The narrator receives medical treatment. In this scene there is a “white rigid chair” (231) and a “long white corridor” (245) which shows the superiority the doctors at the hospital have over him. The narrator describes his treatment as “pumped between live electrodes like an accordion…” (232). After the treatment the narrator realizes his “mind was blank” (233). The doctors believe there is something biologically wrong with him because of his race. They must destroy the flaw. They spend some time debating his possible treatments. The electrocution machine will result in a “complete change in personality..” (236). Before settling on the electrocution method, the doctors discuss castration. This shows the doctors want to rid the world of anybody else that is genetically like the narrator. This principle demonstrates the racism the doctors have because they could apply it to the entire race. Such an act would be as extreme as the Holocaust. After the doctors perform the procedure the narrator has amnesia. The narrator has trouble remembering his name and his mother. But, the narrator can remember his culture. Upon his discharge from the hospital, the narrator must find something else to do besides “the rigor of the [factory] industry” (246). After the treatment, the narrator’s personality changes to “some alien personality” (249). The doctors gave him a new identity. The narrator is finally free to follow the advice of the vet and “be his own father” (156). When he loses his job and memories he distances himself from the college’s standards. The narrator is now living for himself. Perhaps, the first glimpse of this is the interest he takes in the presumably white “young platinum blonde” (250).
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Henrietta Lacks also received improper medical treatment. The doctors treated her as an object just like the narrator. In both cases, the doctors believed they were superior because of race. To read her story click here.
Julia's allusion to Henrietta Lacks shows a thematic connection to the treatment of blacks in the novel. Both the narrator and Lacks were wrongly diagnosed and mistreated due to their race. Instead of recovering, both were harmed by their treatment process. The description of the white walls is relevant to the setting because it shows that each were surrounded by primarily white figures, making them uncomfortable and unwelcomed.
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