In the opening scenes of the novel, Peggy, the Daltons’ housekeeper, shows Bigger to his room, a space formerly occupied by Green, the previous African-American chauffeur. The room was “covered with pictures of girls’ faces and prize fighters” (Wright 58). Peggy does not comment on the content of these pictures, only noting that Green liked pictures, but, when he returns, Bigger stands in the middle of the room looking at them. The narrator says, \u201cThere were pictures of Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, and Henry Armstrong; there were others of Ginger Rogers, Jean Harlow, and Janet Gaynor\u201d (Wright 59). Though a small detail, these walls symbolize the world in which Bigger feels trapped like the mouse in the opening scene. Of the four boxers whose pictures adorn Green\u2019s wall, three are African-Americans and the other, Dempsey, has both Irish and Cherokee heritage. The three women are white American actresses. Just as Green and Bigger serve as opposites in the text, the boxers and Bigger act as opposites in terms of masculinity. While Bigger often attempts to prove his masculinity using weapons (e.g. knife, gun), the boxers simply prove it through their fists. Though both proofs require violence, the boxers\u2019 fighting is fair and on equal footing whereas the Bigger\u2019s violence is cowardly as he ambushes Gus, Mary, and Bessie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the course of the novel, Wright argues that society forces Bigger to show his masculinity in this way. This argument could lead one to believe that boxers then escape this dilemma. Yet the example of the boxers and of Green show that a comfort in masculinity does not lead to freedom for African-Americans. Green\u2019s comfort in his own masculinity allowed him to work for the Daltons for ten years, during which time \u201cMrs. Dalton made him go to night school\u201d (Wright 55). The wording is important: Green does not choose to go to night school, but rather Mrs. Dalton \u201cmade him go.\u201d This fact shows that Green does not control his own future but rather depends on the help of his white employers. Similarly, the boxer\u2019s dalliance with white society depends on his ability to both continue winning and maintain a socially acceptable demeanor. Jack Johnson, the first boxer mentioned, is a perfect example. The first African-American heavyweight champion, Johnson consorted with and later married white women. His disregard for the color line resulted in the government enforcing the Mann Act against him, forcing him to flee the country. Even though he controlled his aggression, he could not escape the control of powerful white men over his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Bigger’s life falls apart, we could view Green and the boxers as the hope, a path out of the entrapment that Bigger recognizes. Yet Green is powerless as well; he does not have freedom to access the white women he has on his wall. Just as the edges of the paper that display those boxers and actresses do not intersect, so too Green\u2019s masculinity, or self-control, does not intersect with freedom. This is the dilemma of society, the problem against which Bigger lashes out. His solution is radical but his feelings are legitimate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the opening scenes of the novel, Peggy, the Daltons’ housekeeper, shows Bigger to his room, a space formerly occupied by Green, the previous African-American chauffeur. The room was “covered with pictures of girls’ faces and prize fighters” (Wright 58). Peggy does not comment on the content of these pictures, only noting that Green liked … Continue reading Boxers on the Wall: Masculinity and Freedom<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3679,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[471414],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-native-son"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions\/81"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/jamesbaldwin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}