Importance of Atlanta, Georgia

The novel’s setting in Atlanta, Georgia, symbolizes the continuing effects of history on contemporary society. In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” one of the most recognized lines reads: “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.” Jared adapts this quotation to his own purposes in the cafeteria transcript, making the parallel even more explicit for the reader (32). Jared believes that Martin’s dream has been accomplished, while Justyce and finally Manny realize that the shadows of that unequal history linger. True equality requires more work and understanding.