Nov 15, 2009

A Summer Tragedy | A Summer Tragedy

At a glance:

Author: Arna Bontemps
First Published: 1933
Type of Plot: Domestic realism
Time of Work: About 1930
Setting: Mississippi River Delta
Principal Characters: Jeff Patton, Jennie
Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
Subjects: African Americans, United States or Americans, Blacks, Suicide, South or Southerners, 1930’s, Poverty or poor people, Farms, farmers, or farming, Old age or elderly people
Locales: Mississippi River

The Story

Jeff Patton has farmed the same acres on Greenbriar Plantation for forty-five years. He loves the land, but life has been physically demanding and the shares system has kept him locked in poverty. A recent stroke has left him lame, and he fears that another will make him a helpless burden on his wife, Jennie, who has been blind for years and is now frail. Both are sound of mind, but their life has been reduced to a series of losses, including the deaths of five adult children in the last two years. They share a state of constant grief and anxiety.

Jeff...

[The entire page is 1379 words long]

A Summer Tragedy | A Summer Tragedy

At a glance:

The Story

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