Teaching Native Son

Instructions for You

Objective: After murdering Mary, Bigger is in deep trouble—like, fighting for his life trouble. And Bigger is our main character, so obviously we don't want him to end up with the death penalty, but he did kill two people, so what should happen to him? We can't just let him totally off the hook…right? However, is justice really served by sending him to jail (or to the electric chair)? These are tough questions, and we're looking to your students for the answers.

In this activity, students will play out their own mock trial to determine Bigger's guilt and his sentence. They'll need to consider clues from the text and the historical context of the novel in order to prepare the case and decide Bigger's fate. Let's see what the jury has to say.

This lesson should take about two class periods: one for prep and one for the trial.

Materials Needed:

• Native Son text

Step 1: Understatement of the millennium: Bigger did some really bad stuff. He's a murderer—no way around it—but some people might still argue that Bigger is innocent. Thanks to our special reader powers, we actually saw Bigger kill two people, so there's no question that he did it, but is he to blame for his actions or is society? Let's find out what your students think:

• Is Bigger Thomas innocent or guilty? Why?
• What is Jan's explanation for Bigger's innocence? Is this an adequate explanation? Does it make sense to you? Why or why not?
• The Daltons are rich white people. What do we learn about their own actions that imply they may not be as benevolent toward black people as they seem? (Hint: Think about their business practices.)
• In what ways might society be responsible for what Bigger did?
• If Bigger was to take the stand, what defense would he give? Do you believe the majority of citizens would believe him? Why or why not?

Step 2: It's time for students to choose: prosecution or defense? Oh, and for anyone who isn't a crime drama junkie like us, you may want to review these terms with students ahead of time:

• The prosecuting attorney is the state representative whose job it is to convict Bigger of murder.
• The defense attorney's job is to see that Bigger gets a fair trial and to prove that Bigger is not guilty through indictment of the culture that made Bigger into a monster.

Hopefully you'll have a fair amount of dissent among the ranks, but if not, try stirring the pot a little with a few more questions:

• Are you really all convinced that racism had no part in Bigger's choices? Can we blame him for defending himself?
• Do you really believe that Bigger should be let off the hook for his crimes? What if he hurt someone you know?
• Check out our themes page for more ideas on the complexity of Bigger's situation.

If all else fails you can have students draw straws to even out your teams.

Step 3: It's time to divide and conquer. Once students are in groups, they will brainstorm their witness lists. Who will they need to question about Bigger? As budding attorneys, they need to get their sleuth on and consider talking to: Bigger, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, Peggy, Jan, the detectives, etc. Who will best help build their case? Check out Shmoop's character pages for help.

Step 4: Time for a little strategy: We know who to question, so now we need to know what questions to ask and how to ask them. The same question asked a different way can imply guilt or innocence for the jury. Have our young lawyers determine if the witness is a "hostile" witness (used by the other side to prove their point) or a "friendly" witness. Then they will create strategic questions for each person.

Examples:

• Mr. Dalton (hostile witness): Mr. Dalton, is it true that you charge higher rent to your tenants in the black sections of the city? (Oh…not cool dude.)
• Mr. Dalton (friendly witness) Mr. Dalton, tell us about your work in the black community helping black citizens. (Awe…he sounds nice.)

Step 5: Good lawyers never ask questions they don't already know the answers to (the answers are for the jury's benefit), so next up, students should answer their own questions. Students should be able to extrapolate from the text how they believe each character would answer a defense or prosecuting attorney during the trial, and they should support each response with text evidence. See how we snuck in that inference practice? It's like hiding cauliflower in your mashed potatoes.

Step 6: Ready to brush up on those argument skills? Now that students have their witness lists and questions ready to go, they need opening and closing arguments. How will they convince a jury of Bigger's guilt or innocence? These statements should be about three to five minutes long when read aloud.

Note: To speed things along, you can have students divide and conquer within their teams as well so that a few students are working on each step simultaneously. We're all for a jigsaw approach.

Step 7: Court is in session! To set up your mock trial, assign students to one of the following roles: defense team, prosecution team (up to three students each), Bigger, witnesses, judge (think carefully about who you trust with the gavel), and jury. Not enough? You could throw in a few reporters, a court reporter, or a bailiff to control those unruly citizens. Then let the trial play out beginning with opening arguments. At the conclusion of the trial, debrief:

• What were the strongest points made by the prosecution?
• What were the strongest points made by the defense?
• If you were on the jury, how would you have voted?
• Were any of you convinced to change your mind or at least question your original position on Bigger's guilt or innocence? What convinced you?
• Do you think Richard Wright would have found Bigger guilty or innocent? Why?
• What is a fair sentence for Bigger? Why?

Instructions for Your Students

After murdering Mary, Bigger is in deep trouble—like, fighting for his life trouble. Bigger is our main character, so obviously we don't want him to end up with the death penalty, but he did kill two people, so what should happen to him? We can't just let him totally off the hook…right? However, is justice really served by sending him to jail (or to the electric chair)? These are tough questions, and we're looking to you for the answers.

In this activity, you will play out your own mock trial to determine Bigger's guilt and his sentence. You'll need to consider clues from the text and the historical context of the novel in order to prepare the case and decide Bigger's fate. It's all up to you; can you feel the power?

Step 1: Understatement of the millennium: Bigger did some really bad stuff. He's a murderer—no way around it—but some people might still argue that Bigger is innocent. Thanks to our special reader powers, we actually saw Bigger kill two people, so there's no question that he did it, but is he to blame for his actions or is society?

• Is Bigger Thomas innocent or guilty? Why?
• What is Jan's explanation for Bigger's innocence? (Dude, he killed your girlfriend. How can you think he's innocent?) Is this an adequate explanation? Does it make sense to you? Why or why not?
• The Daltons are rich white people. What do we learn about their own actions that imply they may not be as benevolent toward black people as they seem? (Hint: Think about their business practices.)
• In what ways might society be responsible for what Bigger did?
• If Bigger was to take the stand, what defense would he give? Do you believe the majority of citizens would believe him? Why or why not?

Step 2: Here's the deal; you get to choose sides: prosecution or defense? Oh, and for anyone who isn't a crime drama junkie like us (You mean you've never watched twenty-four straight hours of Law and Order?), here are the responsibilities of each side:

• The prosecuting attorney is the state representative whose job it is to convict Bigger of murder.
• The defense attorney's job is to see that Bigger gets a fair trial and to prove that Bigger is not guilty through indictment of the culture that made Bigger into a monster.

Not sure where you stand? Allow us to further complicate things:

• Are you really all convinced that racism had no part in Bigger's choices? Can we blame him for defending himself?
• Do you really believe that Bigger should be let off the hook for his crimes? What if he hurt someone you know?
• Check out our themes page for more ideas on the complexity of Bigger's situation.

Step 3: It's time to divide and conquer. Once you are in groups, you will brainstorm your witness lists. Probe the inner workings of your peers' minds and determine who gets in the hot seat first. Who will you question about Bigger's actions? Consider talking to: Bigger, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, Peggy, Jan, the detectives, etc. Who will best help build your case? Check out Shmoop's character pages for help.

Step 4: Time for a little strategy: We know who to question, so now we need to know what questions to ask and how to ask them. The same question asked a different way can imply guilt or innocence for the jury. Here's the trick, you will need to determine if the witness is a "hostile" witness (used by the other side to prove their point) or a "friendly" witness. Then you will create strategic questions for each person.

Examples:

• Mr. Dalton (hostile witness): Mr. Dalton, is it true that you charge higher rent to your tenants in the black sections of the city? (Oh…not cool dude.)
• Mr. Dalton (friendly witness) Mr. Dalton, tell us about your work in the black community helping black citizens. (Awe…he sounds nice.)

Step 5: Good lawyers never ask questions they don't already know the answers to (the answers are for the jury's benefit), so next up, you will answer your own questions. You should be able to extrapolate from the text how you believe each character would answer a defense or prosecuting attorney during the trial, and you must support each response with text evidence. See how we snuck in that inference practice? It's like hiding cauliflower in your mashed potatoes.

Step 6: Ready to brush up on those argument skills? Now that you have your witness lists and questions ready to go, you need opening and closing arguments. How will you convince a jury of Bigger's guilt or innocence? These statements should be about three to five minutes long when read aloud.

Note: To speed things along, you can divide and conquer within your teams as well so that a few of you are working on each step simultaneously. We're all for a teamwork approach.

Step 7: Court is in session! For the mock trial, each of you will be assigned to one of the following roles: defense team, prosecution team (up to three students each), Bigger, witnesses, judge (don't let the gavel go to your head), and jury. If needed, we might throw in a few reporters, a court reporter, or a bailiff to control those unruly citizens. Then we'll let the trial play out beginning with opening arguments. Once Bigger has been sentenced and the gavel has banged its final bang, we'll debrief, so you may want to take a few notes throughout the trial:

• What were the strongest points made by the prosecution?
• What were the strongest points made by the defense?
• If you were on the jury, how would you have voted?
• Were any of you convinced to change your mind or at least question your original position on Bigger's guilt or innocence? What convinced you?
• Do you think Richard Wright would have found Bigger guilty or innocent? Why?
• What is a fair sentence for Bigger? Why?