The story When a Southern Town Broke a Heart, main character Jacqueline Woodson opens her eyes to discover that home, the place she found innocent and welcoming, loathed her for the color of her skin. Through this short story, Jacqueline Woodson sends the theme that perception can change, even to the places you felt closest to.
The first way Woodson conveys this theme is in the second paragraph, “ vegetable gardens filled with collards, berries, pole beans and cucumbers grew beside the small houses. Raised flower beds brightened the front yards.” Here, the author has created the setting, a sweet, small and innocent place where hate would never be expected. Jacqueline Woodson associates the setting to