Submitted by: Submitted by jp12
Views: 10
Words: 959
Pages: 4
Category: English Composition
Date Submitted: 10/07/2016 02:04 PM
In the words of Issac Asimov, “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” The narrative created by Shirley Jackson was essentially about a little black boy’s relationship with his friend’s mother and how she assumed that his lifestyle was a typical African-American life where he was poor with many siblings and a mother who manufactured all his clothes. The quote by Issac Asimov relates to the story because the way Mrs.Wilson saw the world, based on her society at the time, was a common view. She went with the flow of the 1940’s society. If she chose a different way of thinking, she would've been able to see past Boyd’s skin colour and view him for the person he is. In the short story, “After You, My Dear Alphonse,” Jackson is trying to emphasize the idea that making assumptions is wrong because one can miss opportunities and relationships that could've been great based on something like stereotyping and without realizing it, people restrict the light of others when assuming before knowing. Jackson shows the idea of assumptions being incorrect by creating a relationship between Mrs. Wilson and Boyd and also by the character of Johnny.
Making assumptions can indirectly affect ones relationships, as it did with Mrs. Wilson and Boyd. In the story, right off the bat, Mrs. Wilson is assuming and making her own conclusions about Boyd and Johnny before knowing anything at all. Mrs. Wilson thinks her son is mistreating Boyd by making him carry all the wood, but in reality, the wood was Boyd’s and he was carrying it because he wanted to. Johnny wasn’t forcing Boyd because he believed he was a higher person or that they were unequal. When Mrs. Wilson saw the two little boys walk in, she assumed that Johnny was making Boyd do all the work because of his skin colour. Her first assumption was incorrect and the rest of them went downhill from there. Another assumption Mrs. Wilson made about Boyd and his...