Back Story: She Hopes by Angela Johnson
"She Hopes" is the story of a solitary woman named Marlene who faces an opportunity to act on her hope that people are essentially good. The setting is an economically depressed industrial city similar to my hometown of Flint, Michigan.
Flint and cities like it endure repeated mention in top ten lists of worst crime and high unemployment. Some residents have neighbors like Judy in "She Hopes," who harp about how bad things are. A pervasive sense of unease occurs when economic instability becomes a very real public safety concern. The struggle to maintain hope in the face of everything that says ‘give up hope’ inspired this story.
Racial tension is prominent in "She Hopes." Crime is the result of many factors like poor socioeconomic conditions, education and family breakdown. Not race. But many are quick to suspect and accuse people they’ve been taught to mistrust. I credit my mother for insisting throughout her life that racism is wrong. Whenever someone makes a racial slur or joke, my mother is incredulous and argues strongly against prejudice. Her lifelong refusal to join any crowd of intolerance inspired the character Marlene’s view on race.
And yet, I can’t help but imagine that when a person is bombarded with negative messages about other people, their trust must sometimes feel like naiveté. That’s the tension I wanted to create for Marlene in "She Hopes." The tension of wanting to believe something is true and wondering if you’re a fool. Cynicism vs. Hopefulness. Profiling vs.Color-blindness.
I began writing "She Hopes" in November of 2010. Whenever I finish a draft of a story, I’m dependent on feedback from my writing group before I revise. At first, I’m looking for answers to basic questions: Is this a story? Does it have a beginning that draws a reader in, a middle with enough tension and character development, and an ending that satisfies? Then I ask, ‘What direction should I go from here?’
"She Hopes" initially included more back story regarding Marlene’s past conflicts with her parents on the subject of race. I wrote her character as if she feared becoming like them. My writing group suggested I cut that part. They offered, and I agreed, that her character had already long ago decided to be different from her parents.
They also cautioned me to write with sensitivity about race. To avoid being a writer who doesn’t see the very stereotypes that the story itself is trying to wrestle with. For example, I chose not to describe the boy knocking on Marlene’s door as black. The reader deduces this from the line, "She refuses to be afraid of black people even though her parents and Judy have always warned her that she should be."
That line sparks the beginning of Marlene’s conflict. Her neighbor has just been robbed. She lives alone and is a vulnerable, older adult. And she’s been repeatedly warned to be wary of black people. She wants to make a good choice. But can she?
Making Marlene a retired elementary school attendance secretary established a few things about her character. First, she has a love for children even though she has no children of her own. She’s also understands childish behavior and doesn’t easily fall victim to tall tales. The economic conditions in her city and her job experience have helped her see the value of education.
The boy at Marlene’s door is young enough to lure Marlene into wanting to nurture him, but he’s still old enough that he could be a threat to her – or have friends that might pose a threat. She doles out bits of compassion but still locks her door. Does locking the door make her practical or a racist?
The ending doesn’t reveal if the boy at Marlene’s door was in any way associated with the robbery of the neighbor or if he had any intention of ever robbing Marlene. It seems to me that to have real hope a person must trust that things will turn out okay even when you don’t know for sure. A choice both Marlene and the reader must make. Marlene decides to hope for the best. Because the alternative, living in fear, would be like giving in to the hopelessness felt by so many in her city.
"She Hopes" is part of a short story collection, all of which feature resilient female characters. "She Hopes" is a special piece in the collection because of its homage to my hometown and my mother. That makes it even more special to be my first published fiction. I’m grateful to Rose and Thorn Journal for selecting "She Hopes" for the 2011 Spring Issue.
Angela Johnson lives in Woodbury, Minnesota, after growing up in Flint, Michigan. She’s currently at work on a short story collection. The first published story from her collection titled, "She Hopes," appears in the 2011 spring issue of Rose and Thorn Journal. Angela’s freelance work appears regularly in local lifestyle magazines. She also writes a weekly column for www.woodburypatch.com. Angela can be contacted at angelamj@comcast.net.
Great story and the back story shows real insights of human nature mixed with powers of the divine.
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This sounds like a wonderful story, the kind of story that will resound in reader's minds for a long time after reading its last word.
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I bet your collection is going to be wonderful. Thanks for sharing the story behind the story with us.
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