Racial Dynamics in The Town
Celeste says: “Maybe she was so busy looking at the colored leaves, she didn’t look around to see that the leaves were the ONLY color in this town!”
What is Celeste referring to?
What is the town's lack of racial diversity?
This is the name of the narrator’s sister who owns the Main Street shop.
Who is Kay?
This is the name of the street where most of the story takes place.
What is Main Street?
The narrator feels this emotion when comparing her life to Kay’s.
What is jealousy or regret?
This is one theme shown through the narrator’s reflections on her past.
What is family or finding your place?
Celeste says: “Maybe she was so busy looking at the colored leaves, she didn’t look around to see that the leaves were the ONLY color in this town!”
How do you think this circumstance will affect her experience in this new town?
What are non-diverse friendships, tense cultural experiences, and racial discrimination?
This is the narrator's relationship to the girl named Ashley in the story.
Who is her niece?
The narrator returns to her hometown for this reason.
What is to visit her sister and reflect on her past?
Kay and the narrator’s relationship can be best described using this word.
What is "complicated"?
This is the reason the narrator might feel like an outsider in her hometown.
What is because she left and lived a different life?
Describe Treetop’s and Celeste’s friendship. How are they alike? How do they differ?
What is laughing, loss, and the racial differences between the two (Black/White)?
This is the family member the narrator is visiting in this chapter.
Who is her sister?
This type of store is owned by Kay on Main Street.
What is a gift shop or boutique?
The narrator feels this when she watches Ashley interact with customers.
What is admiration or pride?
This part of the story suggests the narrator might be reconsidering her choices.
What is her quiet observations and feelings of nostalgia?
How does this friendship influence the way Treetop begins to view her town?
What is privilege?
This character is described as confident and successful in her small-town life.
Who is Kay?
This event or activity happens when the narrator visits the shop.
What is the holiday shopping season/people buying gifts?
This emotion describes how the narrator feels when she sees how close Kay and Ashley are.
What is left out, abandoned, or lonely?
This object or setting in the story represents comfort and stability.
What is the shop or Main Street?
This observation by the narrator hints at issues of racial inequality on Main Street.
What is the lack of diversity among shop owners and customers/mention of Black residents not feeling welcome in certain stores?
This character is visiting from out of town and feels disconnected from her past.
Who is the narrator?
This happens at the end of the chapter, showing a shift in the narrator’s feelings.
What is she feels more connected to her family/leaves with a new perspective?
Kay and the narrator don’t always agree, but they still share this bond.
What is sisterhood or family?
This theme is reflected in the contrast between Kay's life and the narrator’s.
What is choices and consequences/paths in life?