I kind of had a feeling what was going to happen at the end of this short sotry before reading it. I think that it is really sad how the boy treated his mother throught out the whole book. I understand that she was from a different generation creating tension between blacks and whites. This causes the son to get very irritated because his generation is starting to accept blacks as people and not slaves. Its heart breaking to hear the mother say things about blacks. I thought it was un called for when she reached in her purse to give the boy a penny. It is kind of a like a slap in the face, although its how she grew up. I feel like by her giving the boy a penny gave her a sense of her still having power over blacks. Its almost like she felt like they would need that penny and she was doing them a favor. But the black mother took it as an insult.
In the end, the mother starts stomping down the street and you hear her talk of getting his grandfather to come pick her up. This already hints that she is towards the end of her time. The son is going to live with a ton of guilt because he was yelling at her "I told you not to do that and you got what you deserved". That is an awful way to say goodbye.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I can agree that I saw the end coming quickly, as with most of O'Connor's other stories. Everything becomes a lesson in O'Connor's works and the endings normally have the mentality that you get what you deserve. I also see your point that the mother's giving the penny was her feeling sorry not only for the black boy but for the entire African-American race. I understand what you say about how Julian treats his mom, yet he was trying to coach her that her behavior isn't relevant anymore and thus, "you get what you deserve." I think your connection between the grandfather picking the mom up and it being the end of her time is interesting; I never picked up on that when I read it and it totally fits into the context.
ReplyDelete