One example is that even before his surgery was completed and he had not yet fully transitioned from white to black, he was surprised by what he heard from his doctor. At the time of the surgery he spoke to the dermatologist who was changing his skin color and discovered that this man also had prejudices against blacks. The doctor insisted that “lighter-skinned Negroes” were more ethical and more sensitive than darker-skinned ones. This man, with a high intellectual IQ and a lot of education, also said that, as a group and a race, blacks are always violent. Griffin, horrified that he had let this man be responsible for his operation, was completely and utterly appalled that a liberal man could indulge in such heinous mistakes. Not only does Griffin find himself horrified by white people before and during his surgery, but he also experienced many harsh and hostile situations during his time as a black man in the South, which he would never have experienced if he had been a white man. For example, on his first day as a black man he walks into a pharmacy forgetting his skin color and that now, because he is black, he is prohibited from ordering a soda fountain drink, but after some mean and disgusted looks from the white workers he realizes that he wasn't even allowed in the store. His first day hit him hard when he realized that everywhere he went white people seemed to look at him with suspicion and hostility. Furthermore, after the word nigger never seemed to escape his ears, its implications became almost unbearable. Hearing this really made me think of all the Southern blacks who had to endure these and even worse things every day of their lives and how strong they were; a white man has gone through all this one day and can barely stand it; how did these people put up with all this?