Lessons in the Artificial Nigger

Mr. Head is taking Nelson to the city because he wants Nelson to see everything and escape his ignorance. However, it is not Nelson that learns the lesson in the city but Mr. Head himself. Throughout the story, Mr. Head is trying to be the wise man and teach Nelson about life. However, from the very beginning he has failed to take the lead in anything. Nelson is up before him and already making breakfast when he wakes up. When they get on the train, Nelson is less socially awkward than his grandfather, who talks loudly and wakes everyone up. As the wealthy black man passes them, Nelson is less impressed than Mr. Head. He does not see the black man as anything but a tanned man or a fat old man. When they get off the train, it is Mr. Head that forgets their lunch on the seat. When Nelson points this out he immediately abandons the authority he is trying to exert over Nelson and tells him that he could have easily remembered the lunch. In the city, he gets them lost although he would like to think that Nelson would be much worse off without him. However, Nelson would have been better off without him because he might not have wandered so far and would not have been as uncomfortable in the black neighborhood without his grandfather there to tell him he should be uncomfortable. It is Nelson that asks for directions, exerting power and wisdom over his grandfather.

Determined to teach Nelson a lesson in the city, Mr. Head leaves him while he is sleeping. It is immature and spiteful of Mr. Head to leave Nelson then scare him by banging on the trashcan to get his desired reaction. This leads to Nelson's only weak point in the story when he does express his need for his grandfather when the old woman is threatening to call the police on him. Instead of taking the leadership role that he is trying to hollow out for himself, Mr. Head refuses to take responsibility and leaves Nelson to deal with it on his own, immediately ruining any respect that Nelson may have had for him.

When they finally reach the train again, it is Mr. Head himself coming away with the stronger lesson. For the first time in the story, he sees himself as he truly is, a petty man that's only value comes from his grandson's mercy. Before he thought he was a pretty smart guy that had every right to teach Nelson about the world because he had been to the city three times. Nelson's only lesson is that he can not depend on his grandfather. It is Mr. Head that has the epiphany that the meaning of life is the mercy and forgiveness of others. Before this trip to the city, pride had always been most important to him. The realization that mercy and forgiveness, that of his grandson and God, are the most important things completes his life.