Whether due to divorce or job requirements, parents often feel guilty about the time--or lack of time--they have to spend with their children. Some parents push parenting responsibilities onto the oldest child. Others turn to family members or day care. Some are able to take their children with them to work. Others find their most significant time with their children is on the way to the baby-sitter. Parents often assuage their guilt by showering their children with gifts, or indulge their children's desires. In Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, James Witherspoon is a bigamist married to two women, with a daughter to each. Dana Lynn Yarboro, daughter to James' second wife, limits his time with her to the Wednesday nights he spends eating dinner with her mother Gwendolyn and Dana. Dana longs for more connection with her father. Gwendolyn wants James to demonstrate to Dana that he cares for her as much as he does Charisse, his daughter from his first marriage to Laverne. As a consequence, material belongings and benefits become especially significant in this novel.
Write an essay examining how James' physical and financial provisions for Dana and Gwendolyn, and Dana's desire for physical manifestations of James' love and fathering develop the conflicts that Dana struggles with in her relationship with her father as his daughter.
Primary Source
Jones, Tayari. Silver Sparrow. Chapel Hill: Algonquin, 2011.
Secondary Sources
Amateau, Gigi. "From Each Side of the Wall: Tayari Jones on Silver Sparrow." James River Writers. 9 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2016. <https://jamesriverconference.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/from-each-side-of-the-wall-tayari-jones-on-silver-sparrow>
"Divorce is a Gift for the Trade; Toy Trade." Times [London, England] 24 Dec. 1992: 3. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <http://tiny.cc/z04ajy>
Grosswald, Blanche. "'I Raised My Kids on the Bus': Transit Shift Workers' Coping Strategies for Parenting." Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 29.3 (2002): 29+. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <Link to article>
"Honey I Bribed the Kids." Sunday Times [London, England] 1 Apr. 2007: 4. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. <http://tiny.cc/sq4ajy>
Sisson, Amy. "Silver Sparrow." Magill's Literary Annual 2012 (2012): 1-3. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 8 Dec. 2016. <https://libdb.chattanoogastate.edu:3443/login?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect%3Dtrue&db=mjh&AN=103331MLA20120160&site=ehost-live>
Requirements
Length: Your essay must be a minimum of 800 words.
Documentation Format: You must include an MLA formatted Works Cited page that includes correctly formatted internal citations for all source material used.
Sources: You are restricted to the the novel and the assigned secondary sources.
Number of sources: You must use both Silver Sparrow and at least two of the articles listed. You may NOT use any other sources.
Students may use a dictionary to help them understand words with which they are not familiar but should not refer to the dictionary definitions in their essay. Students' analysis of the theme should be based on their own close reading of the works they have selected.
Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify authors, page numbers and chapter numbers for the novel. For electronic HTML documents, students must cite paragraph numbers.
Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.
Finally, students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, one inch margins, in Arial or Times Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 850 words (two typewritten pages, about five handwritten pages) in length.
