Through the characterization and character arc of Waters, the play depicts how internalized racism develops within an oppressed individual and the deeply harmful effects that can result.

In one of his few sympathetic moments, Waters tells Wilkie that he joined the military to obtain the most respect and power that he could have as a Black man: “I couldn’t do any better—and this army was the closest I figured the white man would let me get to any kind of authority” (Act I, page 28, emphasis added). Waters thus reveals the sense of insecurity and ambition that has driven him to curry favor with a system that discriminates against him: He is determined to gain the acceptance of white men, believing that if he accepts the racist system and proves his worth within it, he will be rewarded at last. He also believes and hopes that his son will not have to follow in his footsteps to achieve respect, and that even greater opportunities await his children as long as they learn how to model themselves on white people. He plans to send both his son and daughter to “some big white college—let ’em rub elbows with the whites, learn the white man’s language—how he does things” (Act I, page 28).