The short story "the witness' deals with the sheer feral malevolence of a gang of bright young boys who use their gift of manipulation for wicked effect. Their low disposition in life, "all we got is the crumbs, the leftovers, whatever the fat cats don't want and cannot
use" (Petry 1892) is no excuse for the assault of Woodruff and the rape of Nellie. Rape is an unthinkable act of cruelty and injustice as it forever leaves the mark on those whom are touched by it. It still boggles the mind how Woodruff could think of his own selfish racial status before helping the young woman. Due to the fact that Woodruff thinks ".. conditioned all his life by the knowledge ‘white women taboo for you' " (Petry 1902) he turned out to be the perfect victim , and the boys immediately recognized that any accusation would be reversed, as even delinquents like the seven would be believed over the word of a black man . To me, it was just amazing how he just STOOD THERE while they tore at his clothes,......
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