Psychologists have long questioned whether systematic abuse culminates in the creation of an abuser — whether human nature compels the mistreated man to mistreat others in an inescapable cycle of misery. They have decided to answer with a tentative no, that man’s innate morality often overpowers a childhood of abuse and neglect. However, they have failed to question the effects of an abusive society upon the targeted individuals. African Americans suffered underneath a system of institutionalized racism and segregation until 1964, when the government outlawed the system. By then, generations of African Americans had experienced the cruelty of a society designed to exploit fabricated inequality to its own benefit — a system of abuse without
…show more content…
In her short story “Like a Winding Sheet,” Petry describes how institutionalized racism suffocates human morality by increasing negativity until man loses all control. Racism permeates the workplace, and each miserable moment within the unfair system reiterates the powerlessness of the African American laborer. Johnson begins every day testing his legs “to see if the ache” from his previous day in the factory persists, and he grudgingly accepts the same painful answer every time. Petry 's introduction to the story with the unfortunate detail mimics Johnson’s awareness of the pain from the very moment he awakens. A product of endless hours of “pushing [a] cart out on the concrete floor,” Petry uses the pain to describe both his physical and mental consciousness of his position at the factory. She elaborates upon the mental frustration of pushing the cart all day by describing Johnson’s fantasies about making the factory a better place for all of the …show more content…
She describes men whose “mother died” or have family in the hospital with callous triviality, seeing their excuses purely as an inconvenience to herself. Finally, she reveals herself to be a product of a racist society with her burning accusation: “And the niggers are the worst.” The comment boils Johnson’s blood, reiterating the racism of his superiors because the woman serves as a metaphor for all of society. Though Johnson’s morality overcomes his anger, “the tension stay[s] in his hands,” signifying his incomplete control over himself. He attempts to “swallow his anger,” but it remains underneath the surface of his consciousness — a raging fire desperate for more fuel. Throughout the rest of his workday, he fantasizes about “the pleasure his hands would have felt,” if he had given in to his impulsive desires, and punished her for her insolence. The discrepancy between his impulsive desires and mental justification reveals his struggle of remaining just in a society that capitalizes upon inequality. Johnson’s perception of inequality swells on his way home, after patiently waiting in a long line for a cup of coffee only to find out the woman serving it has run out. Although the woman truly runs out of coffee, Johnson interprets it through the lens of racial inequality from his earlier
In her short story “Like a Winding Sheet,” Petry describes how institutionalized racism suffocates human morality by increasing negativity until man loses all control. Racism permeates the workplace, and each miserable moment within the unfair system reiterates the powerlessness of the African American laborer. Johnson begins every day testing his legs “to see if the ache” from his previous day in the factory persists, and he grudgingly accepts the same painful answer every time. Petry 's introduction to the story with the unfortunate detail mimics Johnson’s awareness of the pain from the very moment he awakens. A product of endless hours of “pushing [a] cart out on the concrete floor,” Petry uses the pain to describe both his physical and mental consciousness of his position at the factory. She elaborates upon the mental frustration of pushing the cart all day by describing Johnson’s fantasies about making the factory a better place for all of the …show more content…
She describes men whose “mother died” or have family in the hospital with callous triviality, seeing their excuses purely as an inconvenience to herself. Finally, she reveals herself to be a product of a racist society with her burning accusation: “And the niggers are the worst.” The comment boils Johnson’s blood, reiterating the racism of his superiors because the woman serves as a metaphor for all of society. Though Johnson’s morality overcomes his anger, “the tension stay[s] in his hands,” signifying his incomplete control over himself. He attempts to “swallow his anger,” but it remains underneath the surface of his consciousness — a raging fire desperate for more fuel. Throughout the rest of his workday, he fantasizes about “the pleasure his hands would have felt,” if he had given in to his impulsive desires, and punished her for her insolence. The discrepancy between his impulsive desires and mental justification reveals his struggle of remaining just in a society that capitalizes upon inequality. Johnson’s perception of inequality swells on his way home, after patiently waiting in a long line for a cup of coffee only to find out the woman serving it has run out. Although the woman truly runs out of coffee, Johnson interprets it through the lens of racial inequality from his earlier