Big Boy Leaves Home

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The Irony of Big Boy Leaves Home by Richard Wright In “Big Boy Leaves Home,” Richard Wright uses irony in the form of animal imagery to illustrate the lessons taught by Jim Crow. Jim Crow dehumanizes Blacks; it compares them to inhumane animals. To Jim Crow enforcers, Whites, comparing Blacks to animals justifies punishing them in vicious ways such as beatings, hangings and killings. Wright uses animal imagery to contradict the animal imagery Whites use to portray Blacks in the Jim Crow South. Wright shows how Blacks are at times forced to act like animals to fight for survival. Also, he shows that the Whites are really behaving like animals. In the short story Big Boy Leaves Home, Blacks are compared to hens, horses, dogs and snakes. Each animal foreshadows scenes from Bobo’s lynching but also reveals that Whites are acting like the animals they compare Blacks to. Big Boy, Bobo, Buck and Lester skipped school and were wondering the woods singing songs and horse playing. One of the boys passed gas and they blaming one another. This shows the boys innocence and immaturity. Big Boy said “The hen whut cackles is the hen whut laid the egg” (page 20). Richard Wright uses animal imagery here by comparing the boys to a hen. A hen is a domestic fowl. They live on farms and are owned by people. Cackles foreshadow Bobo’s screams as he was being lynched by the white mob. Bobo “laid the egg” by skipping school with his friends and swimming in the swimming hole. He did not kill the White man but he was there at the scene of the crime. The story continues with the boys walking towards the swimming hole the left Big Boy behind. One screams “C’mon!” to Big Boy. Big Boy caught up with the group and jumped on the others back making the fall. The boys were irritated by Big Boy’s actions and told him to “Git t hell offa me!” (page 21). Big Boy lies on the grass laughing
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