Virtual Dry-Erase Board for “Train,” from Heavy, by Kiese Laymon (b. 1974 – _____ )
Time period:
Kiese was how old? 12
“Train” is set in what year? 1986 (summertime)
Setting(s):
What state is it set in? Mississippi
What is the first location that the plot takes place in? Beaulah Beauford’s home: The Beauford’s own their home where there’s a pool, encyclopedias, good snacks like pop tarts and yellow kool aid
Toward the end of the chapter, Laymon remembers something that happened to him with his babysitter. Where was that setting? Laymon’s family’s old apartment, specifically his mom’s bedroom
Key Plot Points: (discussion during class)
Both Layla and Kiese are sexually assaluted as children
Kiese, as a 12-year-old, did not know how to describe or process what happened to him or Layla
Kiese’s mom has a plan for him, and he must follow it: she makes him read encyclopedias and write essays, and speak in “standard academic English”
If he does not write what he is told to write, he is beaten by his mother
The language and ways of speaking that she makes him learn do not prepare him to talk about the trauma and abuse he was experiencing as a child
The post Virtual Dry-Erase Board for “Train,” from Heavy, by Kiese Laymon (b. 1974 appeared first on PapersSpot.
