The reading assignment for the second unit of class was also from the book Shadow and Light – Literature and the Life of Faith (Tippens, Walker and Weathers). The selections for this week were “The Joy of Nelly Deane” by Willa Cather, “Rope” by Katherine Anne Porter, “Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Kidd” by Alice Munro, and finally, Alice Walker’s “The Welcome Table.” Willa Cather, who wrote “The Joy of Nelly Deane,” immigrated from Virginia to Nebraska when she was nine. After she graduated from the university in Lincoln, she moved back east where she became a successful journalist and managing editor. The people and land of Nebraska made a profound influence on her writing. Her work consisted of twelve novels and fifty-eight stories. Following is a summary and reaction to Cather’s story …show more content…
Cross and Jack joined Mrs. Kidd and Charlotte for a game of Scrabble. Jack hit the Scrabble game with his hand and everything went flying. He was upset after Mrs. Cross told him not to distract Charlotte. At that point, Charlotte and Jack left. Mrs. Cross was left in Mrs. Kidd’s room as she did not have her wheelchair with her. It was decided that Mrs. Cross would ride in Mrs. Kidd’s wheelchair back to her room and Mrs. Kidd would push her. The story ends with Mrs. Kidd giving the wheelchair one final push to get Mrs. Cross to her room. Once in there, Mrs. Kidd slid to the floor to rest before starting her walk back to her own room. What this story says to me is that although there are things that may “interrupt” a friendship, the friends can come back together remain friends. After all, these women had been friends for over eighty years. It would have been a shame to throw away all of that for something so petty. The final story is by Alice Walker and called “The Welcome Table.” Alice is a Pulitzer Prize novelist as well as receiving the American Book Award for The Color Purple. Though this story is not very long, it makes a very profound