Marie

For years Marie had been receiving letters from the Social Security Office’s John Smith, telling her what to do in order to continue receiving her SSI benefits, and she always obeyed those orders. The organic unity of this piece of literature is the coldness of the government institution that Marie is subjected to on a regular basis. The lack of respect the receptionist as well as the case workers show towards their clients is indicative of the world that Marie has been living in her whole life. As a black woman in South Eastern United States she has learned to fear government agencies. “She always obeyed the letters, even if the order now came from a dead man for she knew people who had been temporarily cut off from SSI for not showing up or even being late. And once cut off, you had to move heaven and earth to get back on.” Fear of the government cutting off her SSI benefits, even temporarily, rules her activities. But even the most patient person will lose control of themselves when pushed too far. The arrogance of the benefits office becomes too much and even, with all her fears still there, she snaps.

Marie is a product of the environment she lives in, she is a product of the discrimination she has been subjected to and her story is symbolic of the way minorities and the elderly are cared for in this country. “She could not stand the sound of her own voice.” In the end, she is insignificant, she is only as important as the documents in her drawer that verify her age and disabilities.