Glimpse on Racial Inequality in the US - Essay Example

In O’Conner’s book “A good man is hard to find”, the role of the family proves critical in developing the plot and bringing out the major themes and concerns, the story centers around the grandmother of the Baileys family. The geographical setting will no doubt appeal to an American audience since it is set in real places with the destination like Tennessee’s, Florida and Georgia, from the story, one learns about and relate the evolving highway transport system in the 50s. One also catches glimpse of the racial inequality in the country at the time; the black boy they pass only seems to serve as inspiration for a picture; his poverty and near nakedness made to appear his natural state. This is in sharp contrast, the white family; cruising in a comfortable car, painting a picture of retrospective America especially the race issues that were evidently more acute in the grandmother’s time than the time of the books writing. She is a self-absorbed and selfish character whose love for attention ultimately, albeit indirectly, causes the tragedy that becomes of the shorts story. These children are obnoxious and disrespectful, for instance, when their grandmother is trying to convince their dad that they should not go to Florida John Wesley speaks out of turn and tells the grandmother, ‘if you don’t want to go to Florida, why dontcha stay at home”. In her rejoinder, June star says she would not stay at home to be a queen even for a day (O’Conner 1) despite, her grandmother’s shortcomings that her grandchildren would speak so rudely to her shows corrosion of family values. Later on, when they are in the car and Wesley wants their father to take the diversion so they could see the house with a secret panel, kicks the back of his father’s chair so hard he feels it in his kidneys. The dysfunctional nature of the family is portrayed in the fact that the children seem to have learnt the art of manipulation from their grandmother; this unfortunately embodies one of the results of the liberal American upbringing. They sulk and complain they are never allowed to do anything they want, Bailey finally agrees albeit grudgingly, possibly more out of not wanting to embarrass his mother before the children. In this scene, the readers sees not a family of two parents a grandparent and three children, it is more like three children(grandmother included) only concerned with their selfish desires and willing to manipulate their parents in any way to get what they want. The grandmother complains about how there are no more good people this days and clearly counts herself as one of the few good ones, however the fact that despite her being a matriarch figure in the family she is easily just as, if not more immature than the children. The theme of a good man is brought out by the juxtaposition of the title and the actions of the misfit who the grandmother tries to fit into him into her profile of a good man to save her life. She instantly seeks reassurance that the misfit would “never kill old woman” appealing to his “goodness”, not even once during the execution of her whole family does she beg for any but her own life. The reflections of an American family as a dysfunctional unit does not represent the ideal or normal family, nonetheless, there are aspects of this On the other hand, in the story “hills like white elephant”; the geographical setting is in a dry and barren valley and this is used to depict the nature of the relationship between the two lovers at that juncture of their lives. The story is not set in America but its relevance to Americans is underscored by the fact that the antagonist is only identified, as the American, the protagonist, is a girl named Jig of Spanish origin. They are at a crossroads in their lives; apparently, the girl is pregnant with the American’s child, he is pressuring her into having an abortion, an option she does not want and only concedes reluctantly. In her mind, she had images of the family she and the man would have never have if she went on with the abortion, the girls clearly cares about traditional family values and would rather be settled with the man. The man on the other hand is hedonic and selfish; in the same way, Grandmother uses her status in the family to manipulate he son, he uses his role as the “head” in the relationship to manipulate his partner. To him, family and the child’s life are evidently of little value since he would rather continue with the carefree life he has been living with the woman without any familiar responsibility as a father. The debate on abortion, its morality and legality has been going on for years, to an American audience woman’s dilemma and the man’s situation is a familiar predicament and reflects on the problems facing American youths. Nevertheless, the fact that the story was published in 1927 means that the attitudes on the issue were not as liberal as they are today, despite the casual manner in which the manner describes the “simple operation”. The title “White Elephants” is used to refer to the child the woman is carrying, to the woman, it is a fruit of their love and relationship but to the man the baby is an expensive and unnecessary. The story also appears to have a sexist overtone, the man is not as dependent on the woman as she is to him to Jig, and losing the man on whom she was emotionally and probably financially dependent was unthinkable. She agrees to have an abortion despite the fact that she was against the idea but does it to make him happy “if it was what he wants” (Ernest 3), the social position of woman as dependent on man engenderers the gender inequality that was characteristic of the 20s and 30s. During this period, the society was highly patriarchal and structures in a way that made it difficult for a woman to survive on her own without a man. Being pregnant and unmarried would have been scandalous, in the society that was not as tolerant as it is today; this is probably why the woman conceded to the operation since making any decision that would potentially alienate the man would be ruinous. Works Cited O’Conner, Flannery. “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” Harcourt, Brace and Company. 1955. Print. Ernest, Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants. The Complete Short Stories of Ernes Hemingway. 1987. Print. Read More