Black on White
- Keisha calls Andy to tell him that it snowed last night. She's excited about how pretty it is, but Andy sulks because he'll get wet toes walking around in it.
- Keisha gets annoyed with how upset little things like this make Andy, and she tells him he complains too much about the little things.
- In English class, they read the poem "One Thousand Nine Hundred & Sixty-Eight Winters" by Jaci Earle.
- Andy notices that the poem uses black and white as symbols, so he asks his teacher why black is always bad in literature and white is always good.
- His English teacher thinks this is a great question, and asks the class to come up with examples of other colors that are used in literature.
- See? Colors help us form images in our minds—if someone says "icy blue" or "purple passion" it's more poetic and meaningful than saying it without the colors. It helps the author get the point across.
- Race is totally invoked, too, though, and while this is changing somewhat now, racist ideas are at play in some older books.
- Hmm… this makes Andy think, but he doesn't share what with us.
- Later, he talks to Keisha about how cold it is that day and asks if she thinks Robbie is freezing outside, in the ground.
- Keisha tells Andy not to say such morbid stuff any more—Robbie is at peace; leave it be.