Dreamland Burning

Part 1, Sections 1-5

Reading Check

1. Because her car has just been totaled (Part 1, Section 1)

2. Old bones (Part 1, Section 1)

3. In a speakeasy (Part 1, Section 2)

4. Bloody clothes, a pistol with eight notches, cracks in the skull, and a brick matching the cracks (Part 1, Section 5)

Short Answer

1. Will is mostly enraged that another man is touching the girl he loves but uses racism as an outlet to avenge himself on the Black man who acted familiar with Addie. Will does not consider the consequences of his actions, either because he does not care or because he is unaware of the potential consequences. This points to the novel’s theme of Intersections of Privilege because Will is described as a white rich man who does not need to worry much about Racialized Violence, but he is also concerned with what his parents might think and therefore could have more going on at home than meets the eye. (Part 1, Sections 2 and 4)

2. She tells James she is sometimes ashamed of it. She also indicates that she feels uncomfortable around police officers because she feels they view her as suspicious because she is Black.