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Genre  

Urban naturalism; novel of social protest

Narrator  

The story is narrated in a limited third-person voice that focuses on Bigger Thomas’s thoughts and feelings.

Point of View  

The story is told almost exclusively from Bigger’s perspective.

Tone  

The narrator’s attitude toward his subject is one of absorption. The narrator is preoccupied with bringing us into Bigger’s mind and situation, using short, evocative sentences to tell the story. Though the narrator is clearly opposed to the destructive racism that the novel chronicles, there is very little narrative editorializing, though some characters, such as Max, make statements that evoke a secondary tone of social protest in the final part of the novel.

Tense  

Past

Setting (time)  

1930s

Setting (place)  

Chicago

Protagonist  

Bigger Thomas

Major Conflict  

The fear, hatred, and anger that racism has impressed upon Bigger Thomas ravages his individuality so severely that his only means of self-expression is violence. After killing Mary Dalton, Bigger must contend with the law, the hatred of society, and his own destructive inner feelings.

Rising Action  

The planned robbery of Blum’s deli; Bigger’s trip to the movies; Bigger’s night with Mary and Jan

Climax  

Each of the three books of the novel has its own climax: Book One climaxes with the murder of Mary, Book Two with the discovery of Mary’s remains in the furnace, and Book Three with the culmination of Bigger’s trial in the death sentence.

Falling Action  

Bigger’s trial and his relationship with Boris A. Max

Foreshadowing  

Buckley’s campaign poster; Bigger’s occasional premonitions that he will do something violent and impulsive

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