Native Son: 14

"As the white mountain had once loomed over him, so now the black wall of death loomed closer with each fleeting hour"(Wright 419).

Bigger's emotions have grown, whether or not he knows it. Before, the world to him was one, unconquerable, cohesive mountain of hate, comprised of all the white people. Now, Bigger sees the black wall of his death coming closer. He knows he is about to die, but now, instead of accepting it for what it is, Bigger sees his life in a new light. He sees that once he is dead, his life will have truly meant nothing. Once he is dead, no one can ever know why he did what he did. Once he is dead, it is forever. Bigger has never been forced to sit and seriously contemplate his life, but his last few days in jail force him to do this. Bigger may not know what he feels, but he is feeling emotions foreign to him. The hate and fear have been replaced with regret and a sense of strange calmness. Bigger, for the first time knows exactly what is happening in his life.