Native Son Group

Question:

dman290
dman290
Student
High School - 9th Grade

Why does Bessie drink liquor, and what does her drinking have to do with her relationship to Bigger?

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Posted by dman290 on Wednesday February 11, 2009 at 12:17 PM and tagged with bessie, bigger, characters, drinking, native son.

Answers:


  1. ms-mcgregor Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    In Native Son, Richard Wright explains that "Bessie's whiskey was his mother religion and his mother's religion was Bessie's whiskey." What the author is trying to say is that Bessie drank to escape the ghetto, just as his mother used religion to do the same. The problem posed for Bigger is that Bessie knows too much. She knows he killed Mary and he also knows he must escape Chicago. However, he can't leave Bessie in Chicago, because she will tell all she knows to the police. But he can't take Bessie with him, because she has a drinking problem and that could get in the way of making a quick escape. So he kills Bessie in order to solve his problem.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/native-son

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    Posted by ms-mcgregor on Wednesday February 11, 2009 at 5:32 PM

  2. cheetah7345
    cheetah7345 Student
    High School - 11th Grade

    look at number 4."the sensation bessie feels when she is drunk is a pleasant release from the drudgery of her daily routine...."

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    Posted by cheetah7345 on Thursday April 16, 2009 at 5:30 PM