Alabama - Jada and Kristie by Jada

Thesis:

jadalee7 — 2014-08-29 15:55:53 UTC

The Norris family stayed optimistic and light-hearted despite any difficult circumstance.

Belvin Norris

Kristieo17766 — 2014-08-29 15:58:53 UTC

When Michele was accompanying her father on the plane ride home, his loss of speech and motor control didn't allow him to say a coherent farewell to Michele. But despite the sadness of their parting, Belvin still acted like he was fine and wasn't sick. Michele Norris describes her father's actions as, "It is disturbing to see your parent treated like a schoolchild, yet amusing to watch a man grin like a lucky teenager when a pretty woman takes his arm" (9). This statement helps create a visual of how Belvin's sickness was drastically increasing, yet how he managed to stay happy and try to make his daughter laugh for the final time.

The Seven Dwarfs - Connection

Kristieo17766 — 2014-08-29 16:08:20 UTC

In the chapter Alabama, the six Norris brothers were described as the "Seven Dwarves" from Snow White. Each brother had a characteristic that seemed to portray one of the Seven Dwarves. The Norris Brothers would often quarrel among themselves always knew when it went too far. They would also play things off as a joke, which made any difficult situation easier to cope with. In Snow White, the Seven Dwarves were portrayed as always being optimistic and working together. They too, would get into difficult situations but by working together they could overcome them. Just like the Norris brothers, the Seven Dwarves knew how to keep things light-hearted and fun even if life got hard. Instead of giving up they would always push through difficulties.

Kristieo17766 — 2014-08-29 16:12:57 UTC

Belvin Sr. Norris

Kristieo17766 — 2014-08-29 16:21:10 UTC

While in Alabama, Michele would often go to the business district with her grandfather Belvin Jr. During these times they would often run into men in work uniform who would often give Belvin Sr grief about being him being Black and looking nice while driving a nice car. "They would follow us barking and sneering and spitting on the sidewalk...I remember that he would sometimes tell them to give his regards to their parents or ask after someone he used to work with at the mills. This would often get the men to back off, allowing us to continue on our way" (58). Instead of getting angry at them and causing a scene for their racist comments, Belvin Sr. simply tried to avoid conflict with the workers. This shows how light-hearted he must have been due to the fact that this type of collision was likely to happen every time he went out.

jadalee7 — 2014-08-29 16:23:28 UTC

Jada's Contribution:

jadalee7 — 2014-08-29 16:25:15 UTC

I wrote the majority of the "Belvin Norris" section and thought of the thesis for the chapter "Alabama". Kristie and I both picked one example for the thesis and we both found a picture. I also contributed to the layout of our Padlet too.

Kristie's Contribution

Kristieo17766 — 2014-09-02 15:45:27 UTC

I found the quote for "Belvin Norris" and wrote both "The Seven

Dwarfs" and "Belvin Sr. Norris" Working with Jada I also helped with

pictures, the thesis and the layout of the Padlet