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Punishment for acting above your station was a central principle in Harriet’s interpretation of the world. In the hospital, Elwood wondered if the viciousness of his beating owed something to his request for harder classes.
While in the hospital recovering from his White House beating, Elwood contemplates the reasons for the viciousness of his punishment at the hands of Spencer. Elwood’s grandmother, Harriet, always believed there was cause for punishment when one attempts to exceed their lot in life. We see this perspective manifested in the way Harriet tries to prevent Elwood from speaking up or protesting in order to protect him from retaliation. Elwood considers his grandmother’s belief and wonders if he was too smug in asking for more challenging schoolwork, which we later learn is not the case when Elwood realizes the severity of his punishment was completely arbitrary.
Elwood asked his grandmother when Negroes were going to start staying at the Richmond, and she said it’s one thing to tell someone to do what’s right and another thing for them to do it.
This exchange takes place in Chapter 2 after Elwood learns that segregation has been deemed illegal. The conversation works to create a contrast between Elwood and Harriet, especially in terms of their age, experience, and naivety. Harriet is an older woman who has experienced many more truths of the world than Elwood. She can recognize the trends of humans, especially in terms of race. Although Harriet hopes for integration, she also understands the reality of humans, and she wants to ensure that Elwood learns these truths as well: sometimes, it takes a while for people to do the right thing, so actual integration may take longer than Elwood expects.
Rarely did Harriet make proper goodbyes to her loved ones.
In Chapter 7, the reader comes to understand some of the tragic realities of Harriet’s life. Many of the people Harriet has loved throughout her life—including Elwood’s parents, her own father, and husband—have been taken from her, either by death or desertion, without time for a proper parting. Harriet is left with no family except for Elwood, and his departure for Nickel marks yet another devastating and sudden loss in Harriet’s lifetime.
