Mr. Head is intimidated by this African American man because he has more money than he does. He is trying to degrade the African American man by pointing out his different skin color to Nelson. To Mr. Head, the fact that he is White and the other man is African American is an excuse that he feels makes him the better man. The appearance of a person is also very important to Armand Aubigny. He goes to the very extreme of dismissing his own wife and child just because the child is not white like himself.
Insecurity is also a reason that drives some people to try and establish superiority over others.
Armand Aubigny and Mr. Head define their characters by pointing out the opposite characteristics to establish their race as more superior than the African American race. He also thinks of himself as so much more superior compared to the African Americans to even ask directions from them. Armand Aubigny also tries to establish his superiority by beating his slaves. This feeling of superiority that he had to obtain is the reason that he is harsher on the slaves when he found out his baby was part African American. He felt very insecure and violated because he never expected any part of the African American race to be part of his own family.