Second Glance at Artificial Nigger

What interests me about the discussion today on the city versus the country is how each relates to the concept of "home." In my opinion, the entire story is propelled by Mr. Head's desire to redefine Nelson's idea of where his home is. He seeks to do so by taking Nelson to the city, not to open his eyes to the horrors of the black community and teach him a moral lesson, but to shock him into realizing his appreciation for his home in the country. Mr. Head had been planning the trip for weeks so the boy would "find out from it that he had no cause for pride merely because he had been born in a city...he meant him to see everything there is to see in a city so that he would be content to stay at home for the rest of his life." Despite Mr. Head's repetition of his longing to reveal to his grandson how smart he is NOT, I believe the trip to the city was Mr. Head's longing for Nelson to find his home was not in the dream city he believed he was home.Both Nelson and Mr. Head view Atlanta as a fantastical city to symbolize their relationship to Nelson's mother. Nelson most likely connected Atlanta to a time when his mother birthed him, babied him, and protected him just as Mr. Head most likely connected Atlanta to Nelson's mother running away and abandoning him when his wife died. He most likely connects the city to the impure--his daughter was impregnated there without marriage--while Nelson most likely connects Atlanta to the adventurous nature in humanity, a place where one goes to rediscover identity. Atlanta, instead, discredits the preconceived notion of home; both characters realize--through the city--that home is not a physical place, but a place of true acception, forgiveness, and dependencey between people who love each other. Nelson realizes he cannot find his mother in Atlanta--even in the form of the black lady with the "pink dress that showed exactly her shape." Mr. Head realizes the extent to which he can betray the one person he wishes to enlighten and bring home. They both realize the absurdity of recreating black a person from artifical material when black people populated the city. Maybe both of them realized too, that a house or a city, is really just an artificial version of a home and also somewhat ridiculous.