Second Son chronicles a poor southern boy’s journey to manhood during the final years of the Great Depression and the epic panorama of World War II. Towanna Whitaker longs to get his education and “be somebody,” anything to escape the grinding poverty and desolation of the Mississippi cotton fields. But when his mother abandons the family, he’s forced to give up school to care for little Karen, the baby sister she leaves behind. Embracing a homemaker’s duties leaves him open to the scorn and ridicule of other boys and the unwanted attention of an old pedophile, protected by his status as a hero in the First World War. Towanna evades the old man’s attention and endures the ridicule of the townspeople for “taking a woman’s place” because he has no choice. All his love is poured into caring for his family and little Karen while his pa and brother struggle to bring in a massive cotton crop. His joy dares to grow when a neighbor’s baby, born out of wedlock, is also given into his care. That joy is destroyed when little Karen is killed in a freak accident—one he might have prevented. Only the unrelenting love of Julie-May, the mulatto midwife who delivered both babies and the steadfast affections of Kathy, a neighbor’s girl, keep him struggling to find some meaning in life. Towanna slowly climbs out of the pit of despair and self-hatred he’d tried to bury himself in and tentatively reaches for the love Kathy offers. He begins to live again. His one fear is that those he loves will somehow abandon him, like his ma, who left her family for her dream of a better life in New Orleans, or Karen, whose death almost destroyed him. He finally dares to return Kathy’s love when World War II threatens to tear them apart. Towanna and Cliff, his brother, are drafted into the U. S. Army and shipped off to boot camp. While in training, Towanna is approached by another soldier who is sexually interested in him. Towanna rebuffs the man but agonizes over what’s wrong with him, that he attracts this kind of attention. He manages one furlough during his training and uses it to propose to Kathy, who accepts. Trained as a combat medic, Towanna finds himself in Europe, attached to a mobile hospital behind enemy lines and desperate for home and the people he loves. When the war nears its end, Towanna suffers two horrific losses: his best friend is killed when the mobile hospital is strafed on the eve of Hitler’s surrender. And his brother Cliff is brought into the field hospital, only to die in Towanna’s arms. Towanna is sent home and into Kathy’s waiting, healing arms. His boy, Carlon, is waiting for him, as is his pa and Julie May. All his self-doubts are swept away in Kathy’s fierce, loving embrace. He’s finally home.
OHIO ENCYCLOPEDIA is the definitive reference work on Ohio ever published. The noted Ohio historian Michael S. Mangus from Ohio State University has written articles on Introduction to Ohio History, Early History of Ohio, and Ohio History. These articles cover the history of Ohio, from the early explorers to twenty-first century events. Other major sections in this reference work are Ohio Symbols and Designations, Geography and Topography of Ohio, Profiles of Ohio Governors, Chronology of Ohio Historic Events, Dictionary of Ohio Places, Ohio Constitution, Bibliography of Ohio Books, Pictorial Scenes of Ohio, State Executive Offices, State Agencies, Departments and Offices, Ohio Senators, Ohio Assembly Members, U.S. Senators and U.S. Congress members from Ohio, Directory of Ohio Historic Places and Index. All sections contain the latest up to date information on the Buckeye State.OHIO ENCYCLOPEDIA contains stunning photographs and portraits to compliment the expertly written text. Population charts are arranged alphabetically by city or town name, and by county. This allows students easy access to find population figures for their area of interest. Other population charts list all places in Ohio by largest populated places to least populated places by city or county. Several directories contain information on elected state and federal officials along with their contact information including mail and email addresses, phone and fax numbers. Easy to use reference maps are included to find your newly elected state or federal officials. The Directory of State Services lists the head officials and full contact information on state agencies and departments, some of which were just newly created by the legislature. The Directory of Ohio Historic Places contains all the latest up to date information on every Ohio historic place. The Bibliography includes that latest books published on Ohio people and places. A detailed Index makes the work thoroughly referential. OHIO ENCYCLCOPEDIA offers librarians, teachers and students a single source reference work that provides the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Ohio and its history.
The first three volumes of a series that is to run to the present day and give complete theatrical records of their periods, with elaborate indexes of plays, players, and playwrights.
To either achieve or resist domination, some postcolonial and post slavery societies appropriate and contest the current memories on slavery. This occurs more often where the sites of slavery are tourist attractions that positively empower the communities through economic benefits, resulting in an emergence of ‘new’ memories of the past and a constant construction and reconstruction of identity. In The Legacy of Slavery in Coastal Kenya: Memory, Identity, and Heritage, Herman Ogoti Kiriama examines how two communities in coastal Kenya, one whose identity is contested by the community members and another one who are seeking recognition, have tried to remember their past and the role that tourism has played in the process of remembering and or forgetting. Kiriama argues that heritage, memory, and identity are fluid and individuals can claim several identities depending on their socio-politico-economic contexts.
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