The Glasses that Tanner makes to give to Coleman allows him to "see the white man." O'Connor seems to be laying down social reality. We see the way things are, and they are not the ways of the gospel. The actor at the end, like blacks who have had to "act" and "mask" all their lives, cannot "act" anymore. The mask has to come off. Social reality. Tanner keeps living in the world of the past where everyone knew his/her place.
And significance of the name "tanner?" Some one has to tan that "bear" hide. Right?
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Tanner finds himself carving the glasses when he fears that Coleman might be about to do him violence. Is it that he renders him harmless by ensuring that he sees him as a white man and thus to be deferred to? Is the encounter with the actor what happens when he can't control how the black man sees him?
When I was reading the story I did get the impression that Tanner's gift of the glasses to Coleman was his way of taking control of the situation - on p. 683 it talks about how Tanner carved the glasses without really being aware of it, but once he realized he had them, he knew exactly what to do with them.
Though Tanner doesn't remain entirely in control of the relationship from then on - like we talked about in class, both men seem to need each other at the end. It's like even the glasses can no longer help with the distinction between black and white.
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