Blog 082714

Chapters 1 and 2

     Chapter one of The Grace of Silence focuses on Michele's father, who suffered an illness that affected his speech. When she and her father were on a flight, two white women overheard him attempting to talk to Michele, and his words were slurred. They made a comment inferring he was drunk, he tried to make subtle gestures to get them to notice he was ill, not drunk, but the comment still hurt him. This chapter was heartbreaking to hear about, and shows how quick people are to pass judgement on someone based off their race. In chapter two of The Grace of Silence, the author Michele Norris talks about some experiences growing up in Minnesota. At first, she talks about shoveling in the morning after a snowy night and hearing the sounds "Thwack, swoosh, thud!" (11)  as the driveway is being shoveled. Her father would wake up early in the morning to ensure the driveway and sidewalk were shoveled perfectly for their neighbors. She also recalls her parents difficult journey attempting to buy a house in Minneapolis. Although it has a reputation of being a racially tolerant city, it seemed as though realtors had no interest in helping to find them a home. Once they found their home, the home owners and neighbors were uncomfortable with an African American family living in the neighborhood. Houses went up for sale within a few days, including one sign saying "BEWARE. NEGRO NEIGHBORS" (17). Michele's mother was tough and never let the cold welcome affect her, in fact, she made it very clear every time a perspective home buyer would come by that they were a black family. Later in the chapter, a story is told about when her mother finds an intruder in their home. She doesn't run from him or call the cops, but instead chased him away until he got in his car. This is a crucial chapter in the book, where you learn a lot about her neighborhood and mother's reactions towards the neighbors racism.
    In the chapter "Daddy", Michele explains a lot about her father's kind personality and illness. The chapter "Block Busters" teaches the reader a lot about what Michele's family experienced, especially her mother. After the reader completes both these chapters, they know a lot more about her mother and father's personalites and outlook on racism throughout their community. There were some chapters in The Grace of Silence that I thought were pointless to the book, but I consider these two very important chaptesr. My favorite part was when the author told a story about the intruder in her home. When her mother chased the intruder out of the home it showed her fearlessness and tough persona.