As I read "The Displaced Person" again, I began to wonder why the "black help" stuck around Mrs. McIntyre's farm. Both Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortley continually remind them that they are dispensable because there is a endless source of help just like them. They don't seem to heed any of these insults that are thrown at them, probably in part because they are so used to it. Thinking about this in terms of Marxism, though, I started to wonder if their adherence to the farm comes as a result of subtly operating ISA's. Could the farm represent an ISA in a similar way that a family would? The purpose of the farm is primarily production, and the help is nothing more than the means by which a product is created. The two men know that they are a small but essential part of a whole, and that their place on the farm is virtually guaranteed because the system would collapse without someone to fulfill their place. I think they know that even if they were kicked off this particular farm, they would inevitably find another just like it. It is in this way that they both adhere to the ideologies created by the farm as an ISA, and at the same time function as pillars which serve to uphold the system.
This leads me to question why, after finding out that Mrs. McIntyre intends to fire them, Mrs. Shortley becomes indignant and immediately begins packing. Unlike the black help, Mrs. Shortley is disturbed by the fact that Mrs. McIntyre sees her family as dispensable. Maybe the ISA's which govern the farm are different for "white trash help" and "black help," because apparently Mrs. McIntyre prefers the black help. This suggests that "white trash" doesn't fulfill an essential position on the farm, and they therefore don't have job security in the same way that the black help does.
Another component of Marxism that I see in this story is alienation of the laborer. When Mr. Guizac first comes to the farm, Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortly are doubtful of his capabilities. As time goes on, however, Mrs. McIntyre begins to realize his value as a laborer. Mrs. Shortley, on the other hand, maintains her pessimism because he is slowly taking over the Shortley's function on the farm, which she subconsciously knows will render them useless. Very quickly, Mrs. McIntyre begins to see the improvements on her farm, and pays less and less attention to Mr. Guizac as a foreign "displaced" person with a wife and two children; to her, he just becomes the source of an invaluable commodity. He is thus alienated up until the point when she discovers his plan to bring his cousin to live on the farm. When this happens, all illusions are wiped away and he becomes unalienated, and therefore a "displaced person" once again. Unfortunately, Mrs. McIntyre cannot reestablish him as an alienated laborer, and therefore knows that she can no longer employ him on the farm; he has destroyed the ideologies which designate him solely as a laborer because he attempted to connect with Mrs. McIntyre on a human level by trying to make her see the injustice of his cousin's circumstance.