Baldwin uses his literary work to reflect on what he, as a black man, has seen and experienced. In the text, Baldwin reflects on the relationship between himself and his father. He speaks specifically to the point that he didn't know his father well during his childhood, other than that he explicitly recalls the bitter spirit his father always seemed to possess. Later, after his experience with white business owners in New Jersey, Baldwin realizes that the bitterness his father possessed was an unfortunate side effect of the socio-political structure of racism his father had.