John T. Edge reminisces in his essay of a time when he was a 17-year old freshman in college. He remembers the night where he gets pledged by a fraternity and stumbles drunkenly into an all-night diner. This wasn’t any old diner; it was the hotspot for young adults his age. He scarf down his food and rushes to the bathroom with no avail. He throws up on the floor and the owner yells at him to clean his mess up. In the beginning of Edge’s essay, he creates the setting, in the middle he develops a peculiar affinity to third places and Civil Rights Movement, and in the end he discovers the truth of Blanche’s Open House rumor.
Edge uses imagery to give the readers a view of Blanche’s Open House. He describes the diner having checkered tile floors, smut stained walls, and barely vacancies. He gives us a depiction of Mrs. Guest as well. He describes her as being a mix of a country comedian and a fictional hillbilly damsel. The music that was playing in the diner can give the reader an idea of how the natives of Athens were also. …show more content…
His interest in Civil Rights Movement in the South and new fondness of third places leads him to do research on third places in the South. Edge realizes major Civil Rights Movement leaders used places like these to organize protests and rallies. He also came to the realization that if they were used for good, that they would also be used for bad. This lead him to look into Blanche’s Open House rumors. It didn’t take him long to find information on Blanche’s husband. He sees the Federal Bureau of Investigation teletype on an African American named Lemuel Penn dated July 19, 1964. When Penn was on his way home to Washington, DC from Fort Benning was killed by a gunshot to the head. Along with Herbert Guest, Blanche’s husband, and four others were accused of his
Edge uses imagery to give the readers a view of Blanche’s Open House. He describes the diner having checkered tile floors, smut stained walls, and barely vacancies. He gives us a depiction of Mrs. Guest as well. He describes her as being a mix of a country comedian and a fictional hillbilly damsel. The music that was playing in the diner can give the reader an idea of how the natives of Athens were also. …show more content…
His interest in Civil Rights Movement in the South and new fondness of third places leads him to do research on third places in the South. Edge realizes major Civil Rights Movement leaders used places like these to organize protests and rallies. He also came to the realization that if they were used for good, that they would also be used for bad. This lead him to look into Blanche’s Open House rumors. It didn’t take him long to find information on Blanche’s husband. He sees the Federal Bureau of Investigation teletype on an African American named Lemuel Penn dated July 19, 1964. When Penn was on his way home to Washington, DC from Fort Benning was killed by a gunshot to the head. Along with Herbert Guest, Blanche’s husband, and four others were accused of his