Essay - Quakertown Book Review and Summary: Quakertown Lee Martin's Quakertown is...

Quakertown

Book Review and Summary: Quakertown

Lee Martin's ***** is set in the Middle West during the 1920s. Quakertown is a community polarized ***** segregated between poorer African Americans and White Americans. Despite the fact that the communities live close together, and work with one another, discrimination and hatred are rife throughout the town, although initially the White ***** tries to hide this ***** civility. For instance, the father of the female protagonist, Washington Jones, is a gardener for the beautiful landscapes ***** ***** wealthy who "carries white folks' dirt home under his fingernails" in the words of his wife. His half-white wife, Eugie, works as a seamstress at Neiman's department store, working on clothes she cannot afford for her white customers. Their daughter, Camellia becomes a schoolteacher, and her parents are proud of ***** educati*****. However, ***** is afraid that she will become an 'old maid' because both of the men *****m she loves ***** not acceptable, to her society or to ***** parents.

***** reader cannot help but be moved, however, to see how Camellia's beauty and intelligence transcends some ***** the racism of ***** world around her. First, Kizer Bell and Camilla fall in love. ***** is a wealthy white man and a childhood friend ***** the girl. But Kizer experiences his own form of discrimin*****tion. He is physically deformed and loves Camellia ***** ***** treats him with kindness. His ***** mother, Tibby Bell, has lived her life riddled with guilt because ***** son does not look 'perfect' ***** treats him coldly. So ***** his father, Andrew. Just as ***** w***** the child of imperfection, of a mother neither wholly white nor wholly black both she and Kizer come to represent the beauty of ***** over the narrative's course. Kizer's father ***** is also Little's employer, which makes things difficult for the lovers.

Ultimately, Camellia bears Kizer's *****, but decides to marry a ***** of her 'own' race. Camellia does not do t***** out ***** shame, **********. She genuinely seems ***** love Ike as well. One of the other striking aspects to the author's compassion is that she acknowledges that a woman can love two men at ***** same time, ***** men who seem to ***** different parts of her character. Ironically, ********** father finds fault ***** problems with ***** men, Kizer because ***** his race and Ike ***** of his radical politics. Camellia's father ***** to heal the town after ***** Klan begin to infiltrate the delicately balanced community, ***** ***** efforts prove ********** little, too late.

***** story of Quakertown is not only complicated in terms of its plot, but ***** terms ***** its narration. The story evolves through ***** ********** points of view. To a certain extent, however, this is necessary. The *****me of div*****ion, ***** races and between classes and geographic areas, runs ***** the *****. To gain a b*****lanced perspective upon these different characters ***** such different ways ***** life, shifting points of view is both an interesting and a necess*****ry literary