Mississippi

Doaker, Boy Willie, and Lymon sit down around a table and talk about their home in Mississippi, the area that the family is from. They talk about Sutter, his land, the ghosts of the Yellow Dog, and the truck full of watermelons that they brought with them up to Pittsburgh. This makes me think of "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song is about how proud the band is about being from the south and that they do not know much more than that, the same vibe I get from Lymon and Boy Willie. I don’t I know they are not from Alabama, but the lyrics fit “Big wheels keep on turning, carry me home to see my kin”, Boy Willie is riding in the truck on his way to see his kin. Plus the truck full of watermelons that keep breaking down just seems like something that you would see in Alabama.

Jaws

The beginning of the story gives me an eerie feeling, the way that someone unexpectedly knocks at a house door in the middle of the knight. The yelling and banging is so loud that it wakes up all of the people living in it. This is the same feeling I get as the one I got while watching Jaws for the first time. That dun dun dun dun theme just gives off the creepy feeling that something bad is about to happen, but at the same time leaves you in suspense for what seems like hours, but is actually seconds, before the killer shark appears. This just how I feel while reading this book. This tune is perfect for this moment because it not only makes you feel the same way as does the opening scene, it is also a foreshadowing into what is going to happen throughout the story. A foreshadowing of the troubles that Boy Willie and Lymon’s appearance will bring to Berniece and Doaker’s lives.