The reading sort of put me in mind of some other tales that merge the everyday world and either something much deeper or spiritual. One being “Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston”, where the culture and land are intertwined. There’s the merge of the world and something close to magic that gives it a very distinct sort of feel.

While reading, the writing style of Naylor appears very smooth and lyrical. The author does not put much emphasis on the events—she sort of lets the story happen naturally and through the voices and emotions of the characters. The details are rich, sort of mysterious, and it feels like it’s significant, whether or not something important is actually happening. I like the use of rhythm created by the dialogue. You are able to understand the character’s personality and the community just based on the dialogue.

The first time I read the passage, the aspect that really stood out to me was the atmosphere. It’s like she creates the entire atmosphere through little actions, phrases, and little hints as to what the characters are thinking. On the second reading, I got to understand some elements that I missed the first time, such as how words, memories, and objects actually contain a lot of meaning. I got to understand the undertones and the underlying feelings that the characters are actually experiencing. Some aspects that I glossed over the first time actually took on much greater significance the second time around.

Reading the passage, I was struck, though, by the nature of culture and ethnography. Naylor doesn’t describe the culture, but illustrates it by showing the characters and how they live and interact. That’s the nature of ethnographic study, for the most part—to learn about people by observing them, rather than having information presented to you. In the passage above, it’s clear how the culture of the community influences the actions and lives of the characters. The culture is just something that naturally comes into play. On the whole, the reread experience has helped me understand the characters and their world much better.

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