Themes in "Foundations"

In class we talked about the reversal of color and privilege. In the story, Gabriel is a white man who is under condemnation and i s being judged for who he is. He is described as a 'trashy white boy' and visits Maggie, who is a black woman of money who owns land and a large home in the south. Another man who is being judged is another white man who is also poor and is renting land from Maggie. He is not a 'god-fearing man' and plows on a Sunday. In one passage, Kenan addresses this reversal, "How does this look, a black woman defending a white man in front of a black minister?" (71).

   I think that this reversal is used as a humorous device and also to emphasize the talk that Maggie and Gabriel have about life being hard no matter your situation. It is such an interesting thing to reverse this right of privilege and i think it's a useful way to show the mix up the standard theme of judging someone before you know them.