What struck me most about the book was the school’s
inability to overlook their own biases in order to do what was best for Donny.
Not only did they ignore Jenny’s pleas in favor of holding him back a grade,
they completely dismissed her as an unfit mother just because of her
Appalachian background. It was the school that was hindering Donny’s education.
It showed how deep prejudices can go when people have certain stereotypes and
ideas about others without even getting to know them but on the basis of their
culture and community. Jenny realizes the impact low literacy was having on her
family and she didn’t want her children to go through the same hardships in
school and socially the way she and Big Donny did. In so doing she was breaking
the “cycle of low literacy” that was prevalent in her home. Purcell-Gates
navigates through the book in a manner that really illustrates the struggles
Jenny and Donny were going through in order to become literate so that Donny
could legitimately move on to the next grade and Jenny wouldn’t have to rely on
others to read her mail or guide her through other aspects of her everyday
life.
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