Box 4 – Responding to Text “Moma Day”

I’ve lived in Northern Georgia for a few years; so I am familiar with the type of geography found on the east coast and it’s bordering islands.  This account about Willow Springs brought a whole new meaning to the area for me though.  It’s an excellent parody of fieldworking as well as a rich fictional account of the cultural group sparked by Sapphira Wade.

The protection that this community held over their land and their lifestyles reminds me of that of Japan towards the rest of the world prior to the world wars.  The idea of “18 and 23’s” was one of the key fundamentals to the people of Willow Springs that was starting to fade near the end of the 20^th century.  Naylor’s style of writing was very effective to me.  It seemed that she was relating with me throughout the entire work.  Her descriptions of the lifestyles and hardships of the people sparked my interest.  Her revelation-like ending captured me in a very personal way.  It touched me and made me reflect on my own life and where I was coming from reading this text.  I never had any trouble reading the text; everything seemed to make sense.  I have read very similar works like this in the past, but can’t recall their names.  They all involved small cultures trying to survive and not be bought out by nearby large towns, cities or even countries.  This type of colonization is a common root for most cultures disappearance I suppose.  Reema’s boy seemed the most interesting to me.  He represented part of the spirit of Willow Springs being lost.  The final paragraph involved my imagination the most.  It allowed me to branch out from the rest of the piece and reflect on the past, present and future of not only their culture but my own life as well.