This story was about a young boy and his mother and family that are really poor and have to work really hard to make ends meet. The young boy, James, is only about eight years old but he seems like a very smart young man. His mother is a very stern, tough woman. From the sound of the story, it seems as though she is probably very pretty and skinny, because she doesn't eat much and gets hit on by two men throughout the story. James, the young boy,acts very tough in front of his mother because that is how she always tells him to act. She tells him to act like a man and treats him as though he is older. The part when she is trying to make James kill the small birds to eat is very strange. He is very young and it seems like he is almost too young to be taught to kill these small animals for food. She teaches him to act like a man and has trained him to keep his head up high and to have a lot of pride. She never accepts anything for free and teaches her son that you always have to work for things that you want and they should never be handed to you. At the beginning of the story, it is mentioned that James' father is away in the army. At the end of the story, it seems like maybe his father may have died or is never coming back and that is maybe the reason why his mother is so tough on him. She wants him to be prepared for anything that is thrown his way in life and to deal with it without showing many emotions. I really liked the part of the story when they are waiting in the waiting room at the dentist's office between the other young boy and the preacher. It's a very interesting conversation they have and I think it made a lot of sense. The young boy was thinking for himself and didn't care who was around to hear it. At the beginning of the story, I wasn't sure if James and his mother were white or black and then found out later they were black. I really enjoyed this story and I'm excited to watch the movie to see the characters in action.