Bigger Thomas
The twenty-year-old protagonist. He is angry, frightened, and capable of violence. Wright builds him carefully so readers understand how he got this way rather than simply reacting to what he does.
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Characters
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Contents
Characters
Who matters and what they help you prove.
Mary Dalton
The Daltons' daughter. She is politically radical and wants to treat Bigger as an equal, but her approach ignores his actual situation and puts him in danger. Her death sets the plot in motion.
Mrs. Dalton
Mary's blind mother. Her blindness is literal and symbolic. She cannot see Bigger as a person any more than the rest of white society can, even when she is standing in the same room with him.
Henry Dalton
Mary's father and a wealthy real estate owner. He donates to Black organizations while profiting from the slums where Black families like Bigger's are forced to live.
Boris Max
Bigger's Communist lawyer. He delivers the novel's most explicit argument about racism and society. He genuinely tries to understand Bigger, but even he is shaken by what Bigger says at the end.
Bessie Mears
Bigger's girlfriend. She is drawn into the cover-up against her will and killed by Bigger when he decides she is a liability. Her death receives far less attention in the trial than Mary's, which Wright uses to make a point about whose lives the legal system values.
Jan Erlone
Mary's Communist boyfriend. He initially represents white leftist politics that claim to stand with Black Americans. After Bigger frames him for the murder, Jan eventually supports Bigger's defense, showing a more genuine commitment than most characters manage.
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