So What Are You, Anyway?

“A big man with a sunburnt face is holding her doll upside down.”

As soon as Henry’s character enters the narrative stage, he treats Carole in a hostile manner. Carole’s doll is an extension of Carole. By holding the doll upside down, he is mistreating Carole by proxy. The image foreshadows his cruel behavior towards Carole throughout the flight. It also suggests Carole is trying to visually understand the reasoning behind the man’s actions, noting the color of his face and his behavior.

“His feet sprawl onto her side. And he keeps looking at her.”

The positioning and orientation of Henry’s body in relation to Carole’s conveys his disrespect for Carole. He is intruding upon her space and thus compromising her safety and comfort. The disjointed continuation of thought in the second sentence further underscores his derision for Carole and relentless abuse of her.

“I don’t mind them mixed, but the world isn’t ready for it.”

Although Betty is kind to Carole at first, as soon as she thinks that Carole is asleep, she makes discriminatory remarks about her. Her words to Henry convey her actual racist viewpoints, despite the fact that they are sometimes veiled. This line of dialogue also captures Betty’s untrustworthy nature.

“She’s only a child.”

Throughout the short story, Betty’s character proves more and more dichotomous. When she thinks Carole is listening, she is friendly and points out the girl’s youth in a way that is protective and almost motherly. However, her behaviors contradict her declarations about Carole’s youth and innocence, causing her protective façade to fade and revealing the unpleasant personality beneath.

“What are you, anyway?”

Although Henry and Betty have made remarks about Carole’s appearance and identity throughout the flight, this is the first time Henry broaches the subject with Carole. His titular words are placed roughly halfway through the story and act as the narrative’s thematic heart.

“Race? What is that?”

Carole is a child, but she is not unintelligent. Her confusion over the meaning of race, therefore, reveals how inconsequential the concept is to her. Her lack of awareness in this passage underscores Hill’s thesis that Race as a Social Construct.

“That’s a Negro doll. That’s race. Negro.”

When Carole acts confused over the Nortons’ offensive questions, Henry’s language adopts a hostile tone as he explains the concept of race to her. The way he describes the doll reveals his simultaneous cowardice and bigotry.

“Carole feels ashamed at her stupidity.”

Carole is young and inexperienced, and she has no reason to be concerned about who she is, what she looks like, or how other people perceive her. However, the more questions the Nortons ask her that she cannot answer, the sillier and smaller she feels. This moment marks a shift in the way Carole sees and feels about herself, creating shame where before there was none.

“Why do they keep asking her what she is?”

Although Hill never clarifies Carole’s exact numerical age, her yet unformed sense of self conveys her youth and innocence. This is why she has trouble understanding what the Nortons are asking her and why. She does not have a socio-political consciousness that dictates her sense of self.

“Haven’t your parents taught you that word?”

The more questions the Nortons ask Carole, the less capable she is of answering them. In turn, Betty becomes increasingly incensed. Like her husband, she wants Carole to adopt the social constructs she believes in and thus to use the language she would use to describe Carole in order to explain who she is and why.

“Imagine, talking to a child like that, and in 1970!”

When another passenger overhears the Nortons badgering Carole, they comment on the Nortons’ insensitivity. Their words provide the temporal context for the story for the first time. The line also indicates that the Nortons are not a representation of all citizens’ viewpoints.

“I don’t like all these questions.”

The more questions that the Nortons ask Carole, the more hostile the narrative atmosphere becomes. She is desperate to evade their questions and thus to escape the trap into which they are putting her. She is also trapped on the plane, and the only way to deliver herself is to express her discomfort. She is experiencing a Loss of Innocence that feels inescapable.

“Well, I don’t care! I don’t even care!”

These lines mark one of the first moments in which Carole is able to claim ownership over and use her voice. She does not understand the Nortons’ questions, and she is initially rendered speechless. In this moment, she is expressing her disregard for their ideas. Her words capture Hill’s belief that race is a social construct that has no innate bearing on one’s identity.