The Artificial Nigger (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Flannery O’Connor
- First Published: 1955
- Type of Work: Short story
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, Maturation or coming of age, Self-discovery, Traveling or travelers, Machinery
- Locales: Atlanta, GA
In “The Artificial Nigger,” Old Mr. Head and his ten-year-old grandson, Nelson, live in a state of subdued tension in which each works to outdo the other. Their planned trip to Atlanta (they live in rural Georgia) has made this competition worse. Even though Nelson has never been to the city, he is cheekily sure that he will enjoy it.
Gradually the reader understands that Mr. Head is thoroughly uncertain of his own ability to manage in the city, and he uses the sight of the city's black people (a race Nelson has never seen) as a sort of weapon over Nelson, a threat of...
[The entire page is 633 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
