Phase I
Home
Today is another rainy, dreary day in the city. Tom was a shy, quiet boy in a big city. The hustle and bustle of Queens did not suit him. He preferred meadows and fields, to parking lots and sidewalks. His mother moved them to an apartment in Queens after the divorce. He didn’t understand why they couldn’t stay in the sleepy town of Hamlet, North Carolina. His grandparents and cousins were there. He knew the teachers and grew up with the kids. They didn’t care he was different. He was Tom after all. It didn’t help he spoke slowly, with a twang. The kids at Queens Academy High School made fun of his accent, and called him names, like Hick and Redneck. Of all the names he was called, Poor White Trash hurt the most.
Tom really didn’t want to go to school. He was so tired of the bullying and pranks the big guys at school were playing on him. Even the girls! What’s up with girls being bullies now? Why are they fighting too? Sure, he’s a nerd and likes to read. He’s quiet and keeps to himself. No one needs to know what home is like. He doesn’t need the attention. Not even good attention when he makes good grades. All Tom wanted was peace and quiet, and a good book. Why do you think he’s always in the library? The dark, shadowy staircases of the school drew him into the library. He could hide among the shelves of books, and find refuge against the smudged glass doors. Tom was always looking for a safe place away from everyone and everything. Sometimes he wanted to get away from himself.
Tom needed to perform a quick review of To Kill a Mockingbird before the big English Lit exam. He needed to confirm he knew the story, the plot, characters, theme and motif. He wanted an A. He needed an A. He wanted to go home to Carolina. College would get him there. Thoughtfully he enters the library. He loved the way Harper Lee wrote. How did she know to write, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Beyond the written word, the plot and characters fascinated him too. He related Boo. Alone and reclusive was his safe place. He wanted to be like Scout, brave and committed to justice. However, he did not have the strength to stand up for himself. Please, just a little peace and quiet.
Slowly he enters the library. No not today. They have found out where I hide. No place is sacred anymore. The crowds, the bullies, the noise. Just peace and quiet. Tom has to go. He cannot stay in a world where people are staring at him and mocking him. He walks out of the smeared doors towards the steep stairwell. Surely no one knows this exit. After all, the sign on the door reads “Do Not Enter/Exit.” Tom is alone and afraid. He is an outsider with a deep Southern accent, and even deeper Southern roots. Tom wants to go home. Not Queens home, but North Carolina home.
The air in the library is musty likes old books, and the stairwell smells of mold. Panic is setting in. Tom tries to discreetly walk through the glass doors and down the stairwell. He’s not alone. Footsteps are close behind. A hand, a push. Tom is finally home.
Reference
SparkNotes Editors. (2002). SparkNote on To Kill a Mockingbird. Retrieved June 9, 2015, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/
Tom really didn’t want to go to school. He was so tired of the bullying and pranks the big guys at school were playing on him. Even the girls! What’s up with girls being bullies now? Why are they fighting too? Sure, he’s a nerd and likes to read. He’s quiet and keeps to himself. No one needs to know what home is like. He doesn’t need the attention. Not even good attention when he makes good grades. All Tom wanted was peace and quiet, and a good book. Why do you think he’s always in the library? The dark, shadowy staircases of the school drew him into the library. He could hide among the shelves of books, and find refuge against the smudged glass doors. Tom was always looking for a safe place away from everyone and everything. Sometimes he wanted to get away from himself.
Tom needed to perform a quick review of To Kill a Mockingbird before the big English Lit exam. He needed to confirm he knew the story, the plot, characters, theme and motif. He wanted an A. He needed an A. He wanted to go home to Carolina. College would get him there. Thoughtfully he enters the library. He loved the way Harper Lee wrote. How did she know to write, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Beyond the written word, the plot and characters fascinated him too. He related Boo. Alone and reclusive was his safe place. He wanted to be like Scout, brave and committed to justice. However, he did not have the strength to stand up for himself. Please, just a little peace and quiet.
Slowly he enters the library. No not today. They have found out where I hide. No place is sacred anymore. The crowds, the bullies, the noise. Just peace and quiet. Tom has to go. He cannot stay in a world where people are staring at him and mocking him. He walks out of the smeared doors towards the steep stairwell. Surely no one knows this exit. After all, the sign on the door reads “Do Not Enter/Exit.” Tom is alone and afraid. He is an outsider with a deep Southern accent, and even deeper Southern roots. Tom wants to go home. Not Queens home, but North Carolina home.
The air in the library is musty likes old books, and the stairwell smells of mold. Panic is setting in. Tom tries to discreetly walk through the glass doors and down the stairwell. He’s not alone. Footsteps are close behind. A hand, a push. Tom is finally home.
Reference
SparkNotes Editors. (2002). SparkNote on To Kill a Mockingbird. Retrieved June 9, 2015, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/