One of the first points to mention is that the relationship between Johnson and Mae would appear to be a good one, since the author points out that Johnson "had planned to get up before Mae did and surprise her by fixing breakfast" (117). Certainly, it would be more than obvious that they loved one another very much because they were always playing after getting home from work instead of trying to get sleep in preparation for the next night of work. Another sign of Johnson's love for Mae is when they were arguing about being late for work and "he couldn't bring himself to talk to her roughly or threaten to strike her like a lot of men might have

done" (118). Although this appears from the outward appearance to be a normal relationship it's hard to ignore the inward emotions that Johnson has been keeping bottled up, such as the envious feelings he has toward Mae's ability to be energetic and refreshed after having worked all night.

Thirdly, in relation to the other points, racism seems to be alive and well within this time period but only being as serious as the individual such as Johnson allows. "I'm sick of you niggers" (119); was a statement directed towards Johnson by his boss, which is definitely, in today's standards considered a racial statement. This along with the fact that it was coming from the mouth of a woman was more than Johnson was prepared to handle, despite the fact his attitude toward work was poor. Johnson should realize that he cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way, or that he cannot change the inevitable which is that some people are going to use slanderous remarks and act wicked towards others. This along with the misunderstanding he had with the young woman selling coffee, which in his mind was racist as well can be used as examples of where attitude will take you. As he said "coffee please

Some common words found in the essay are:
Johnson Mae, Winding Sheet, job racism, winding sheet, 20th century, Attitudes Swindol,
Approximate Word count = 810
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)