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March 26, 2006
Searching through the artificial negro
O'Connor, ''The Artificial Nigger'' -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
"It was not possible to tell if the artificial Negro were meant to be young or old; he looked too miserable to be either" (124).
Was Mr. Head possibly comparing himself and Nelson using this artificial figure? Perhaps it didn't matter whether he was old like Mr. Head or young like Nelson, they both failed at moments throughout the day and were miserable about their visit to the city. For the first time in the story Mr. Head had taught one descent lesson. And yes, although it was indirect Mr. Head was able to show Nelson that he was imperfect just like the position of the artificial figure.
Also, I find it ironic that O'Connor creates such a racist character and calls him Mr. Head.
Posted by Shanelle Evkovich at March 26, 2006 12:13 AM
Comments
I agree the statue with its nicks, scrapes and imperfections was a representation of what had happened to Mr. Head and Nelson that day. The statue was also hanging at an angle - not perfectly upright - just like the two of them.
I also saw a great deal of foreshadowing in this story, perhaps more than O'Connor had given us in the others. There was the conversation nearly at the beginning about whether Mr. Head would know his way around the city and he responds to Nelson "Have you ever seen me lost?" Nelson replies "It's nowhere around here to get lost at." and Mr. Head says "The day is going to come when you'll find you ain't as smart as you think you are" (100).
This short dialogue is almost a microcosm of what happens to them that day: Mr. Head becomes lost literally and metaphorically and they both learn they aren't as smart as they thought they were.
"Mr. Head 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" (101). Mr. Head does teach him the lesson, but at what cost? One could probably argue it was a Pyrrhic victory.
Posted by: Matt Hampton at March 26, 2006 09:42 AM
Many of these characters think with their head, instead of with their heart. They all use logic, or use teachings that they learned from the generation before them. Mr. Head could definitely be "The Artificial Nigger" in this story, so your thoughts are not to farfetched. It is very ironic that the character of Mr. Head tries to teach Nelson lessons, but he is the one who is in dire need of a lesson. Of course, we learn the pattern that we are the ones who learn.
Posted by: Jason Pugh at May 3, 2006 09:41 PM