The murder of Mary Dalton exposed a growing animosity that Bigger kept hidden throughout his childhood and adolescence. White oppression cornered Bigger into a life of constant distress and restraint that he knew would ultimately overcome him. He recognized that his lack of opportunity would somehow determine his own drastic fate. The pressure of surrendering to the white power tamed his actions to a certain extent, but his yearning for liberation transcended all authority when he killed Mary.
Bigger did not view his crime as an act of hate towards Mary, but rather as an act of nature. Author Richard Wright notes, “His crime seemed natural; he felt that all of his life had been leading to something like this.” The unregretful assurance of Bigger’s reaction to the murder gives the murder itself a sense of importance. His certainty suggests the killing was not only worth while to him, but it was meaningful; “A meaning which others did not see and which he had always tried to hide.” says Wright.
Although the actual strangling of Mary was not intentional on Bigger’s part, he chose to view it as if it were. “Not once did he need to tell himself that it had been an accident.” writes the author. He understood that the consequences of his crime were inevitable whether he meant to kill her or not, so he used the circumstances as evidence of his “dramatic will to kill.” “It was no longer a matter of dumb wonder as to what would happen to him and his black skin; he knew now.” If he had thought of the murder as an accident, it would have diminished the meaning behind it. Mary’s death entitled Bigger to some sense of closure and significance to his life, which he had been deprived of for so long.
In some ways, Bigger’s crime isolated him even further from the society that he wanted to be a part of equally.
While he was separated from society, the threat of
After they finally escaped from the brutal monster, Odysseus made another poor decision. The men were rowing their boats away from the island when Odysseus decided that it was a good idea to taunt the raging Cyclops: “So, Cyclops,...Your filthy crimes came down on your own head, you shameless cannibal...so Zeus and the other gods have paid you back” (9.531-36)! This angered Polyphemus more, which led him to hurl a mountain top into the water, forcing Odysseus and his men back near the shore. After one time, you’d think Odysseus would have learned his lesson, but he continued to taunt the monster after they had rowed back out: “Cyclops - if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you...say Odysseus, raider of cities...Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (9.558-62)! Not only did Polyphemus acquire the location of his home, he cursed Odysseus, so that if and when he returned home, it would be late, he would be broken, and problems at home would arise, which was why taunting the Cyclops was a horrible decision. In conclusion, one could argue that most of Odysseus’ choices were favorable
...at he has to say. Honestly I think that Odysseus was is a great leader because, he tried his best to keep his crew safe, he never gave up on them; even if they were in a bad situation.
Nevertheless, until he ultimately arrives on Ithaca, Odysseus displays some fairly reckless overall leadership. His actions, words and deeds endanger both himself and his crew. He angers the gods, burns bridges with people throughout his journey, and is responsible for the deaths of a lot of his men. But back home on Ithaca, he shows that he is a worthy and invaluable leader as king. Administratively and tactically, Odysseus is an extremely flawed leader, but he possesses other sometimes intangible leadership abilities that make him stand out as a decent overall leader.
Throughout the whole book he is having his men go and do crazy things that make them risk, and some even lose, their lives. After Odysseus offends Poseidon by harming the cyclops he started taunting the cyclops. One of his men scream, “God Sake Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!” (493-494). This is showing that he was “baiting the beast” again and putting his men in even more danger after he just saved his life and all of theirs. Odysseus also puts his men in danger by not telling them about Scylla. He doesn’t tell his men that six of them are going to die. Odysseus says, “Voices came down on me in distinguish, calling my name for the last time,” ((820-821). This is showing that Odysseus just put his men in even more danger plus he isn’t fighting for his men. Odysseus was such a bad leader to his
As Bigger is trying to dispose of Mary’s body he questions if he should just run away. Bigger knows that “he could not. He must not. He had to burn this girl” (Wright 92). Bigger is aware that he has to get rid of Mary’s body for the same reason he had to kill her. Once Mrs. Dalton walked into Mary’s room, her white presence caused Bigger to act based on how society would react. Bigger knew that if he had been found in a room alone with a white girl he would be killed. From what Bigger knew about white society he would be killed if was caught in the room alone with Mary. He was put in a positon by society that left him no other option but to kill. Bigger knew that no matter the circumstances, the crime would fall on him because “he was black and had been alone in a room where a white girl had been killed; therefore he had killed her” (Wright 106). Whether his crime was accidental or not he knew that because of the image given to black people, especially black men, in the community that the blame would be put on him. In the room that night, both Bigger and Mary were only reacting in the way that society had expected them to. They were not individuals anymore, they represented the more powerful forces of the black and white society, acting as they had been told to. Bigger was unable to defend himself because society had already determined death as his
The reason for this is because his pride gets the best of him. Another reason is he does not listen to the advice he is given. Some may think that he is admirable because he’s saved his men, but they are wrong because he has also puts his needs before theirs constantly and this results in situations that endanger the lives of his men. All these traits go against what a hero is and prevents him from being a good leader, or person in general. A hero does not have to be perfect, but Odysseus’ enormous flaws make him far from the hero he could
When Odysseus ignores Eurylochus’s warning about Circe, he is being prideful. He knows the men have been turned into pigs, so he wants to be the one to save them from Circe. This is an example of bad leadership because when Odysseus went to the men, he could have died or gotten them all killed. Another example of how Odysseus’s pride does not make him an effective leader is when he yells, “Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye”(9. 418). When Odysseus yells this he is giving up his name, which is then used to put a curse on him and his crew; the curse does not allow anyone on the boat to live other than Odysseus. So over the length of a few years, all of Odysseus’s crew dies on their journey
...around the death of his friend, causing Big Boy to face the harsh reality that white people are murderous, no matter their sex. Big Boy cannot retain his innocence because after the death brutal murder of Bobo, he “had no feelings now, no fears. He was numb, empty, as though all blood had been drawn from him.”
Bigger did not have a fair trial. On a Saturday, Bigger learned that he would have a job as a chauffeur for a millionaire family; he takes the job after rejecting the temptation to rob Blum's deli. Early Sunday morning, Bigger returns Mary Dalton to her home, accidentally suffocating her. Later Sunday, Bigger visits Bessie, forges a ransom note, discovers the "discovery" of Mary's earrings in the ash, returns to Bessie and rapes and kills her. Monday, Bigger is on the run and he is caught that very night. His inquest is on a Tuesday, his trial is on a Wednesday, and his execution is to be "on or before midnight," Friday. He was tortured his fingernails have been ripped out.
In Native Son Book One Fear: We can infer that Bigger Thomas has suppressed many feeling and feels uneasiness about his own thoughts. Bigger was just afraid of his own thoughts to not be able to express and physically do what he wished to do creating fear within himself. So now that Bigger has let go of that fear by murdering someone he feels like he has power to do whatever he wants since black people are overlooked he believes that no one will suspect him.
In that regard, it was no wonder Odysseus’s is such an atrocious leader. A great example of Odysseus being disloyal is on Calypso’s Island. “…He lay with her each night, for she compelled him.” (892) This quote shows how Odysseus is disloyal to his grieving wife, and sleeps with a goddess daily. A leader cannot expect loyalty when the leader is notorious for being unloyal. “Now Circe, ‘loveliest of all immortals,’ persuades Odysseus to stay with her.” (903) This is another quote that shows Odysseus cheating on his wife, while his wife is at home is at home distraught over her missing husband. A great leader leads by example. By that philosophy, it should not be expected of Odysseus’s men to be loyal to him, when Odysseus cannot stay faithful to his own wife. Consequently, Odysseus is also extremely selfish, on top of being incredibly
Odysseus portrays his selfishness right as the book begins and this shows how truly incompetent of an individual he is. One form of selfishness Odysseys shows is adultery. He is unfaithful to Penelope many times throughout the book. He reveals this trait specifically when he is with Kalypso on Ogygia and with Kirke on Aiaia. Odysseus shows his selfishness when he steps foot on Kalypso’s island because he chooses to stay with her for seven years. He did not care about the crew’s feelings on the matter, since all’s he cared about was himself. By the time the seven years were up, the crew members finally realized they had to make Odysseus leave. These actions also make a liar out of Odysseus because he said he wanted to return home more than anything, yet he did not even make the slightest attempt to leave. On Aiaia, Odysseus was forced to sleep with Kirke to save his men from staying swine, but he still committed adultery. No matter what the reason, adultery is a choice that can be controlled. An additional negative quality Odysseus obtains is being self absorbed. This trait is seen when Odysseus traveled to the Land of the Dead. He shows his selfish qualities in this example because he travels there initially for his own benefit. Odysseus also has attendances to t...
In The Murder of Helen Jewett, Patricia Cohen uses one of the most trivial murders during the 1800’s to illustrate the sexiest society accommodations to the privileged, hypocritical tunneled views toward sexual behavior, and the exploitation of legal codes, use of tabloid journalism, and politics. Taking the fact that woman was made from taking a rib from man was more than biblical knowledge, but incorporated into the male belief that a woman’s place is determined by the man. Helen had the proper rearing a maid servant, but how did she fall so far from grace. Judge Weston properly takes credit for rearing her with the proper strictness and education. Was Helen seduced at an early age and introduced to sexual perversions that were more persuasive that the bible belt life that the Weston’s tried to live? Was Helen simply a woman who knew how to use what she had to get what she wanted? Through personal correspondence, legal documentation, census reports, paintings, and newspapers we are able to make our own determinations. Cohen provides more than enough background and history to allow any one to make their own opinion how the murder of a woman could be turned into a side show at a circus.
Odysseus wouldn’t of taken ten years after the Trojan war to get home if it wasn’t for his prideful trait. Pride causes Odysseus suffering all throughout the book. For example, once Odysseus was on his way off the island of the Cyclops, the epic says “I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger flare and yelled: “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose home’s on Ithaca.” After Odysseus and his men escape Cyclopes island, Odysseus pride kicks in and he tells off the Cyclop that he blinded. Telling the Cyclop his real identity, and his business. The Cyclop prayed to his father Poseidon (sea god), which Poseidon is still upset and still hold a grudge towards Odysseus, because Odysseus did not thank the gods after he won the Trojan war, and because of his pride, he said he did it all on his own. This would only cause more trouble for Odysseus and his journey home to extend