Minor Miracle Afterthought

The reading of the week that stuck out to me the most was Minor Miracle by Marilyn Nelson. The writer builds a scene that has the reader reacting within just a few lines. She first describes the truck driver not by obvious diction like “the white man” or the “the redneck truck driver” but descriptive words like “stringy blonde hair a long fringe under his brand-name beer cap”. I think this is important because she draws out an image of the truck driver prior to his crass dialogue, which then allows the reader to properly form his or her own opinion towards the truck driver. I also really liked how after the truck driver shouts out “You fucking niggers!” the narrator and her friend don’t react the way the reader might have expected. Instead their reaction is so blasé that it makes it seem like the encounter with the truck driver will only be brief; therefore the ending, while simple, is surprising. I didn’t expect the truck driver to make a reoccurrence and I definitely didn’t expect him to apologize, especially when he comes out of his truck shouting, “What did you say back there?” I assumed it would be another confrontation where his ignorance prevails, but instead he apologizes. Like I said previously, it's so simple yet so surprising. I think the ending is effective because of the unpredictability. Sometimes people, even those we least expect, can surprise us and that's what I think Nelson illustrates perfectly.