Becoming

Craig becomes fearful of different disasters occurring to him and his family, especially fire. Fire is “a fact of life” in Michelle’s neighborhood because of dilapidated buildings and lack of smoke detectors (31); three of Michelle’s classmates die in a house fire, a tragedy that stuns the neighborhood. Craig and Michelle begin running fire drills, particularly directed at saving Fraser, whose multiple sclerosis symptoms are progressing, though nobody addresses this outright. Fraser thinks of himself as someone who helps others, not someone who needs help, as seen in his work with the Democratic Party in reaching out to community members in need. Southside makes his home a refuge for his grandchildren, spoiling Michelle with “food, and love and tolerance, all of it a silent, earnest plea never to leave him” (35).

Michelle’s other grandparents, Dandy and Grandma, have a stricter household, where Dandy often loses his temper and shouts at people, especially Grandma. Wanting to stick up for Grandma, Michelle is the only person to talk back to him when he’s in a mood, asking, “What’s got you so mad anyway?” (37). This turns out to be a complicated question; Dandy had ambitions to go to college and make a steady life for his family, but this dream was denied to him by favoritism to white workers and unions that kept out blacks, “limiting their income, their opportunity, and, eventually, their aspirations” (38).