Race and Racism

Issues of race often inform Welty's fiction for the fact that so much of her fiction is set in Mississippi during the 1940s and 1950s. Phoenix's brief encounters on her journey typify the views of many Southern whites during the era. A white hunter helps her out of a ditch but patronizes her and trivializes her journey: "I know you old colored people! Wouldn't miss going to town to see Santa Claus!" He also taunts her by pointing his loaded gun at her and asking, "Doesn't the gun scare you?" Through these exchanges, Welty shows how some whites regarded blacks. He also calls her "Granny," a term common for older African-American women. Often whites would call older blacks "Aunt," "Granny," or "Uncle" asaway of denying them their dignity and individuality. In another example of this, the nurse calls her "aunt Phoenix" instead of the more formal...