In O'Connor's “The Artificial Negro,” the essences of prejudice and degradation are captured to a large extent. Reality shows us with unnecessary consistency that people who need to feel better about themselves only achieve this by being better than someone else. Therefore, every available opportunity, including racism, is exploited as a form of gratification. Mr. Head, the grandfather, is an example of one of these people. He competes with seemingly everyone he meets on a day trip around the city. Racism is just one of the ways he demeans others while elevating his own self-image. O'Connor's depiction of a Southern and closed-minded person goes to the extreme depths of what constitutes and produces a reckless racist. Mr. Head, a self-proclaimed missionary, plans to take his grandson, Nelson, to Atlanta. Intending to present Nelson at the focal point of his racist teachings. However, Mr. Head's subconscious motivations are to make Nelson believe that his grandfather's existence in his life is indispensable. He hopes Nelson's dependence on him will increase. This would not only make him feel superior, but would also satisfy his own dependency needs. He is content with the idea that Nelson once had the opportunity to discover the city. He “will be content to stay at home for the rest of his life” (251). His only comforting thoughts, as he fell asleep before the day of the trip, were not about turning Nelson into a racist, but about "thinking how the boy would finally discover that he wasn't as smart as he made himself out to be." thought". (251).Degrading anyone, including his own grandson, is another way in which Mr. Head can feel self-satisfied. He welcomes and anticipates the moment when Nelson will question his own intelligence. Near the beginning of the story, Mr. Head belittles Nelson by rationalizing once he arrives in the town "he'll be there twice already" (250). Considering Atlanta was his birthplace, Nelson believed this to be true. Logically, Nelson nonetheless made sense: “Mr. Head had contradicted him” (250). The irony is first present here as Mr. Head continually accuses Nelson of being ignorant, but it is Mr. Head who displays ignorance in every speech. From the beginning of the story, Mr. Head is seen as an extremely selfish character and only concerned with... ..... middle of paper ......and, now faced with a choice, I believe chooses to ignore his enlightenment. His character throughout the story displayed ignorant, adolescent, and creepy behaviors. I find it hard to believe he changed his ways. He recognized his dependence on Nelson and Nelson now complies with him. As they watched the train disappear into the distance, he commented, "I'm glad I went once, but I'll never go there again." (270) Nelson ultimately admits to having experienced the city once, not twice as he adamantly claimed. For Mr. Head, choosing to do nothing is a choice in itself. “The Artificial Negro” is a great story, which can be used to better understand what kinds of underlying factors come into play when people have deep hatred towards different cultures. It is rare that a racist can attribute all his hatred to the color of his skin. There are almost always other problems that can be linked to low self-esteem. Like someone of a different race is being promoted while someone else watches. These were the beginnings of racist thoughts and subsequent actions. Works Cited O'Connor, Flannery. Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor New York: Farrar, 1979