"The Displaced Person"

My initial reaction after reading “The Displaced Person” was discomfort and a little anger as well. There were a couple of parts in the story where I was extremely frustrated with the characters and their behavior. When Mr. Shortley, for example, is explaining how if he could travel he would go to Africa or China only because people would be able to tell the difference between him and the natives. He says, “You go to these other places and the only way you can tell is if they say something” (O’Connor 324); I am assuming “these other places” that he is speaking of are Germany and Poland given that he has repeatedly says there is no difference between the two. This is a very rude and almost vulgar thing to say. It is amazing to think that someone could say that there is no difference between people from Germany and people from Poland simply because they look alike especially during this time period. Why do we feel the need to distinguish ourselves from those who are different from us? Are Mrs. McIntyre and Mr. Shortley any better than the Guizac family? No. However, it matters to Mr. Shortley; he wants everyone to know that the Guizac family is different and where they come from.

I found all of this rather disturbing; Mr. Shortley would not have this foreigner outdo him and the only way for him to keep Mr. Guizac down is to spread rumors because it is evident that Mr. Shortley is no where near as good of a worker as Mr. Guizac. Therefore, since he cannot surpass him in physical labor he will try and hold him back through horrible gossip. This is irritating because Mr. Shortley has no right to do this simply because Mr. Guizac is a displaced person and he takes advantage of his “American” status to hold Mr. Guizac back.