Grandson’s Lesson in Flannery O’Connor’s The Artificial Nigger
“He’s never seen anything before,” Mr. Head continued. “Ignorant as the day he was born, but I mean for him to get his fill once and for all.” P.254
This quote which comes early in the text of Flannery O’Connor’s “The Artificial Nigger,” is of great significance for understanding this novel as a whole. The quote comes from the beginning of this short story when the Grandfather (Mr. Head) is on the train with his grandson (Nelson). Mr. Head utters this quote to the man sitting next to him on the train. Mr. Head decided to take Nelson to Atlanta to see the city where Nelson was born and to teach him some things along the way.
There are countless instances in the text that show that Nelson indeed has not seen anything before and that he is indeed very ignorant. Early in the story, Mr. Head feels the need to warn Nelson about what he will see in Atlanta. “You may not like it a bit (Atlanta),” Mr. Head continued. “It’ll be full of niggers.” Even though this didn’t seem to bother Nelson, the grandfather felt the need to warm him since he was “ignorant as the day he was born.” Shortly thereafter, while on the train to Atlanta, a “tan” man walks down the aisle of the train. Again, Mr. Head has to instruct Nelson that a person, who is tan, is still “considered a Negro.” Its almost as if Nelson has been sheltered his entire life.
That one short quote from page 253 couldn’t sum up Nelson’s life any more. Other examples of Nelson’s sheltered nature include Mr. Head’s insistence on showing Nelson the toilet and sinks in the bathroom of the train and the dinning car and how the city’s sewer system works. Nelson can’t seem to take it all in fast enough. On the train he is in awe of everything he sees and passes, and while walking the streets of Atlanta, all the stores, people and sights leave young Nelson dumbfounded.
While all of this is true, this quote I chose to do my close reading on is significant in its foreshadowing. Granted, Mr. Head showed Nelson much on their Atlanta trip, he also taught Nelson a great lesson in mercy, forgiveness and being like Christ. Toward the end of the story, Nelson bumps into a woman who accuses him of breaking her ankle.
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Although both Twain and Douglass both lived in the south, Douglass was a slave and, therefore, faced greater hardships than did Twain. While Twain was preoccupied about becoming steamboat captain, Douglass was experiencing more dire troubles such as having “no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees” (Douglass). As a free, white male, Twain’s biggest worry was not accomplishing his goal of becoming a steamboat pilot (Twain). Another difference is the use of joyful and troubling memories. While Twain ends his narrative in despair because he “somehow… could not manage…” to become a steamboat pilot, Douglass ends his narrative in the hopeful and thankful tone of a freed slave. Douglass proclaims “this good spirit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise”(Douglass). Finally, another narrative technique that differs Twain from Douglass is that Twain speaks for all of the boys of his town while Douglass only recounts his own experiences. According to Twain, “when I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades in our village on the west bank of the Mississippi River. That was, to be a steamboatman.”(Twain). Douglass, although alluding to other slaves, does not depict their desires nor does he show a kinship with them. Douglass’
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While writing about the dehumanizing nature of slavery, Douglass eloquently and efficiently re-humanize African Americans. This is most evident throughout the work as a whole, yet specific parts can be used as examples of his artistic control of the English language. From the beginning of the novel, Douglass’ vocabulary is noteworthy with his use of words such as “intimation […] odiousness […] ordained.” This more advanced vocabulary is scattered throughout the narrative, and is a testament to Douglass’ education level. In conjunction with his vocabulary, Douglass often employed a complex syntax which shows his ability to manipulate the English language. This can be seen in Douglass’ self-description of preferring to be “true to [himself], even at the hazard of incurring ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur [his] own abhorrence.” This is significant because it proves that Douglass can not only simply read and write, but he has actually obtained a mastery of reading and writing. This is a highly humanizing trait because it equates him in education level to that of the stereotypical white man, and how could one deny that the white man is human because of his greater education? It is primarily the difference in education that separates the free from the slaves, and Douglass is able to bridge this gap as a pioneer of the
In O'Connor's "The Artificial Nigger" the essences of prejudice and degradation are captured to a great extent. Reality shows us with needless consistency people in a need to feel better about themselves only achieve it by being better than someone else. Therefore every opportunity at hand, including racism, is taken advantage as a form of gratification. Mr. Head, the grandfather, is an example of one of these people. He is in competition with seemingly everyone he encounters while in a day trip to the City.
Even the waterboy gets paid! NCAA football is a billion dollar a year empire, in which coaches, executives, school presidents, board members, athletic trainers, athletic directors, equipment managers, Waterboys, towel boys, ball boys, and even team mascots all receive a chunk of the revenue. Everyone gets paid except the athletes, who don’t receive a dime of the money. That’s because it’s against NCAA rules to pay college athletes with anything other than an athletic scholarship; anything else, and it’s deemed as an improper benefit, thus making an athlete ineligible if he/she were to accept. The NCAA defends its rule of “no-pay” by claiming that all its student-athletes are “amateurs” and not employees; therefore, they’re legally not compensated. The argument over whether student-athletes should be paid or not, is particularly unsettling within the sport of football, because NCAA football is the most popular and profitable sport of all college athletics. The NCAA’s discrepancy over whether it should pay its players or not, currently has the association fighting a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, who’s suing for compensation on behalf of former Division I football and men’s basketball players. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA’s use of student-athletes’ images and likeness for commercial purposes (PBS.org). In recent months the argument has been geared more towards whether current student-athletes should be paid or not, particularly football players, who like former Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel, provide the athleticism and entertainment that makes NCAA football the million dollar empire that it is. So, should college football players be paid?
“A good man is hard to find”: and the “White Privilege System” Flannery O’Connor’s A good man is hard to find describes the end of the Bailey’s family (the author did not mention their last name) that was caused by the meeting with the escaped prisoner Misfit and the Grandmother’s behavior. Arguments of this short story both agree and disagree with the article White privilege: Unpacking the invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh. O’Connor demonstrated people believe in a privilege of skin color (and the social status in this case) that was given to them “as a default”. The author also showed individuals should reconsider this confidence in the privileges’ presence. This is about the “agreement” point.
After Douglass is lucky enough to be selected out of hundreds of slaves to be shipped to Baltimore he meets his new masters and adopts to slave life in the city. His new mistress is a first time slaveholder and is very compassionate towards Fredrick she even teaches him his ABC’s
Frederick Douglass was an American slave in the south during the time of the abolitionist movement. During his time in slavery he learned his ABC’s from a benevolent slave owner and from there teaches himself how to read. Using this knowledge he is able to learn about the abolitionist movement in the north and eventually plans his escape from his captivity in Baltimore. Many years after his escape he is able to write and publish the narrative of his life with the purpose of showing abolitionist and those on the fence about slavery in the North that the institution is not all it is portrayed to be. During Douglass’s time many slave owners painted a different view of the South and how kind and just slavery was. In his narrative Douglass fights this claim by depicting frightening violations of human rights that occurred in his own life time to show abolitionist that slavery is blatantly against american justice and liberty.
In the 1990s, the telecommunications market was rapidly changing with the addition of new entrants from a competition standpoint that were forcing WorldCom to decrease prices. Long term leases for