O'Connor's A.N. Post

The most intriguing aspects of O’Connor’s “The Artificial Nigger” were the juxtaposition of Mr. Head’s presumed character and his actual character and the irony of Mr. Head’s definition of mercy. Throughout the story, the narrator casts a saint-like light on Mr. Head. Mr. Head feels blessed he fell “into that calm understanding of life that makes him a suitable guide for the young” (210). He is characterized as a sage who can give back to younger generations his wisdom, his moral ideology, his will for living. At first impression, after we acknowledge the narrator’s comparison of Mr. Head to Vergil and Raphael—one a great Roman poet, one the Italian painter privileged enough to paint the Vatican— we assume Mr. Head to be of “an almost noble air” of “strong character” and of Christian ideals. Mr. Head, in the first page of the story, is humble and moral, strong and wise. Mr. Head’s actions and words, however, contrast so greatly with the narrator’s description that the narrator becomes unreliable, and we must piece together the identity and beliefs of Mr. Head for ourselves. We see the truth of Head’s character for the first time in his competition with his grandson, Nelson, to wake up. The only reason Head desires to wake so early is to unnerve his ten year old grandson. What immature reasoning, what jealousy. Because he lacks confidence in his own Mr. Head also reveals his less than saint-like persona when he admits the reason for taking Nelson to Atlanta is to open his eyes to the awfulness of the city. He does so by provoking Nelson’s fear of African American people. Living in fear and encouraging others to do so reflect a life not rooted in Christian tradition, but life rooted in the absence of God. His lifestyle and philosophies toward his grandson completely contradicts the narrator’s description of him and reach a climax when he completely rejects him. Here, Mr. Head personifies—to an extent—sort of an anti-Christ figure when he rejects the child and ignores his suffering and his sins of breaking an old lady’s ankle. Instead of acting in continuity with his assumed “wise” and “noble” character, he simply abandons a child who needs him most. The irony of the story then emerges: Mr. Head believes that Nelson shows him mercy after they find common ground. The common ground, however, stems from ridiculing the “artificial nigger.” Only through the hatred of others does Mr. Head find God. How ironic and how contradictory to what the Christian God desires! They seem to solidify their own importance when they acknowledge that they are above this plastered sculpture that represents the entire black race. Head cannot show mercy to the reputation of black men and women, and instead, replace feelings of mercy with judgment and contempt, yet he expects God to forgive him and treasures the plastered mercy of his 10-year-old grandson. He claims “no sin was too monstrous for him to claim as his own” but simultaneously believes that not all people are equal under God. Through his actions, the reader understands that Head believes some people deserve to be taunted and mocked—the waiter on the train, the black neighborhoods etc. He therefore views mercy only as a gift for the worthy, not as a lifestyle for all.