At the end of the story the black woman hits the mother for giving the young boy pennies. Throughout the story the son has been complaining to himself about how racist and old fashioned she is:  she constantly embarrases him, and meanwhile her life revolves around him. When she is hit, the grandmother apparently dies, and the man cries, “Mama, Mama.” The narrator then says, “The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing from moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow.” The violence makes him realize how much she means to him, and he will forever feel guilty that he did not love her sufficiently while she was alive.