#6

Daniel Cuevas-

I will dig for hours while our father sits alone at the kitchen table and drinks. Marilyn will lock herself in her room and cry. Barry will open another book. The hole will grow. If I dig long enough, if I dig deep enough, she will call me  in for dinner. I will dig until the sky is dark. (Brown, 31)

Brown incorporated these quotes into his memoir because he wanted to show the reader how he and his family were coping with his mothers mistake and removal from the family. As you can see, they all have different ways of coping. I noticed that his father sits alone and drinks, and if you remember correctly, in one of my first blogs I predicted or asked if there had been any role model or bad influence in Browns life that caused him to begin his substance abuse. Furthermore, as you can see, his father could be the figure that influenced Brown the most in the drinking aspect of his substance abuse. On the other hand, Barry just opens another book. It could be that he just does not care about what happened to his mother or thats just his was of going through it. This reminds me of a friend of mine that uses his homework to take his mind away from problems that are occurring at his home. Thus, it may be more of a coping mechanism. Moreover, Brown just digs, I believe that his digging shows his love for his mother because he stated that if he digs "deep enough" and "long enough," his mother would call him for dinner. Therefore, digging shows that he misses his mother and loves her enough to dig "until the sky is dark."