wever, of "thinking how the boy would at last find out that he was not as smart as he thought he was"(251). Degrading anyone, including his own grandson, is another way by which Mr. Head can feel satisfied with himself. He welcomes and anticipates the point at which Nelson questions his own intelligence. Towards the beginning of the story Mr. Head belittles Nelson rationalizing once arriving in the city "he will've been there twict"(250). Considering Atlanta was his place of birth Nelson believed it to be true. Logically Nelson made sense nevertheless, "Mr. Head had contradicted him" (250). Irony is first present here as Mr. Head continuously accuses Nelson of being ignorant, yet Mr. Head is the one displaying ignorance in every spoken. From the beginning of the story Mr. Head is seen as a character extremely selfish and only concerned with one self. O'Connor reveals Mr. Heads way of thinking to better understand his persona. Her characters are seemingly study cases and in reading thoughts we first begin to see personality disorders. Many such disorders are responsible for unreasoned thinking. I believe mental conditions are a definite underlying factor if not contributor to racial prejudices. Waiting for the train to stop for them, the day of the trip, Mr. Head secretly fears it will not do so, "which case, he knew Nelson would say, " I never thought no train would stop for you,"(252). The fears Mr. Head had experienced are not typically common within the emotionally stable rather by the antisocial. As soon as Mr. Head and Nelson walked down the aisle of the car train. He lacked re...
