Social progressive is the force to create a better society. However, the change need to be happen on both frontiers: National and local level. In “Praying for Sheetrock”, The central theme highlight the bit by bit progressive of the people in McIntosh County toward social equality in order to catch up with the national change by Martin Luther King Jr. The town were isolated from the national change. The social change started at Washington might be a great step for the nation. Because of the dictatorship of sheriff Poppell, the social change only appeared as myth to the people in his town. “Martin Luther King may have delivered I have a dream speech”, But his life appear very “hollow” and “remote” to the people (Greene, 2006, p, 22).His words and dreams did not reach the heart of the people of McIntosh County. Thus people are still acquiesced to the rule of the sheriff without any awareness or protest. On the other hand, the sheriff appeared to be fully aware of the situation, and he found his solution to evade this social change. He appointed …show more content…
With his efforts and experiences, Thurnell Alston has changed the system in his town bit by bit. He were an inspiration for many African American in McIntosh. It was not happen overnight, but eventually the sheriff’s rule were over. “With his death, the people saw an opportunity to… upgrade”, and His death were symbolic point to the people (Greene, 2006, p, 268). It’s were a chance for Thurnell to reset the system. In this town, Thurnell represents Martin Luther King, because he physically bring the change to the town. There were little positive influences that reach this town when the sheriff were running the system. In short, the change need to be taken by the local people action. No matter how powerful the federal laws are. There will always be someone who hack it to protect their interest. It’s up to the people to change their local political