Pineapple Street

Sasha Stockton is one of the central protagonists of the novel. She is an artist who works for herself as a successful graphic designer. Sasha grew up in a loving middle-class family in Rhode Island. She is now married to Cord Stockton and therefore has entered a new world of socio-economic class expectations, enormous wealth, and tight-lipped, tight-knit communities. Sasha is seen as an outsider and therefore contributes an important narrative perspective to the many issues that the novel addresses. Her perspective allows Jackson to insert important social criticism of the myopic privilege represented by the Stockton family.

When Sasha is first introduced, she struggles to ingratiate herself into the Stockton family. Though Tilda and Chip treat her kindly, there is a distinct distance between them. Part of this distance is what Sasha identifies as the Stockton family’s inability to talk about vulnerable topics. Sasha has a more difficult time connecting with Darley and Georgiana, who are suspicious of Sasha and call her a “gold digger” behind her back. Sasha makes headway with Darley first, who confides in Sasha, and later develops a tenuous connection with Georgiana as well. Darley’s decision to confide in Sasha brings the two women closer together and helps them to develop a friendship, whereas Georgiana’s confiding in Sasha makes Georgiana even more wary of Sasha.