Essay on 'Like a Winding Sheet': Johnson's Guilt and Social Factors

This essay provides an analysis of the short story "Like a Winding Sheet" by Ann Petry, focusing on the character of Johnson and the factors contributing to his actions. The essay explores the impact of racism, workplace discrimination, and social pressures on Johnson's mental state, ultimately leading to a tragic outcome. It examines how these experiences, coupled with the lack of control over his circumstances, contribute to his aggressive behavior towards his wife, Mae. The analysis considers Johnson's potential loss of contact with reality during the violent act and discusses the implications of an insanity defense. The essay draws upon literary criticism and research to support its arguments, highlighting the author's portrayal of the characters and the societal context in which the story unfolds. The conclusion emphasizes the author's focus on Johnson's powerlessness and the role of social factors in shaping his actions.

Running head: ENGLISH
English
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
In this section brief review of the facts associated brief review of the facts and issues that
will help one to decide on the fact if Johnson is guilty of murdering his wife Mae or not has been
conducted. The character Johnson is the protagonist of the short story “Like a Winding Sheet’
written by Ann Petry. Being an African American individual he is being subjected to racism in
his social life to the extent that has resulted in trauma (Petry). At his workplace, he has been
verbally abused and racially discriminated by the forewomen due to arriving late at night. After
completion of his shift, he visited a restaurant where a white waitress told them that they are out
of coffee. In spite of the fact that remains a higher possibility that the statement from the waitress
is genuine and this is not an act of racial discrimination, Johnson believes this is on account of
his race. The two events triggered an uncontrollable anger in Johnson. When he reached home,
he had been casually mocked by Mae. The frustration of Johnson and the impact of rude racism
make his aggressive and being unable to control his anger, he beat Mae so hard that it result in
her death.
Discussion
It can be clearly understood that a good number of factors are associated with the aggressive
behaviour that Johnson has displayed over Mae which resulted in such a fatal scenario.
According to researchers, in the short story “ Like a Winding Sheet”, the author has chosen not
to develop the female character fully while still using them as a major part of the story. this ha
been done by the author with the help of describing their appearance as well as their rank in the
society. In the initial portion of the story, the character of Johnson from the beginning has been
depicted to be a loveable husband who truly cares for his wife, Mae (Coleman). In the first part

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of the plot, Johnson has been described to be tired and in pain due to his office work (Blake).
Here the readers develop the assumption that his tiredness as well as pain is the result of
excessive work load. After being repeatedly late, Johnson’s boss has scolded him. Though the
fact that being late on a regular basis is indeed a professional misconduct, Johnson’s boss was
found to abuse him on the basis of his race. However, Johnson was found to control himself
from abusing her back keeping in mind that she is his boss and a woman. Here, I understood that
unethical racial discrimination is a major factor that enhanced his rage.
The second factor that helped me to take decision in this case was the conflict between
Johnson and the while waitress. After completion of his work, he went to a restaurant to have
coffee. After being standing in the queue for a prolonged period of time, he is being told by the
waitress that they are out of coffee. The way he had been told was impolite which, made Johnson
believe that this has been done by the waitress intentionally (Curry). This fuels his frustration
and anger to the society that discriminate him more. While he reached home, his rage spilled
over Mae who has unconsciously mimicked the gesture and speech of his boss and the waitress.
At that point of time, he has lost temporary connection with the real world out of anger and end
of beating his wife, Mae, to a extent that possible has lead to death. Hence my announcement
will be in the support of the instruction “If Johnson temporarily lost total contact with reality
while he was beating his wife and did not know what he was doing or understand the gravity of
his actions, he is to be found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a mental
institution until a group of licensed psychiatrists determine he is able to function properly as a
member of civilized society.”
Conclusion

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While reading the story I found that the author somehow has emphasised the fact that
Johnson does not simple done the act of hurting his wife voluntarily. I also agree that to some
extent that he is powerless in front of the his socially-ordained position as an African American
that makes him feel as if he no longer has control over his own limbs, as if he is tied up in the
titular winding sheet.

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Reference list
Petry, Ann. "Like a Winding Sheet.”." Miss Muriel and Other Stories. New York: Dafina (2008):
198-210.
Curry, Stephanie Juanita. Much Smaller than His Shadow: A Gothic Analysis of Black
Masculine Figures in Ann Petry's The Street," Like a Winding Sheet," and" The Witness". Diss.
Texas Southern University, 2018.
Blake, Felice. Black Love, Black Hate: Intimate Antagonisms in African American Literature.
The Ohio State University Press, 2018.
Coleman, James W. "The Radical Fiction of Ann Petry." (2015): 385-387.