The Thing Around Your Neck and Cell One

I am now going to present two paragraphs from each story, and why they are important for the plot and development for the character.

THE THING AROUND YOUR NECK

	The paragraph	Why
Plot	So when he asked you, in the dimness of the restaurant after you recited the daily specials, what African country you were from, you said Nigera and expected him to say that he had donated money to fight AIDS down in Botswana. But he asked if you were Yoruba or Igbo, becuase you didn't have a Fulani face. You were surprised - you thought he must be a professor or anthropology at the state university, a little young in his late twenties or so, but who was to say? Igbo, you said. He asked your name and said Akunna was pretty. He did not ask what it meant, fortunately, becuase you were sick of how people said, " 'Father's Wealth'? You mean, like, your father will actually sell you to a husband?"	I chose this because I think this tells a a lot about how this girl all the time thought he would answer differently than he did. The story is about how she  thinks every American is the same, and this proves her wrong.
Development of character	You said no the following four days to going out with him, because you were uncomfortable with the way he looked at your face, that intense, consuming way he looked at your face that made you say goodbye to him but also made you reluctant to walk away. And then, the fifth night, you panicked when he was not standing at the door after your shift. Your prayed for the first time in a long time and when he came up behind you and said hey, you said yeas, you would og out with him, even before he asked. You were scared he would not as again.	This paragraph shows that she changes. She is willing to give the American guy a chance. When the panicking came because he didn't stand there, she understood that she really wanted to try this out and that she might have gotten a good eye for this American guy.

CELL ONE

	The paragraph	Why
Plot	"How much did they give you for my gold?" my mother asked him. And when he told her, she placed both hands on her head and cried, "Oh! OH" Chi m egbuo m! My God has killed me!" It was like she felt that the least he could have done was get a good price. I wanted to slap her. My father asked Nnamabua to write a report: how he had sold the jewelry, what he had spent the money on, whom he had spent it. I didn't think Nnamabia would tell the truth, and I don't think my father thought he would, either, but he liked reports, my professor father, he liked things written down and nicely documented. Besides, Nnamabia was seventeen, with a carefully tended beard. He was in that space between secoondary school and university and was too old for caning. What else could my father have done? After Nnamabia wrote the report, my father filed it in the steel drawer in his study where he kept our school papers.	I think this is a relevant paragraph because you can get a hint of how all the characters are and what has happened. You can't understand a whole story from one paragraph but this helps you understand that the mother is a person who loves her son maybe too much and can't get mad at him, the sister is jealous because her brother can get away with everything and the father is a organized and serious person. You can also understand that the son has done something who has affected his mother pretty bad.
Development for character	"Yesterday the policemen asked the old man if he wanted a free bucket of water. He said yes. So they told him to take this clothes off and parade the corridor. My cell mates were laughing. But some of them said it was wrong to treat an old man like that." Nnamabia paused, his eyes distant. "I shouted at the policeman. I said the old man was innocent and ill and if they kept him here they would never find his son because he did not even know where his son was. They said I should shut up immediately or they would take me to Cell One. I didn't care. I didn't shut up. So they pulled me out and beat me and took me to Cell One. "	I chose this paragraph because you can read how Nnamabia have grown as a person. He doesn't care about himself anymore, but care more about his inmate friend who he feels sorry for.