Family Writing Assignment

This assignment, by Ms. Marcus, symbolizes the fact that Lonnie is one foster child among a class of people who are not part of the system. While Ms. Marcus has had a positive influence on Lonnie up to this point, he is furious that she would make this assignment because it hurts him to think about the parents he lost.

The Throwaway Boys

These are the boys at the group home where Lonnie stays before living with Miss Edna, and they symbolize the attitude the boys get once they no longer feel they have family. They bond together in this group because of their need for family connections, whether real or manufactured. The tragedy is that they provide such negative peer pressure on each other that they are creating life-long negative attitudes and habits.

December 9th

This is the date of the fire that...