Bigger feels from the beginning of the novel that he is somehow doomed to come to some unfortunate end, and it is relatively easy to understand his intuition because like all other blacks, he has been told through social interaction and media images that as a black man he is at least an unimportant element of society and at most a violent criminal waiting to erupt. It is this internalization of both the hate and irrelevance felt towards him that causes Bigger to feel ill at ease for most of his life, and his discomfort manifests itself in violent outbursts and moments of intense anguish. .
When Bigger is finally forced into taking a job, he finds himself thrust into the privileged world of white upper class life, as a servant of the household of course. The family he works for, The Dalton's, are progressive hypocrites, in the sense that they contribute millions of dollars to Negro charities and support education for Blacks, however the family fortune is subsidized by the excessive rent that Bigger's mother and others like her pay for their demolition quality housing which wouldn't even be considered suitable for white occupancy. Bigger feels an utter sense of shame and self-hatred while working for the Dalton's, even though they will pay him well and treat him hospitably. On his first assignment as the driver he encounters the young Dalton daughter, Mary, and her communist-lover Jan who attempt to treat Bigger as both an equal and a museum artifact, which confuses his long held conception of race relationship, and leaves him with distaste for whites even when treated well. It is precisely this that points out perhaps the most telling element of the novel and of social injustice - because Bigger and other blacks have come to accept their inferiority as a fact of life, positive white figures become more harmful than those filled with hatred. Mary and Jan's accepting friendship is seen as some kind of sick joke to Bigger, and throughout the time he spends with them he feels desperate to resume his role as chauffeur to quell the feelings of resentment he feels towards them for their acceptance.