BOOK ONE: FEAR
The first part of Book One introduces you to Bigger Thomas and to his family and friends. It portrays Bigger's fear, his desire to escape, and his violence.
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Bigger, his brother Buddy, his sister Vera, and his mother dress. The boys have to look away while the women dress; then the women look away while the brothers dress. The apartment contains only one room, and this scene illustrates the close quarters in which this family lives. But it also introduces the shame that results from being looked at. Later Bigger will burn with shame under the gaze of Mary and Jan. But the tiny family apartment makes being looked at an issue even at home.
Native Son begins with the sound of an alarm clock. Like much of the novel, this scene shows the realistic details of Bigger's life and environment. But it can be read symbolically too. The opening paragraphs depict Bigger's literal awakening in the morning, and your first glimpse of him is of a man hovering between sleep and wakefulness. Later you will learn that Bigger's life alternates between sleepy indifference and angry, often violent, activity. Many readers interpret Bigger's development of his own sense of self-worth as a movement toward greater awareness, a gradual awakening. According to this interpretation, the opening of Native Son both foreshadows Bigger's future (his eventual awakening) and illustrates his present emotional state (half-asleep, half-awake).
Before they have finished dressing, the family notices a rat scurrying along the floor. Bigger orders Buddy to block off the rat's hole. Then he corners the rodent and kills it by beating its head in with a skillet.