poverty

I hate charity. Performing an act of charity makes you feel better about yourself, while having no long-term impact on the life of someone who is an object of charity.

Charity toward a homeless person may enable him to remain on the street while refusing a permanent solution to his predicament. A charitable donation to Haitian earthquake victims may do nothing to undercut the massive suffering caused by the earthquake.

It is clear almost from the beginning that Bigger Thomas is doomed, trapped in a downward spiral that will lead to arrest, prison, or death, driven by despair, frustration, poverty, and incomprehension.