Ignorance and Education

Mary Call Luther is very concerned about being ignorant or being perceived as ignorant. As a mountain person and the daughter of a sharecropper, she has to overcome the perceptions that others have of ignorant, violent, poor mountain people. Mary Call does not want to be a person that fits the stereotype nor does she want any of her siblings to be. Mary Call sees a future for herself far from Trial Valley, and she knows that if she wants to be somebody someday, she needs to study hard and get a good education. Mary Call has respect for people who are educated, like her principal Miss Breathitt, because they are able to answer her questions. When Mary Call does not know something, like when Romey asks her how old the mountains are, she is frustrated with herself, but she remembers to ask later.

Mary Call's...