Question: Would you have treated Boyd or someone who is not of the same race as you differently? Why or why not?
No, definitely not. In the story, Mrs Wilson had treated the other race with disrespect and had looked down on them.
In the beginning of the story when Mrs Wilson first saw Boyd, she had treated him with disrespect. When she saw him, she asked if he would be hungry as she had the misconception that being a Negro boy would be working as a slave the whole day and would feel exhausted. She added that Boyd would definitely eat anything. If I were Mrs Wilson, I would not look down on the other races like she did.
She continued saying that Boyd would want to grow up to be strong man so that he could work hard like his father. In this case, Mrs Wilson had made the assumption that as Negros have to work as slaves. I do not have such thinking about other races.
When Mrs Wilson heard that Boyd's father was working in the factory that her husband was working in, she thought that Boyd's father was a labourer. However, Boyd's father was a foreman in the factory. It was mentioned in the passage that she felt defeated upon hearing the news of Boyd's father being the foreman. Usually, if we have friends whose father has a higher position in the company than one's father, one would admire the other. However, Mrs Wilson felt defeated, meaning that she felt ashamed for losing to a Negro, which was being racist.
Mrs Wilson had also showed signs of being racist when she restrained an impulse to pat Boyd's head, simply because of his skin colour.
The worst thing she did was telling Boyd that Johnny had some clothes that were too small for Johnny to where and that she would give them to Boyd. She also said that she had a few dresses that Boyd's mother and sister could use. Then, when Boyd declined the offer, she forced him to take them, in the end, she said that she was very disappointed in Boyd for not taking the clothes.
I would not want to be like Mrs Wilson as she did not respect others and put others in a difficult situation.
In conclusion, I would not want to be like Mrs Wilson as she is racist and did not respect the other races. I feel that all races should be respected as their culture and tradition are all respectable and that regardless of skin colour, everyone is equal.
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