I finally get it...

I think I judged too quickly when reading this book. At first I was trying to see how Sandy was a part of the story.It seemed mainly a description of the people in Sandy's life than having anything to do with Sandy himself. As Sandy became more of a player in the book I realized that all of the people in his life are what made him realize what he had to do differently. Harriet hated white people and went the "wild" route,Jimboy ran from his troubles,Anjee could never get ahead because she wasted her life chasing Jimboy. It seemed everyone around him went down the wrong path. Hager's influence saves him in the end.We realize that he will continue his education not only because of Hager's (and Tempy's) influence but because he lived through watching others make mistakes and saw what happened to them. Tempy made good choicesbut decides to negate all of her culture, where Sandy will be able to accept his culture and succeed.Hughes is writing about how blacks can succeed yet not lose their families or culture.