Native Son: Two Schools of Thought Wasn't it Mrs. Dalton's unexpected presence that caused Bigger to choke Mary Dalton? Wasn't it fear of the consequences of the white man's legal system that forced him to burn the evidence? Wasn't it the shame that Jan Erlone made him feel that encouraged Bigger to blame Jan for Mary's murder? Isn't Bigger a victim of the overwhelming environment that pushed him, out of his control, to take such drastic actions? In Native Son there is plenty of evidence to support two schools of thought. Bigger and his people had been oppressed by their white counterparts for so long. A black man would never have a career in life. Not that they could, for their simple minds could not achieve all that was necessary to live a good life. The Negroes had to be kept firmly in their place. These very ignorant beliefs led Bigger to isolate himself from the real world only to want it and desire it even more because he wasn't allowed to achieve it. There would come a time when Bigger would be enlightened and create a new attitude, a new mentality, because he had killed. A new freedom was born in Bigger. He had done the irreparable. Murder, concealment and deception. Were they all Bigger offers, cold and clinical? Or was it all based on the shame and fear Bigger felt? Would he have contemplated the same crime at any other time? Throughout the novel, it was illustrated with precise articulation that Bigger would never, could not, act on his own willpower. An emotion, a strength have always moved him, even towards escape. And during his escape, Bigger felt the need to steal, commit crimes and act so brutally. Could all this be the product of a less manipulated environment? The older Thomas's undeniable criminal actions are only fueled by his own self-oppression and his acceptance of the limitations placed around him. He acted as expected by the ignorant society responsible for him.