Twitter Account for Jacqueline Woodson

Category B Prompt C

Jackie W's Twitter page
Gabrielle Scott

 I chose the banner because while Jacqueline Woodson was growing up, she began to think highly of words. She knew she wanted to be a writer, but had a difficult time writing and reading when she began her journey (pg. 217). After much practice and writing down words she hears and sees (pg. 222), she was able to memorize all of the books she read by going over the book several times (pg. 226). She said that she tells stories better than she can write, and astonishes her teacher and classmates by reciting what she had memorized in class, as well as creating her own piece of work (pg. 311). I had to go with the name Jackie W. because I felt that since Jaqueline is a living person, that I did not want to encroach on her. I also chose "FurtherfromJack" as her twitter name because in the beginning of the book on page 6, her mother named her Jaqueline instead of Jack. I felt that there was so much to post, because throughout the book many things happen to Jacqueline, but it is centered around her growth and the cultivation of her talent.What happens to her helps her become the girl she is towards the end of the book. I tried to cite the pages where I got either the quotes or ideas from, and to pick quotes that were of importance for Jacqueline. Through the three different moves, the deaths in her family, becoming a Jehovah's Witness, the protests for equal rights, and trying to find her place in the world, there were many important factors to consider when trying to see what the main points of the story were. These are the ones I either found to be extremely inspiring, or very pertinant to the growth of Jacqueline:

Here, she compares her talent to her brother's singing. He has sung about a donkey named Tingalayo. Therefore, words are her brilliance just as singing is Hope's brilliance. She finally found her nitch in the family, when Hope can sing and is interested in science and her sister Odella is intelligent.

Writing was of course an important factor while Jacqueline was growing up. Therefore, when she has her fellow classmates and her teacher approve of her skill, her talent can then flourish from there. Her brother also went into the hospital, which impacted Jacqueline because she certainly missed him. 

The first one is a repeat (because of the way I cut and pasted) but I feel that when her uncle went to jail was a significant occurrence in the novel. I also think that when her mother says, "everything happens for a reason," this ties into all the happened- including the revolution that was going on around her. Although she was not directly impacted by what was going on, she was still aware. 

Her grandfather's death was extremely important, because he was the only father figure her and her siblings had known. Her friend Maria made an impact on her and when she gets the composition notebook, suddenly her abilities improve and she feels that she can be the writer she wants to be. The composition notebook gives her a purpose and confidence. 

Moving from the only place she was familiar with to the unknown must have been scary and uncertain. Although she was a small child, moving can really change a person. New York seemed to be the stepping stone to her growth as a writer. Being a Jehovah's Witness also shaped what she believed in, and what she could do and couldn't do. There is a chapter in the book where she details what she cannot do, "because we're witnesses." Then, the second to the last chapter is where she lists what she believes in, which I find to be a very poignant ending. 

I felt that when she was born, the point that she made was important to who she is. Since her dad thought she looked like him, he wanted her to be Jack. But her mother didn't want to name her that, and Jacqueline is what she took on and defined her. 

I thought that as a character, after she had mentioned many events and subjects throughout, that she would be following those pages if she had a twitter page. She would most likely be following pages about writing, Power to the People because she has a chapter detailing that (302), the revolution (308), when her mother mentions about the Black Panthers (304), because she mentions Rosa Parks along with Angela Davis, I believe she would follow a page named women of the world, she is a Jehovah's Witness so she would follow that page, and of course, the composition book meant a lot to her, so she would be following that page as well. 

While I may have left many parts out, such as the time when was spray painting and did not know that it was bad to do that, or when her Aunt Kay dies, or the time when she goes to a lady's house but the woman does not have money to buy a book from Jacqueline, which makes Jacqueline feel bad, or many other events that occur in the novel, I feel that the ones I included stood out to me the most as to what made Jacqueline who she was as a little girl, and who she is now. This novel is a part of her and I hope that this twitter reflects pieces of the novel that were important.