<p>Wright's 1940 original novel followed a poor, 20-year-old black Chicagoan, Bigger Thomas, as he takes a job as a chauffeur for the wealthy, white Dalton family. When Thomas accidentally mits an act of violence against a member of the family, he engages in an elaborate cover-up scheme that begets more crimes. Wright emphasizes throughout the novel that society has been set up to make Thomas what he bees.</p>...
The lady is Mrs. Hilyard, a wealthy poetess who lives in a three-story city mansion and her cage is her elevator, which stops a dozen feet short of the main floor due to an electrical failure on a July 4th weekend. She rings her outside alarm, eventually noticed by a drunken derelict, who breaks into the house, ignores her plight and helps himself to various items and alcohol. ......