October 17, 2016 - 07:30
I like her, I like him. I don't like him, I don't like her. As each character was introduced to me, these were my initial responses. This for me became the type of book that you don't put down, once you began reading it. At first I felt that this book jumped too much, but as I continued reading I was pleased to get a chance to "hear" everyone's voice. I was able to get a clearer picture of who they were. There were characters I was rooting for, like Dill, Homer, and even Willa Mae Beede, but towards the closing of the chapter all I could think was, Go to Hell. For the life of me I couldn't understand why Billy Beede was so fisty, but I love how her wit made her strong. This story hits home for me, because it's so familiar in the black community, I felt as though I was watching a piece of someone I knew. Even the use of words in this book were familiar, for example, "Freudian's slip", on page 145. This term made me reflect back upon a class discussion we had, and also a novel by my professor. This book was truly about exploration of identity and although I cannot be too sure, I am happy that Billy has found her, and is not like her mother. The apple may not fall too far, from the tree, but that does not mean that it cannot roll in it's own direction. I would like to ask Parks, what made her chose her character, and why some of the characters remain constant, and others like Dill and Homer, change into Pompus Ass'. Or maybe they always were like this.