Scenes from the Big Time Summary

The narrator cleans pigeon droppings all day until his co-worker decides to scare the pigeons away by cutting off the legs of a lame bird. The other prisoners cannot bear to watch the man cut the legs from a bird who cannot fly, but the narrator is tired of cleaning the droppings and helps the man with his operation.

Blaine is the narrator's cellmate, until one of the cruel guards transfers Blaine into an all-black cell. The black prisoners plan to rape Blaine until they see him naked. His physical unattractiveness saves his life.

Another prisoner, Sears, is fearless and belligerent. He attacks the biggest black prisoner he can find on his first day in prison. He also challenges white prisoners, like Ned Lincoln, a simple-minded young man whom Sears threatens when Lincoln is still...