Heath has a skill at ending chapters in a very literary manner. I like and dislike the endings--something to keep in mind when ending an ethnographic essay, article or presentation. We all want to end with a punch or strong statement, but does it distort reality a bit? Consider the endings to Chapters 5,6, and 7:
"In short, for Roadville, Trackton's stories would be lies; for Trackton, Roadville's stories would not even count as stories" (189).
"Neither community's ways with the written word prepares it for the school's ways" (235).
"For the children of Trackton and Roadville, however, an for the majority of the millworkers and students in Piedmont schools, the townspeople's ways are far from natural and they seem strange indeed" (262). ***Lends an eerie feeling to the photos that follow.
Do these statements define the entire proceeding chapter? They may cross over the line of creative license for me--not sure.
Writing Fieldnotes
14 years ago
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