I found “Artificial Nigger” an incredibly interesting story because there is not one simple underlying plot; there are many little plots which make up and tell the story. The first thing I noticed was the opening. The way O’Connor leads us into her story is through the personification of objects. She gives these lifelike qualities to things which obviously cannot move. She describes the moon and the chair as if they are awaiting some kind of verbal order from Mr. Head. As if he has the ability to control these inanimate objects, which he does not. And we learn later that he is unable to even control his own actions and feelings.
Another idea which caught my attention is how Mr. Head is described as having a “youthful expression” and Nelson’s appearance is “ancient” (O’Connor 212). This is interesting because it is Mr. Head who acts childish. He is the one wakes after his grandson; he is the one who gets lost in the city; he is the one who disowns his own grandchild. He is also stubborn like a child. Even though Nelson has decided to forgive his grandfather by the end of the story, it is Mr. Head who does not even ask for forgiveness. He simply accepts what he has done to Nelson and that is all. Just as Nelson is stubborn when it comes to the number of times he has been to the city, Mr. Head is stubborn in his own way. However, it is Nelson who changes in the end. Nelson acknowledges that he has only been to the city once. It is as if Nelson and Mr. Head have switched places, just as their physical descriptions portray them.
I found Mr. Head to be a very selfish individual. He takes his grandson into the city, I believe, for the sole purpose of showing him that he does not know as much as he thinks he knows. He is not taking Nelson into the city as a treat, as some kind of family vacation. Instead, he is doing it to prove a point. Then on the train it seems as though Mr. Head has no sense of common courtesy; he speaks loudly even though it is still very early in the morning and many people on the train are still asleep. And again, Mr. Head proves is selfish behavior when he denies Nelson as his family. He says this simply because once he learns that he will be held responsible for the old woman’s injuries he does not want anything to do with the situation. Therefore, without any regard for his grandson’s emotions he simply disowns him.
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4 comments:
I really liked that scene where he is being a disturbance on the train and talking loudly. It was as if he was drawing attention to them and making an example out of Nelson. Especially when he's talking to the guy across from them, about basically how ignorant Nelson is and the guy obviously does not care.
I was a little more sympathetic to Mr. Head— maybe because something about cities frightens me. Despite Mr. Head’s supposed intentions, I think that Nelson grew up a lot because of this trip to the city. I feel like every parent has to deal with instilling fear into their children, whether it is through blatant lies, half truths, or simply using a harsh tone. Kids are fragile and they are prone to do stupid things. I am sure it is scary for Mr. Head to think that Nelson has such an isolated upbringing. Like many parents, he wants to show him there is another, dangerous world out there (or at least a world that he knows nothing about). Also, Nelson, like many children, probably believes he is invisible to any serious dangers.
Somewhere along the line, Mr. Head’s intentions got away from him, but I still believe that his methods were probably better than just talking about how horrible the city is without letting Nelson experience it on his own. And of course, the end result was that the city brought out Mr. Head’s insecurity and fear of not understanding the city as well, which in turn, allowed Nelson to learn even more about the nature of his relationship with his grandfather.
I think it is very possible that Mr. Head's initial intentions were coming from a good place, but I also think there still might be a little resentment on his part. I don't know exactly what the resentment is, but it could have to do with Nelson, or something within his own issues.
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