In Native Son, Bigger Thomas is trapped in an all white society in which he murdered a white woman, Mary. Mrs. Dalton’s white eyes play a big role in the circumstances of Bigger murdering Mary. It gives Bigger the chance to keep Mary quiet on revealing that he is in the room. Bigger tries to escape, but the color white continues to get closer and closer to him until he’s caught and put in jail. The inability of whites to see blacks as individuals causes blacks to live their lives in fear and hatred. The motif white plays a big role in this book and represents the inability of white Americans as a whole to see black Americans as anything other than their stereotypes.
First, the motif white represents the inability of whites to see blacks as anything other than their stereotype because of the situation when Bigger sees the white sky as pure and calm. “After he had been tossed to dry upon a warm sunlit rock under a white sky he lifted his hand slowly and heavily and touched Bessie’s lips with his fingers and mumbled (Pg. 128).” This quote shows that the white sky is always pure and calm while the black man goes through his problems. The clouds are symbolic for the white people because they are always on top of everybody. This shows that whites look down on blacks as if they were better. Just like the sky looks down upon everyone else.
Second, the motif white represents the inability of whites to see blacks as anything other than their stereotype because of the situation when Bigger was staring into Bessie’s eyes. The quote that applies to this says, “The dim whites of her eyes in the darkness (131).” When the black woman can see what the whites see that shows their stereotypes are rubbing off on her. If she can see what the whites see, then so will other blacks. They will notice him as a stereotypical black man. This also shows that even Bigger’s own people are starting to view him as the whites do. This should make him feel very uncomfortable because more...