Houser 2
Johnson is late for work again. He is thinking about going home and going back to bed because his legs ach and he is not used to the late shift yet, even though it has been two years. Johnson has been late for work several times in the last couple of weeks and is worried about being fussed at by his boss, who incidentally, is a woman, although Johnson keeps forgetting this fact because she is masculine in appearance. Johnson is having a hard time motivating his self to push through the crowds and clock in.
Johnson is feeling apprehensive about seeing his boss and puts his head down hoping to avoid confrontation. She calls out his name and he can see the anger in her face. Johnson is feeling bad about being late again and starts making excuses for his tardiness. The forelady slips up and refers to him and other workers “niggers”. Johnson is outraged and would like nothing more than to release his anger through his hand on to her face but he cannot because he feels that to hit a woman is wrong. He knows that a man can do more damage in a fight than a woman. Johnson knows to restrain his anger. Johnson conveys to her that she has the right to be upset, but no one can call him that name. The forelady backs up from Johnson, as she notices the vain swelling in his forehead. She did not apologize but merely tells Johnson the word slipped and get back to work.
Johnson knows how much of a relief it would be and how good it would feel to hit this unrespectful woman in the face. Johnson try’s in vain to relax his hands. He feels he has no control over them. Johnson is overjoyed to hear the machines die down because this means quitting time, and begins to head for the pay lines.
Houser 3
Johnson leaves the plant and heads for home. Although he is not looking forward to the ride home, it takes quite some time to get there by the subway. Johnson smells coffee in the air and decides to go into a café and buy a cup for the trip home.
Johnson, waits patiently in line to buy a cup, finally reaches the front of the line only to hear the white girl say “no more coffee for a while”(p.113). Johnson considers this rejection from her as a race issue. He is black and that is the reason she turns him away with no coffee, but in reality the coffee was out. Johnson feels his anger rise again and adds this insult to the one he received at work.
Johnson feels his hands clench again and nears his breaking point. Johnson looks at the way the girl is moving her hair and is thinking that she does not like him because he is black. He is thinking about hitting the girl behind the counter and contemplates the distance to her face, but instead he decides to walk out and push his anger down once again.
Johnson rides the subway home and arrives after Mae. Mae is in the bedroom and has the radio playing loudly which may make Johnson’s mood worse. Mae is in a good mood and this seems to make Johnson angry. Mae is trying to put Johnson in a better mood by picking on him but he is tired and just wants to sit down and be left alone. Mae has taken off her overalls and placed them on a chair so that they will not get wrinkled and Johnson sits in this chair to rest. Mae tells Johnson to get up and playfully refers to him as a “nigger”, just as many times before.
Johnson looses control of his body and begins to release all the pinned up frustration out on Mae by beating her. Johnson cannot believe that he is hitting her; he knows that hitting a
Houser 4
woman is wrong. The story ends with Johnson beating Mae and the outcome of the situation is left to the imagination.
When a person pushes down all the torment, frustration and anger that occurs in life and allows no release, an explosion is bound to occur. A person can only carry around so much weight before they snap. Johnson is too nice of a man to show any anger. He thought by not dealing with the anger and pushing it down inside it would go away, but it exploded! As Johnson arrives home his hands are finally able to find a release. Disgusted with the word, will Johnson force Mae to her end?
Houser 5
Works Cited
Petry, Ann. “Like a Winding Sheet.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Compact 4th ed. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 2000. 109-116.
