Essay: The Artificial Nigger

Sample Essay

Words 2,130

The Artificial Nigger is a story with a similar plotline as Everything that Rises Must Converge. Mr. Head and his ten year old grandson have a competitive relationship. They journey to Atlanta. Mr. Head hopes to disenchant him of Atlanta so that he’ll stay with him when he grows older, he tries to impress upon him that Atlanta is a bad place full of ‘niggers’ and impress him with his superior knowledge. Nelson has on the other hand is proud of having been born in a big city like Atlanta although he was six months old when he was taken from there (Crawford).

On the train Nelson sees a black man for the first time; he is unable to recognize him as black, describing him as “old” and “fat” when asked to do so by his grandfather. Mr. Head remarks to a fellow passenger that it is Nelson’s “first nigger”, embarrassing Nelson who redirects his shame into hatred for the black man. In the city, the two get lost in a black neighborhood. Mr. Head is too proud to ask for directions. Nelson becomes frustrated and asks a matronly black woman for directions and is entranced by her affectionate manner. Mr. Head pulls him away from her and they head off once more. Tired, Nelson falls asleep at the side walk, Mr. Head wakes him by banging a garbage can. Nelson is frightened and runs away knocking over an old woman with a bag of groceries. When she screams for the police, Mr. Head is frightened and refuses to acknowledge that Nelson is his grandson. Nelson is hurt by this and he rejects his grandfather’s attempts to placate him. Broken down and humbled, Mr. Head finally cries out to a man, “Oh hep me Gawd I’m lost!” and the man gives them direction to the train stop.  Walking towards the stop, the two come upon a plaster statue of a black boy with a water melon and are transfixed by it. Mr. Head calls it “an artificial nigger” and Nelson repeats this. The statue is like a symbol of their reconciliation, like, Mr. Head feels that he has received God’s forgiveness for his sins, like Julian when his mother was knocked down, he thinks that the situation calls upon him to say something wise but all he can think of is, “They ain’t got enough real ones here. They got to have an artificial one.” They get on the train and Nelson declares his resolve never to visit Atlanta again.

Kindly order term papers, essays, research papers, dissertations, thesis, book reports from the order page.