Temporarily blind
In his first days spent in New Orleans as a man of color, John noticed little difference between the way he was treated when he was white and the way he was treated as being black. He blamed the fact that he is not able to see any difference on the fact that when he was a child, he went blind temporarily. By making reference to these events, John hits that the American society is blinded in a metaphorical way as well and they are thus unable to see the injustice happening all around them. Just as John suffered from an eye problem in his childhood, radical ideas and a hateful attitude was imposed slowly on the American citizens from an early childhood.
Metaphor for primitiveness
During the medical process of altering his skin tone, John talks with his doctor, a white man with racist ideas. For the doctor, the darker the skin, the evil the person and to back his theory he tells John about a knife fight he saw happening between two black men. For him, blackness is a metaphor for primitiveness and lack of order. The doctor doesn’t even blame the man for acting in one way or another but rather blames their skin as being the only reason for their actions.
Metaphor for the power of good
When John arrived in Mississippi, he was depressed and did not feel worthy enough to enjoy the simple things he used to do as a white man. His friend, East saves him and shows him that even in the darkest times, there is still good in the world. East is used here as a metaphor for the power of good. East, just like John, is deeply interested by the racial issues and tries to change the world for the better. East is a writer as well and his characters always manage to succeed in breaking the boundary imposed by racism. East is the proof that good can succeed and that there are good people in the world despite the fact the vast majority of the population is not like that.
Metaphor for basic rights
One of the things that affected John the most was that he was not allowed to use the bathrooms the whites used. Thus, he was often put in the uncomfortable situation to be unable to relieve himself and perform one of the most basic needs as a human being. For him, being able to use a toilet when he needs it is seen as a metaphor for a person being allowed to be a human and to have basic rights. In this sense, the blacks were treated much worse than any other living creature, being denied the basic right to perform a natural need.
Metaphor for civilization
At one point, John talks with a black piano player who had the chance to visit Europe and play in Paris. The black woman describes her experience and compares the way she was treated in Paris with the way she is treated in America and notes than in Europe, she felt as those around her saw her as a human being with feelings and treated her with dignity. In this sense, Europe was seen by many as being a metaphor for civilization because they had a different mindset and were more inclusive towards black people than they were in America. Europe had racial views as well but they treated the people of color with more kindness than the Americans did and because of this many black people saw Europe as a model to be followed by the American society.
