August, of Jacqueline Woodson’s Another Brooklyn, studies death in a way to avoid it. The study of other culture’s rituals related to death lets her avoid her own reactions. Throughout the text this is evident as August continues to reject the death of her mother:
SweetGrove becoming memory. My mother becoming dust.
What’s in the urn?
You know what’s in the urn.
Is Mama home yet?
Memory like a bruise. Fading.
She’s coming tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
Don’t wade in the water children.
Your mama’s done troubled the water.
Our Land moved in grassy waves toward the water. The land ended at the water. Maybe my mother had forgotten this.
And kept on walking. (138-139) Because of the unique way Woodson writes dialogue there is much more room to analyze what it means. Although the speaker is …show more content…
I credit this to Woodson’s writing and establishment of character. Not only does the reader not know who is speaking, they also don’t know when the conversations are taking place. Due to the non-linear nature of the story, unless directly stated the time can not be assumed. Five minutes could have passed between lines of dialogue or five years. This is important because it shows August’s journey in a way that makes it almost impossible to tell when she truly accepted her mother’s death, or when she truly grew up. Her father stating “you know what’s in the urn,” speaks to August’s intelligence and state of mind. Despite her insistence that her mother will come home one day, she has always known the truth. Further than that, it speaks to what August means when she tells others and herself that her mother will return. In spite of her desire for
SweetGrove becoming memory. My mother becoming dust.
What’s in the urn?
You know what’s in the urn.
Is Mama home yet?
Memory like a bruise. Fading.
She’s coming tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
Don’t wade in the water children.
Your mama’s done troubled the water.
Our Land moved in grassy waves toward the water. The land ended at the water. Maybe my mother had forgotten this.
And kept on walking. (138-139) Because of the unique way Woodson writes dialogue there is much more room to analyze what it means. Although the speaker is …show more content…
I credit this to Woodson’s writing and establishment of character. Not only does the reader not know who is speaking, they also don’t know when the conversations are taking place. Due to the non-linear nature of the story, unless directly stated the time can not be assumed. Five minutes could have passed between lines of dialogue or five years. This is important because it shows August’s journey in a way that makes it almost impossible to tell when she truly accepted her mother’s death, or when she truly grew up. Her father stating “you know what’s in the urn,” speaks to August’s intelligence and state of mind. Despite her insistence that her mother will come home one day, she has always known the truth. Further than that, it speaks to what August means when she tells others and herself that her mother will return. In spite of her desire for