Reverend Hammond's wooden cross

Reverend Hammond's wooden cross is a small religious object that Reverend Hammond gives to Bigger in an effort to draw him toward Christian belief. Its presentation brings the preacher's account of suffering into direct contact with Bigger's guilt: the cross rests against his chest, but the scene leaves his response unresolved.

Form and Presentation

Reverend Hammond takes the small wooden cross, attached to a chain, from his pocket after Bigger covers his eyes and recoils from the preacher's repeated appeals. He asks Bigger to look at it and offers to put it around his neck. The gesture makes the cross more than an object held up for instruction: Reverend Hammond places it on Bigger's body, where it hangs next to his skin.

Religious Meaning and Bigger's Response

Reverend Hammond interprets the cross through the image of a tree as the world and a suffering man nailed to it. He presents suffering as a condition of life and faith as the source of its meaning, urging Bigger to look at the cross when alone and believe. The object thus carries the preacher's effort to turn Christian teaching into consolation and guidance.

Bigger's response is shaped by the crime he has committed. He feels that he cannot believe in what he has killed and fears he may strike the preacher if the questioning continues. Yet, after the cross is placed around his neck, the narrative also registers him feeling Reverend Hammond's words: life appears as flesh nailed to the world, with a longing spirit imprisoned in earthly days. That image echoes the preacher's account of suffering, but does not confirm a conversion or acceptance of faith.

Interruption and Narrative Significance

The cross remains against Bigger's chest when Jan opens the door. Bigger springs to his feet in fear, while Reverend Hammond steps back and bows to greet Jan. The abrupt interruption places the intimate religious appeal beside Bigger's renewed fear, without resolving the tension between the cross's promise of meaning and his sense of guilt.