Blog Post #13

The wanderer: What I appreciated about this story was that it told you a little bit about his past. It told us why he ran when he got out of prison. “He ran because he knew that in Indiana the cops would know him. If they knew him they’d try to bring him in every now and again. And if anyone tried to put him in a cell again he would try his best to kill them. Socrates Fortlow was running for his life.” (111) It also tells us about his Aunt Bellandra and what she believed about God. “God ain’t nowhere near here, child. He’s a million miles away: out in the middle the ocean somewhere. An’ he ain’t white like they say he is neither. “He aint black. If he was he was there wouldn’t be all this mess down here wit’ us. Naw, God’s blue.” “Blue like the ocean. Blue. Sad and cold and far away like the sky is far and blue. You got to go a long long way to get to God and even if you get there he might not say a thing. Not a damn thing. (114)

Lessons: What I appreciated about this story was that he thought Darryl to stick up for himself. “He hadn’t looked back until then. He didn’t want to witness Darryl running scared. But Darryl wasn’t running. He faced the shorter heavier Philip. The other two boys stayed a couple of yards back. Darryl was holding out his hands in a reasonable posture.” (129) He also goes to Darryl’s rescue when he realizes he isn’t strong enough to take the gang on. “Somebody shouted ‘Hey what the…’ but Socrates didn’t hear the rest of what was said because he was moving.” “He went quickly and quietly behind Philips two friends.” “The first boy went down from a slap behind his head” “’Hey’ was all the second boy could get out before he was slapped senseless by Socrates .” (129-130)