Bell Hooks’ decision to narrate the story of a black girl from Kentucky who belonged to a working class background and how life at Stanford shaped her world view, indicates the emphasis that she places on returning to her roots and staying true to them. Her parents were deeply concerned about how being amongst the more ‘privileged, white students’ would influence the personality of their young daughter. Hooks highlights the fact that children from a small town like Kentucky, particularly the African American families maintained a close-knit community, in which basic communication as well as deep-rooted respect of elders is paramount .
I believe that by sharing her conversations with her mother just before Hooks goes on the road to reach Stanford University, Hooks has attempted to present that among the relatively uneducated class her family belonged to, ‘plainness of language’ was crucial in conveying meaning .
Hooks, who is an aspiring teacher and a future writer herself, this left a deep impression that dictated her behavior at all professional events she attended. Another interesting aspect of the impact that her language created was that her level of knowledge and competence was judged by her body language and choice of vocabulary . Therefore, her decision to opt for a more basic vernacular was perceived as a deficiency of knowledge as well as confidence, by her peers, during and after her presentations.
Her insistence on rebelling against the expected norms followed by the other students in her class is also an expression of the loyalty that Hooks continued to carry within herself when it came to her cultural and racial roots and origin. The incidents mentioned where her room and class mates would speak in disrespectful tones about her parents and Hooks’ obvious discomfort shows that she desired to progress and be successful in her chosen career, yet was unwilling to revamp her value system .
Works Cited
Hooks, Bell. "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education." Hooks, Bell. Education and Learning. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education , 2003. 99-112.
