim of our prejudice.
Donte Lazarus
These are both EXCELLENT responses. I hope to see more like this from both of you, as well as from the rest of the class. Very well done, gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see that even in post antebellum times, Southern African American's still had to live in fear of the whites. Even when Big Boy and his three pals are playing, they dream of heading North once they hear a train horn off in the distance. They start to sing "Dis train boun fo Glory...Dis train Oh Halleljuah," even later when laying in the grass to dry off one of the boys claim "they say colored floks up Noth is got ekual rights." These phrases would be common to hear in an antebellum plantation novel, but it is unfortunate to still hear them in this story which takes place some fifty years later.
ReplyDeleteEven when the boys are playing, the fear of the whites is still in the back of Big Boy's mind. While wrestling, three of the boys jump Big Boy and try to take him down. Big Boy in turn decides to turn all of his attention to only one of them and choke him out. He holds the boy hostage until the other two leave him alone. After the playful fight, Big Boy claims that he showed them the proper technique of handling a mob. You need to take hold one down until the others leave you alone.
During the shooting, it seemed as though Big Boy was able to overcome his fear of the whites for a minute when he took the gun from the soldier. It took tremendous courage to hit the white man in the mouth and then shoot him. For that moment, Big Boy with the gun had the power and control over the white man. The white man was helpless without his gun or his mob and Big Boy was able to win.
It was pleasing to see the African American community come together in times of tragedy. They were able to help one another out and come up with a plan to help Big Boy escape to freedom. Even when the mob came to Big Boy's home, no one in their community snitched and told of his whereabouts. Even though this lead to their house being burnt down, they showed the whites that if you mess with one of us you mess with all of us and that they were not going to give in.
Mark Doran
In response to the question above I agree that the difference between slavery and the situations we see in the story are miniscule. I would hate to live through either situation. I don’t know how the African American population took this cruelty and pure unadulterated hate for so many years.
ReplyDeleteIn the point raised earlier about the two sides forming a community, I just want to add that it seemed like the white community was not out for revenge so much as they just wanted torture a black child. The quotes “AH WANNA BE THE FIRS T PUT A ROPE ON THA BLACK BASTARDS NECK” and “LES GIT SOURVINEERS” give me the impression that the white mob just wanted to kill a black person. The hate and hostility that people are capable of showing in their ignorance disturbs me the most.
Another surprising thing I saw in the story was the fact that after Big Boy killed the white man he knew he had to leave and so did everyone else in the community. They all knew that no trial was going to be held and no white person wanted to hear his side of the story. The community made a plan to get him out of there within hours. It doesn’t appear that the community had a pre-set plan after a child kills a white man so the response of everyone knowing that he had to leave to be saved shows the community knew there would be no reasoning with the white folk.
Big Boy Leaves home is about the plight of Big Boy and his attempts to flee the “seeing” lady of justice to avoid a brutal death. The title is rather misleading, as ‘leaves’ does not effectively describe why Big Boy left home. To leave implies willingness or some sort of soft departure, whereas Big Boy was “run” from his home upon the threat of death. Big Boy’s tale began in innocence of youth and within the span of hours, he encounters experiences of those with age. His instincts attempts to encourage his comrades from swimming in a pool owned by a white man, but youthful peer pressure encourage him to ignore his natural warning senses inside of him.
ReplyDeleteThe author places you into ignorant bliss as Big Boy frolics with his compatriots and then takes you on a roller coaster of emotion as Big Boy watches the initial death of his two friends and then the act of human nature that kicks in and forces him to protect himself upon the treat of death. His innocene is now shattered and he is forced to be seen as an adult though he is still of child age. The title of this story alone describes Big Boy’s situation in its entirety… he is still a child, yet he is forced to deal with Big problems. The author never alludes that Big Boy has flirted with death before or was soft to its to effect, yet from the moment Big Boy kills the murderer, he aligns himself with killing, though in the name of survival, as his first choice to settle his issues. He yearns for a gun as he is taking flight away from danger. He kills those weaker than him, the snake and the dog, as a means showing that he has power or some sort of control when he no longer has parental direction to guide him. Big Boy essentially becomes a man.
Kenny B
At the beginning, Big Boy, Bobo, Lester, and Buck are enjoying their time in Nature. “Laughing easily, four black boys came out of the woods into clear pasture. They walked lollingly in bare feet, beating tangled vines and bushes with long sticks.” They are acting very carefree and doing things that possibly every young boy might do such as, skip class, laugh and share silly jokes, relax under the sun, and go swimming. Secondly, Big Boy appears to be their head leader and decision maker, for he is extremely comfortable with the boys and acts all tough, brave, fearless, hence his name “Big Boy.” For example, I found it quite humorous when the three boys (Lester, Bobo, and Buck) attempt to show their strength by tackling Big Boy, but Big Boy is able to stand up for himself. In addition, Big Boy is the one who decides to swim despite the “No tresspassin” sign and the boys follow. Big Boy doesn’t stop to think of the possible consequences of disobeying the sign. By deciding to trespass onto white man’s property, do you think Big Boy is challenging the social restrictions and dominating authority that the whites practiced over the blacks during that time and place?
ReplyDeleteAlso, do you think the train, the sun, and the song they sing about leaving town symbolizes their desire or dream to move up North? Let me note parts of the passages where they speak of these topics. While under the sunlight boys remark, “Man, don the ground feel warm? Jus lik a bed….Ah kin feel tha ol sun goin all thu me. Feels like ma bones is warm.” Just after saying this a train went blaring by, and one of the boys says, “Boun fer up Noth, Lawd, bown fer up North!” And they all begin to sing a chant about leaving on a train “bown fo Glory.” Just as the sun gives forth light and warmth, they want to experience freedom and equal rights as blacks, and just as the train is leaving their town and the town in the song, they too want to escape their town and experience freedom. I also thought their reaction to the words of the song is a little ironic; they laugh. This tells me that in a way, they must recognize and have little hope of escaping their town and southern white oppression. I also think this reaction foreshadows the fact that three of those boys would never get to experience freedom.
Taci Hodgins
To respond to Taci's question about Big Boy challenging the social restrictions and dominating authority that the whites practiced over the blacks, I do not really think that was his intention at all. Big Boy knows that because of the time period in which he lives that it is not acceptable to swim in the white man's lake. He is the most hesitant out of all the boys about trespassing. But I think this goes back to the boys initially seeing nature as a welcoming place. A place to enjoy what should be the basic freedoms of being human. Once the white woman sees the boys, and Big Boy ends up killing the white man, we all see that the once familiar and comforting side of nature becomes the complete opposite. It is almost as if Big Boy and the other boys were dreaming and this event wakes them from it and they realize that their basic freedoms are taken away and ultimately do not exist at this time. Unjustly, Big Boy can no longer even enjoy the sunlight. Instead of welcoming him with its friendly warmth, it becomes a place of fear that reveals him and instead of protecting him, gives him up.
ReplyDelete-Stacee Roberts
In "Big Boy Leaves Home" it starts off in a much different tone than "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow". This section still makes it seem like that there is a huge segregation between white and black people, but at the beginning it seemed as though it was not as big of a deal to big boy and his friends. Almost like they figured out how to get around it. However, we find out very soon after that its all the same. You almost get the feeling that when the boys were playfully wrestling and laughing with each other, that its the way that Wright wanted it to be in that time.
ReplyDeleteI felt so bad after the whole shooting incident went down because Big Boy tried to be smart and say no to going swimming on the white man's property. Through out that whole scenario leading up to the man bringing a gun, you had the feeling that something bad was going to happen. When the white women is standing there you are not very sure what to expect, and as soon as she started yelling for her husband you knew that someone is going to get hurt. Unfortunately for the boys he started to shoot at them and he killed two of them.
Like Adam said, it then became very interesting to see how the two communities immediately came together. Wright made it very clear that the black community shared a common fear and knowledge of the white people. As soon as they found out about it, they got all of the leaders of the community to come and then they knew exactly what to do. They knew that if they didn't get Big Boy out of the house quickly they mob would come to kill them all. Even after they got him out, you find out that the white mob burnt down their house.
On the other hand, as soon as the white community found out about the situation they got a mob together right away. I also agree that they did not do it so much out of unity but more for the fact that the white community always jumped to the chance to hurt a black person and not get in trouble for it.
Back to what I was saying in the response for the first section, Wright still uses extreme situations to make the readers realize the severity of segregation. In this section, the example is when Big Boy's friend is getting burned alive and he is watching it happen. Once again, I can not believe that this could ever happen, it disgusts me.
John Osinski
ReplyDeleteIn the story, “Big Boy Leaves Home”, Moral Truth is analyzed in terms of how societal influences, such as race relations in this case, effect what is considered to be right and wrong. For Big Boy and other African Americans in the setting of the still racially segregated United States, wrong decisions are scrutinized much more intensely than African Americans face in today’s society in the United States.
An example of this is shown when Big Boy and his friends decide to simply swim in a lake, while it does say “No Trespassing”, on a hot summer day when they were playing outside. When the eventually get caught by the white woman and found they had trespassed on a “white man’s” property the severity of their actions increased ten-fold simply because of their race. This extreme heightening of conflict is shown when Big Boy says, “It’s a white woman…It’s a white Woman!” Shortly after the situation heightens once again when they realize they were swimming naked and they stated in shock, “les run, they’ll catch us naked like this!” To me this is a very important part of the story because it shows how being naked in front of a white woman for them isn’t simply rude or embarrassing, its an automatic assumption by society as a whole that they were intending to rape her.
Moral Truth is a constantly changing concept that molds to what society and people as whole make it to be. The Moral Truth is that while most like to believe in a set of religious moral guide lines in reality every person on the planet has free will which in turn gives humanity the power to shape morality to their own perceptions of what it should be. In the case of Big Boy and many minorities in the real world they face the scrutiny of the more powerful majority in their given societies.
John Osinski
ReplyDeleteIn the story, “Big Boy Leaves Home”, Moral Truth is analyzed in terms of how societal influences, such as race relations in this case, effect what is considered to be right and wrong. For Big Boy and other African Americans in the setting of the still racially segregated United States, wrong decisions are scrutinized much more intensely than African Americans face in today’s society in the United States.
An example of this is shown when Big Boy and his friends decide to simply swim in a lake, while it does say “No Trespassing”, on a hot summer day when they were playing outside. When the eventually get caught by the white woman and found they had trespassed on a “white man’s” property the severity of their actions increased ten-fold simply because of their race. This extreme heightening of conflict is shown when Big Boy says, “It’s a white woman…It’s a white Woman!” Shortly after the situation heightens once again when they realize they were swimming naked and they stated in shock, “les run, they’ll catch us naked like this!” To me this is a very important part of the story because it shows how being naked in front of a white woman for them isn’t simply rude or embarrassing, its an automatic assumption by society as a whole that they were intending to rape her.
Moral Truth is a constantly changing concept that molds to what society and people as whole make it to be. The Moral Truth is that while most like to believe in a set of religious moral guide lines in reality every person on the planet has free will which in turn gives humanity the power to shape morality to their own perceptions of what it should be. In the case of Big Boy and many minorities in the real world they face the scrutiny of the more powerful majority in their given societies.
In “Big Boy Leaves Home” I found it very interesting that in the beginning when they had skipped school and were lying in the grass they were singing songs about traveling north as a train passed by. At this time there was no slavery but they still lived each day as though they were slaves dreaming of going north. Both black and whites had to co-exist with each other but the blacks always had to compromise their morals in order to survive. The boys knew they were not welcomed at the swimming hole but still took a chance, this act of trespassing was innocent and if it had been white boys the man might have just yelled at them to leave or possibly not even do anything at all. White people to me during this time overreacted and I feel sorry for them, they have no idea about black people they only assume things or know things told to them. This is true when the girl that stumbles upon Big Boy and his friends in the pond and instead of taking in the situation and acting accordingly, she absolutely freaks out only because this is what she was taught to do when alone with black men. I agree with Stacee regarding the topic of the sun. It first is a common ground everyone, black and white, can enjoy and is free to enjoy but once Big Boy kills the white man the sun is his enemy because it reveals him and does not protect him from the white man. Nature is the one thing that regardless of your color everyone can enjoy and it treats everyone the same. When the boys are lying in the grass and singing songs and enjoying the coolness they feel free and are in the mindset that they are all equal but that obviously quickly ends once they go to the pond. Just like everyone else I too enjoyed that the black community came together to protect Big Boy, some might see it as the other black people looking out for themselves and their safety but I see it also as them trying to protect one of their own. They all obviously know that regardless of Big Boy being their or not, the white mob will come and terrorize and/or destroy their homes and community. They are willing to deal with the white mob when they could of just handed Big Boy over to the angry white people. I find the strong connection of the community to be nice in such a harsh story and time in our history. I find it funny that the white community comes together as well but only to bring fester hate and bring pain to others. It seems that during this time period the only thing you could count on the white people doing was bringing negativity and unhappiness to everything that wasn’t wanted.
ReplyDeleteJessica Phillips
Big Boy Leaves Home uses color to highlight racism in ways that not many other authors are able to do. The contrasting colors of white and brown/black/gray are used in ways that are not DIRECTLY related to the color of people’s skin, but do allude to the issue of racism in the deep south. The best example is on pg 57:
ReplyDelete“Then he saw a writhing white mass cradled in yellow flame, and heard screams, one on top of the other, each shriller and shorter than the last. The mob was quiet now, standing still, looking up the slopes at the writhing white mass gradually growing black, growing black in a cradle of yellow flame.”
Here the author, Richard Wright, uses color to outline each object in the scenario. Bobo was hated and treated this way because his skin color was brown. The people of the town that had white skin dowsed him in black tar, made him white by dumping feathers on him, then once again made him black by setting him aflame. The way that these colors are used really show how ignorant the people of the deep south were in these times. Without reason or proof, the put Bobo through one of the most painful deaths ever imaginable.
The white people of the town wanted nothing more than to put the brown people of the town in complete misery. They had no worries about who murdered the brown children of the town, but only about who killed the rich white man. Color was the only thing seen by the townspeople, both brown and white. This sincere separation only fueled the hatred and differences between the races. The way that Richard Wright explains the transformation of Bobo’s colors during his murder was brilliantly done, and really exercises how powerful perspective is in life.
-Chris Lendrim
Richard Wright chooses to write the story in two different styles to illustrate the differences in the two situations. First, the reader sees the boys enjoying life while swimming naked on a white man’s property. Nakedness symbolizes innocence, just as Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden is described as a perfect paradise in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. The first section of “Big Boy Leaves Home” is constructed with terms considered to be light and cheerful. The boys are so ignorant of their surroundings that they are “dropping the lids of their eyes softly against the sunlight” (18). This phrase gives the reader a feeling of peacefulness by using the words softly and sunlight. The word drooping is referred to sleeping, where people are considered the most peaceful. Wright wants to create the peaceful feeling so that readers are able to grasp the full picture of how the boys see the world.
ReplyDeleteAfter the white man is killed, the language changes to dark and cold. The passage above illustrates the change in language. The mention of the shadows “from the trees were friendly and sheltering” demonstrates the boys’ feelings of helplessness (33). In the Bible it is says that once Eve ate the fruit from a certain tree, she and Adam realized they were naked. Their innocence was taken away from them. The same is true for Big Boy and Bobo once the white man is shot. Once the boys get away, they immediately got dressed. Adam and Eve were also banned from the perfect Garden of Eden and were told that they would eventually die. Big Boys view of the world is changed instantly after the incident. He becomes nervous fearing for his life, something that he did not have to do prior to the shooting.
I think Big Boy Leaves Home was a sad but realistic story of the times. I think that it is really sad that in the times before everyone had civil rights, that the severity of crimes are measured based on the color of someone’s skin. Jim did kill two people and Big Boy only killed Jim after he killed his two friends. It would seem that Jim committed a worse crime than Bog Boy, but because he is white, he would have never of had to deal with the law for these crimes (if he was still alive).
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that Big Boy should be considered a hero for standing up against a white man when he is unjust, but he is the opposite because he is black. Wright proves that not only are the color of Jim and Big Boy’s skin opposites, but the consequences for almost the same crime is opposite because of these opposite skins colors.
I was particularly saddened when Big Boy has to leave home. I don’t think that many people could imagine up and leaving home and everything you know, knowing you may never see your family and friends ever again. Big Boy doesn’t even give leaving home another thought.
I think that sometimes people get bored with stories involving racial issues of the past. I still believe that they are tremendously important for us to reinvestigate often. These stories, like Big Boy leaves Home, show that the people who committed horrible acts against innocent people were just like us and should make us question whether or not we are capable of doing these things and maybe this cruelty is innate in humans. What makes us think that we are much better of people than the white racist Americans of the relative past?
Martha Gillespie
Martha’s post is an awesome post and I completely agree with what she says. During those times the African Americans had no rights and all of this started from some kids trying to take a swim in a pond. I too think that Big Boy should be considered more of a hero for standing up for what he believed was right. This could have been settled by the woman and Mr. Harvey going to the boys’ house and telling their parents not to have them swim on their property again. By bringing a gun upon young children who do not know better when put in certain situations, the results are death and the wrongful doing of young men.
ReplyDeleteOn page 45 when it says “yuh-all git this boy outta here right now,” said Peters. “Cause ef yuh don theres gunna be a lynchin…” This part of the story moved me most because all of a sudden these young men’s lives changed in the blink of an eye and they have to leave their family and friends behind. I think that it is a scary situation to be in. My question for the class is that, if you were put in a similar situation or circumstance, would you be able to drop everything and leave behind everything you know of? I know that it would have to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life.
Back to John’s post, how he talks about how more truth is a changing concept and molds to what society and people think. Morality is based on religious guidelines, but has changed so much since they were first set we have to wonder what is actually morally correct. What kills me I guess is how things back then were morally okay, to pull a gun on some naked children swimming. There would be jail time in today’s world for something like that happening.
- David Erbacher
Agreeing with majority of the posts above, this is a very sad story, and although Lester and Buck were not real people that were killed, we all know that the oppression and racism explained in the story were just as real as described.
ReplyDeleteI really like Donte's first point. The kids found that “laws” that did not truly exist restricted them, and they were extremely fearful of violating what the Deep South culture had dictated. To them, so laws must have taken precedence over real laws set by the government.
Racism is what everything revolves around in this story. The group of African American boys went swimming in a white man’s pool. Obviously, if this had been a group of white people swimming in a white man’s pool, there would not even be a story and the outcome of the situation would not have ended in such a horrific way.
I would like to discuss the conversation between Big Boy and his mom when he gets home. He tells his mom that Lester and Buck were killed, and his mom was very appalled to hear it, but her reaction was much more extreme for the next comment. Big Boy said to his mom, “We wuz swimmin, Ma. N the white woman.” His mom’s response was, “White woman?” After that comment, she ran into the hall more upset about that than she seemed about the boys being killed.
During the incident, was there any significance in the boys being naked? Could it have symbolized their helplessness, and maybe the author’s way of saying they were “less” than the whites?
-Mark Menezes
This story really jumps out at me with transition of an innocent situation to basically an all out war. The story complicates our ideas of moral truth through the racism portrayed and shows how quickly someone can lose their innocence and become a part of this social situation.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the story, when the boys are just having a good time with each other, it really gives you a sense of how they are just normal young boys. They are still pretty innocent to all of the social prejudice that was going on at this time. Then they reach the swimming hole, and while they know there is a sign saying stay out they decide to just go in because it is really hot and they just don’t see how it could hurt anything. It doesn’t make any sense to them why anyone would be so adamant about no trespassing.
This innocence is soon shattered when the woman sees them and is instantly filled with hate for no reason. She calls for the man to come outside. The man was actually a soldier so he had no innocence left after seeing the things he had seen in war. He actually has the intent to kill the boys for simply setting foot on their property. During the fight, however, Big Boy manages to get his hands on the gun. This represents a huge role reversal. Big Boy now has the ultimate power in the situation. The soldier is no longer in charge now. Big Boy now has also lost his innocence after seeing his best friend die and is now a part of the social struggle between morals and the racism of this time. This entire transformation in Big Boy had transpired in a matter of a few minutes.
Big Boy ends up killing the man and exercises the power he had. After he takes this action he instantly realizes that there is no going back. He goes home and calls for the help of his parents who try to get help from their community. The white people also get help from their respective community and round up a mob. These entire communities had been sent into frenzies because of some kids who swam in a water hole. This illustrates just how ridiculous the ideas of racism are and how they conflict with morals. Big Boy would most likely not have killed anyone before this incident. His first real experience of racism had forever changed him and caused him to forget about morals and pull the trigger. You can’t really say it’s his fault though. He’s actually a victim of circumstances much like the people in The Road.
-Sean Graham
This story really jumps out at me with transition of an innocent situation to basically an all out war. The story complicates our ideas of moral truth through the racism portrayed and shows how quickly someone can lose their innocence and become a part of this social situation.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the story, when the boys are just having a good time with each other, it really gives you a sense of how they are just normal young boys. They are still pretty innocent to all of the social prejudice that was going on at this time. Then they reach the swimming hole, and while they know there is a sign saying stay out they decide to just go in because it is really hot and they just don’t see how it could hurt anything. It doesn’t make any sense to them why anyone would be so adamant about no trespassing.
This innocence is soon shattered when the woman sees them and is instantly filled with hate for no reason. She calls for the man to come outside. The man was actually a soldier so he had no innocence left after seeing the things he had seen in war. He actually has the intent to kill the boys for simply setting foot on their property. During the fight, however, Big Boy manages to get his hands on the gun. This represents a huge role reversal. Big Boy now has the ultimate power in the situation. The soldier is no longer in charge now. Big Boy now has also lost his innocence after seeing his best friend die and is now a part of the social struggle between morals and the racism of this time. This entire transformation in Big Boy had transpired in a matter of a few minutes.
Big Boy ends up killing the man and exercises the power he had. After he takes this action he instantly realizes that there is no going back. He goes home and calls for the help of his parents who try to get help from their community. The white people also get help from their respective community and round up a mob. These entire communities had been sent into frenzies because of some kids who swam in a water hole. This illustrates just how ridiculous the ideas of racism are and how they conflict with morals. Big Boy would most likely not have killed anyone before this incident. His first real experience of racism had forever changed him and caused him to forget about morals and pull the trigger. You can’t really say it’s his fault though. He’s actually a victim of circumstances much like the people in The Road.
-Sean Graham
Big Boy Leaves Home seemed to be a very effective way of telling truth through fiction. Although this story may not have been a “true story”, many African Americans went through horrific incidents such as these that went on throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the analysis present in other previous blogs; such as the injustices that these boys had to go through- it was absolutely ridiculous that they couldn’t do simple every day activities (that white boys did all the time) without people thinking they were up to no good- this specific example being them swimming in a water hole- and the young white woman assumed that she was going to get hurt- or even sexually assaulted by these boys.
The section of the story that moved me the most however was two sections at the end. The first, came from when Bobo was being burned to death by the white people. “The scream came again. Big Boy trembled and looked. The mob was running down the slopes, leaving the fire clear. Then he saw a writhing white mass cradled in yellow flame, and heard screams, one on top of the other, each shriller and shorter than the last.” The reason that this quote moved me was because he appeared to be a “white mass”. This whole story relates back to racism and the consequences African Americans had to deal with because their skin was not white; I just thought that it was very ironic that as he died, he became the color that these white people wanted him to be, and the color of his skin was no longer what it should be..black. Another quote that I saw at the end was when he was getting rescued the following morning and taken to a different city, “He blinked his eyes. The blades of daylight had turned brightly golden. The sun had risen.” This quote moved me as well because it illustrates him moving from hard times to a new life.. a new opportunity to do better for himself and escape all of the hatred of his home town. The blades of daylight I thought symbolized the past affliction that he had been through, the days, even when sunny, turned out to be nothing but fear of death (the blades), and then they turned “brightly golden”, which symbolized a less fearful and happier day.
On this story, Wright show how some situations are so impactful that can take good/natured people to do something really bad. The single event of just skipping a school day to go swim, dramatically changed the lives of everybody involved in the story. Big Boy, for example, was forced to become an adult, and even despite the white mob that was after him for the killing of Jim, the son of a white landowner (in a self-defense act), nature seemed to be against him and for his own sake he had to lose his child innocence to fight for his life and was able to actually kill a snake and a dog silently to avoid being caught by the white mob while hiding in a kiln. Through Big Boy, the major character in this story, Wright addresses the survival and primal instincts that any African American would have to have to survive in the white dominated oppressive society. In fact, Big Boy’s actions are more instinctive than reflective because Wright’s shows in the story that he was aware of the racist society in which he lived. The event that forced Big Boy to depart from his home/childhood into an “adulthood” life (that he will try to make in Chicago) makes a connection with his name. In fact, he is the only one that actually does not have a real name (unlike his friends); so, is Big Boy a grown man, or just a physically big boy/child???
ReplyDeleteRossana “Xana” Guerreiro
“Big Boy Leaves Home” is my favorite short story in Uncle Toms Children because of the author’s use of metaphors and descriptive words to paint a picture in the readers head of the changes in emotion the characters of the story experience. He uses nature and its relation to the boys to show the state of race relations of the day.
ReplyDeleteWright uses a very crucial word choice when describing the rays of sunlight and that is they were “pitiless.” This word strips the sun of any human nature it might have had early in this story when Big Boy was lying in sun and it was warming his bones. The word pitiless means that the sun goes from a living and breathing part of nature and humanity to a “pitiless wide glare of sun” which only serves to catch Bobo and Big Boy for the white mob. For something to be without pity means that there can’t be any human emotion considered and that the rays of sunlight did not care who and what they give up with their light. The white mob in the rest of the story seems to embrace this notion of pitilessness that was established in this story. They seem to carry on actions that would require the lack of pity and therefore they lacked any sense of humanity.
In "Big Boy Leaves Home", I must say that I predicted much of the story. As bad as it may sound, you could not shoot a white man back then and just get away with it. Even though Big Boy does escape, his friends did not. They found an end that well suited a story of racial unrest.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important to note here that racism is an unnecessary evil. It is not natural to want to bring harm to other humans. I suppose we could argue that point, but for the purposes of my response, let us just go with that. Anyway, when a group feels threatened they will rise together and protect each other and their similar interests. Primarily, this is the case when the whites form a mob and lynch Bobo. This is easy to do when there is a group to sway opinion. This leads me to claim that morality is a result of social influence. My response to "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" has similar ideas, based on the white population’s fear of losing power in the South. The violence that took place in the Old South was a tactic to reduce black assertiveness.
I also believe that the unfair judgment and treatment of blacks by whites is a prime example of negative social morality. It is obvious what would happen if the mob caught Big Boy. He would be persecuted and unfairly condemned by the Southern social standards established. Ultimately, he would be executed on spot if caught, receiving no fair judgment.
One very important point I would like to make is that I hate the white woman who started all of this mess. If she wasn't so stupid and naïve, she would have realized that the boys were merely just swimming. Call me crazy, but this sounds like an example of white noise. The fact that she completely avoided logic and immediately screamed is an act of total bullshit. It is a result of life that is unnecessary, but it happened anyways, and people probably would not even stop to analyze the situation. It is a series of unfortunate events that followed. But what would have happened if big boy did not shoot the white man? He probably would have sat there to die anyways. This story reminds me a little of "The Green Mile." I know they are very different, but all together it just makes me think of how unfair the South used to be.
I agree with whomevers post is about me about "The Green Mile". In this story and in the movie, it doesn't matter what really happend, just what the white people say or think happend.
ReplyDeleteThe story show the harsh treatment and racial tension between whites and blacks during this time. Big Boy and his buddies were swimming and did nothing to the white woman but due to her fear of black people she yells for help. I feal that big boy had the right to shoot the man because if he had not shot him most likely he and his buddies would have all been killed. Now when it comes to big boy having to run from home because he knows he will be killed now, since a lynch mob is after him. I think its funny how all the white people joined up to look for him and all the black people came together to get him out of town. This story ended differently than I expected. I figured big boy would be caught, tarred, burned or atleast shot. But that didnt happen and he got to the truck in time to head to Chicago.
The harsh treatment to black people I thought was showed in a different way when Big Boy had to kill the dog to make sure he wasn't caught. Although the dog was just doing what it was asked and did nothing to Big Boy he fealt he must kill it. I believe the white people were thinking very similar to how big boy was when he killed the dog.
The selection of main character by the author was good. A leader who has a power and strength to get his sides is led into pathetic conclusion. Fallen of a good leader causes wretchedness be expressed more certainly.
ReplyDeleteIn this story of “Big Boy Leaves Home”, I could find that the author wanted to indicate how to overcome the discrimination and what is a bad example. Although it was for self-protection, Big Boy shot a white person and caused a death. In the society the discrimination was considered as natural perspective, the author knew killing each other will never help two sides. If the author’s real purpose is like this, I would agree with him. Although human dignity is infringed, killing another means another infringement of human right.
Also, “Big Boy Leaves Home” is saying that there is nothing can be changed whether black people defy the white society. . It might be a forced interpretation, but while “Ethics of Jim Crow” talked about how the black people are treated by white, “Big Boy Leaves Home” is telling that their resistance against white does not affect the society to be changed. The evidence cannot be seen from any quote, but the situation Big Bog got. Although Big Boy rode a truck which is toward
-Ryan Yoon-
Yet again Richard Wright paints a gruesome picture of life for African Americans during the early 1900’s. In Big Boy Leaves Home, Big Boy is forced out of his home and out of his childhood by racial hatred. Even as children, Big Boy and his three friends found out that being kids made no difference to white people. Because even though they were just children, they were still black children, and being black alone is enough to be killed no matter what age. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time in front of the wrong people. They were stumbled across a white woman and when her husband walked up on them he flipped out and killed two of them. To me this perfectly symbolizes the big problem during this era. There was no time given to the boys to explain that they were merely swimming. The white guy saw four black people near his wife and instantly decided to kill them. He was so blind by his prejudice that he would not even consider anything other than shooting them merely because they were black. So when Big Boy killed the man out of self defense you better believe that the white mob was going to hunt him down.
ReplyDeleteMy question is extremely cliché and might not ever be completely answered but after this story I have to ask it. Where did/does this blind hatred come from? How can someone genuinely detest a person based purely on the color of their skin? I understand that this is a post slavery time and things are going to be rough but when does it end? Are you mad because they aren’t slaves anymore? I know that’s four questions instead of one but I just don’t get it.
There are many other aspects of this story but the root issue here is the failure to view another human being as equals. I can’t help but think what the man might have done had four wet squirrels been close to his wife instead of four black kids. Probably nothing.
Jeff Kibler
This story about Big Boy Leaving Home was probably one of the saddest in my opinion. Racism is such an ignorant thing to me, and I hate reading about it. The boys already lead a tough enough life, all they do is work and go to school; these are children, they should be playing and going to school. Just because these children were born into black families does not mean that they should not be treated the same as everyone else. It sucks that the one defining moment in Big Boys life happened while he was just being a kid. He and his friends just decided that they wanted to go for a dip in the watering hole. After they decided they had been playing in there long enough, they got out to put on their clothes and realized there was a very scared white woman sitting there under a tree. When she screamed, it made me very upset; although I would feel very awkward and confused if there were 3 naked people standing in front of me, you should wait and see what they were going to do before you go yelling for help. In more cases then others, the naked people are probably more embarrassed than you are. I’m sure they figured the chance that they would get caught were slim to none, or else I know they wouldn’t have done it. The only other thing I want to point out in this story is that the bonds between families are so strong. After Big Boy runs home, he tells his family everything and they give him everything they need in order for him to survive his run-away mission, they send him on his way and tell him they will send him help. Unfortunately his help was murdered and things did not turn out the way they were meant to. I liked this story because it can teach you how bad racism is, but I just hate that these people can be so unbelievably ignorant at times.
ReplyDelete-Allie Nicosia
Like I said earlier, this Big Boy Leaves Home is littered with symbolism of important issues. When Big Body returns home after killing the white man he tells his mother what has happened. Of course she is very upset but more so because it was a white man Big Boy had killed. This idea of holding white people in some higher regard (that’s what the white people want you to do or else) and fearing them for being revengeful and violent reaffirms Wright’s portrayal of the black community’s attitude similar to “Jim Crow”.
ReplyDeleteOnce Big Boy’s mother tells her husband what has happened he instantly calls for the rest of their family and friends for help (because Big Boy would be hunted down and killed for sure). They all contemplated the best thing for Big Boy to do and devised a plan on how to help him escape. To me this shows how much black people during this time relied on each other. If they were to survive this violent racist time, they had to stick together (It is interesting to point out how the white people did the exact same thing but obviously for a different outcome).
I also would like to look more in depth at Big Boys incident in the hole with the snake. This might seem like a reach for finding symbolic meaning but I believe it is important to point out. When he jumps in the hole he sees this snake coiled up looking at him. Like the white man did with him, Big Boy instantly became scared and defensive and killed the snake. But he didn’t just kill it. He was “pounding blows home, one on top of the other. He fought viciously, his eyes red, his teeth bared in a snarl. He beat till the snake lay still…grinding his head into the dirt”. This is a grisly description of killing a snake. I think that by this description Wright symbolizes this new hate that Big Boy now feels due to the horrible days events. Forced from feeling like a child to feeling like a man, now angry and confused, Big Boy is thrust onto the front lines to defend himself against racism.
Jeff Kibler
Big Boy Leaves home is one of my favorite stories among all stories and books we have read throughout the semester. I just could not imagine if I was in his place seeing my friends died one by one. I like the part when the Big Boy grab the rifles and shoots the white man, what made him to be brave enough to fight back? Did that come from the broken heart feeling after seeing his friends died? I would say so, if I could ever be in that position, to be honest, I cannot even guarantee that I would do the same thing. Maybe I would act like what the others would more likely to do, keep running. He amazed me when he shoots the white man. The other crucial time when he ran away, he had to see his friend Bobo died. That is just amazing how the story change dramatically, from fun time together swimming with friends to a brutal execution by a white man. As one of the survivor the Big Boy was forced to change from a playful person to a strong brave man who has to keep running because he chased by the white, killed rattlesnake and a dog in order to stay alive. This story, just like The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, also at the same time reflect the life of Southern people back in the past, the time when there’s no rights or law exist to protect the blacks.
ReplyDeletePoppy Aprilia