Although Julian's mother has a strong will, she also questions his decisions. Julian's goal is to establish a clear distinction from himself and his mother. Julian's mother cares a lot about appearances, she always felt the need to wear a hat and gloves just to keep her image high. Julian's mother is very stubborn and you can see this in her description of how she views African Americans and racism. Her mother grew up in a time where racism was acceptable, that's all she knows, and her mindset is fixed on what she thought when she was growing up. Julian's mentality is that people change with time and that everyone should adapt to the times. She tries to explain to her mother that times have changed and that the person she grew up with is not the person she is now. He likes that she understands that she's no longer a high society white woman, she's just like everyone else now. Julian realizes that he is not very popular among people and wishes his mother would realize that she is not superior just because she is a white woman. He believes his mother wasted her time trying to raise him the "right" way and thinks she made unnecessary sacrifices. Julian is very depressed because she has put a lot of time and effort into him and he is fed up with the world and wants her to understand that they share the same values. Customs