From just the first paragraph I knew right away that Jones’ style of writing was going to be interesting to me. It gave me lots of questions to think of like what happened to her father? I liked the little details about how she was dressed and the way her barrettes sat in her hair because these are little things we remember being young, how our parents would help us get ready for school and putting together our outfits. We learn a lot about the whole family from the mother not knowing how to read or write to the sisters, even nearby neighbors and where they all live. As I kept reading further and further I found myself wanting to continue reading as I was picturing the characters and how they were acting in the moment. Some questions I have is why did the mother bring all this paperwork and why did she seem to act unlike herself when she was leaving her child at school?
About
Professor: Jessica Penner
Email: creative.writing.citytech@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM. I’ll be available through Zoom and will send an invitation via email that you should keep all semester. Try to join my meeting at the start of the hour, not at the end—since I may be talking to other students or have another appointment after the hour is up. If those times don’t work with your schedule, we can schedule a different time. This means you’ll have to schedule an appointment in advance. I suggest you have multiple times in mind, since your schedule may not mesh with mine!
The abundance of details throughout Jones’ work certainly adds to the curiosity of the reader. A lot of random bits of information were thrown in, but never really elaborated on. It’s a shame that all we can make are educated cases as to why the mother can not read or write; knowing the time period may have answered a lot of people’s questions.