Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. In this short story, a family contemplates losing their house.
Home
by Gwendolyn Brooks
[1] What had been wanted was this always, this always to last, the talking softly on this porch, with the snake plant in the jardinière(1) in the southwest corner, and the obstinate(2) slip from Aunt Eppie’s magnificent Michigan fern at the left side of the friendly door. Mama, Maud Martha, and Helen rocked slowly in their rocking chairs, and looked at the late afternoon light on the lawn and at the emphatic(3) iron of the fence and at the poplar tree(4). These things might soon be theirs no longer. Those shafts and pools of light, the tree, the graceful iron, might soon be viewed passively by different eyes.
Papa was to have gone that noon, during his lunch hour, to the office of the Home Owners’ Loan. If he had not succeeded in getting another extension, they would be leaving this house in which they had lived for more than fourteen years. There was little hope. The Home Owners’ Loan was hard. They sat, making their plans.
“We’ll be moving into a nice flat somewhere,” said Mama. “Somewhere on South Park, or Michigan, or in Washington Park Court.” Those flats, as the girls and Mama knew well, were burdens on wages twice the size of Papa’s. This was not mentioned now.
“They’re much prettier than this old house,” said Helen. “I have friends I’d just as soon not bring here. And I have other friends that wouldn’t come down this far for anything, unless they were in a taxi.”
[5] Yesterday, Maud Martha would have attacked her. Tomorrow she might. Today she said nothing. She merely gazed at a little hopping robin in the tree, her tree, and tried to keep the fronts of her eyes dry.
“Well, I do know,” said Mama, turning her hands over and over, “that I’ve been getting tireder and tireder of doing that firing. From October to April, there’s firing to be done.”
“But lately we’ve been helping, Harry and I,” said Maud Martha. “And sometimes in March and April and in October, and even in November, we could build a little fire in the fireplace. Sometimes the weather was just right for that.”
She knew, from the way they looked at her, that this had been a mistake. They did not want to cry.
But she felt that the little line of white, sometimes ridged with smoked purple, and all that cream-shot saffron(5) would never drift across any western sky except that in back of this house. The rain would drum with as sweet a dullness nowhere but here. The birds on South Park were mechanical birds, no better than the poor caught canaries in those “rich” women’s sun parlors.
[10] “It’s just going to kill Papa!” burst out Maud Martha. “He loves this house! He lives for this house!”
He lives for us,” said Helen. “It’s us he loves. He wouldn’t want the house, except for us.”
“And he’ll have us,” added Mama, “wherever.”
“You know,” Helen sighed, “if you want to know the truth, this is a relief. If this hadn’t come up, we would have gone on, just dragged on, hanging out here forever.”
“It might,” allowed Mama, “be an act of God. God may just have reached down and picked up the reins.”
[15] “Yes,” Maud Martha cracked in, “that’s what you always say — that God knows best.”
Her mother looked at her quickly, decided the statement was not suspect, looked away.
Helen saw Papa coming. “There’s Papa,” said Helen.
They could not tell a thing from the way Papa was walking. It was that same dear little staccato(6) walk, one shoulder down, then the other, then repeat, and repeat. They watched his progress. He passed the Kennedys’, he passed the vacant(7) lot, he passed Mrs. Blakemore’s. They wanted to hurl themselves over the fence, into the street, and shake the truth out of his collar. He opened his gate — the gate — and still his stride and face told them nothing.
“Hello,” he said.
[20] Mama got up and followed him through the front door. The girls knew better than to go in too.
Presently Mama’s head emerged. Her eyes were lamps turned on.
“It’s all right,” she exclaimed. “He got it. It’s all over. Everything is all right.”
The door slammed shut. Mama’s footsteps hurried away.
“I think,” said Helen, rocking rapidly, “I think I’ll give a party. I haven’t given a party since I was 11. I’d like some of my friends to just casually see that we’re homeowners.”
Footnotes:
1. French for “planter”
2. Obstinate (adjective) stubbornly refusing to change
3. Emphatic (adjective) attracting special attention
4. A type of quick-growing tree
5. An orange to orange-yellow
6. Short, quick, and separate
7. Vacant (adjective) not filled, used, or lived in
Question:
PART A: Which of the following BEST describes Maud Martha’s point of view about possibly losing their home?
(1 point)
Responses
Maud Martha can’t help but think about everything that they’ll lose.
Maud Martha can’t help but think about everything that they’ll lose.
Maud Martha is convinced that they will never find something that compares.
Maud Martha is convinced that they will never find something that compares.
Maud Martha is solely concerned about the effect that it will have on their father.
Maud Martha is solely concerned about the effect that it will have on their father.
Maud Martha is somewhat embarrassed by the current state of their home.
9 answers
PART A: Which of the following BEST describes Maud Martha’s point of view about possibly losing their home?
a. Maud Martha can’t help but think about everything that they’ll lose.
b. Maud Martha is convinced that they will never find something that compares.
c. Maud Martha is somewhat embarrassed by the current state of their home.
d. Maud Martha is solely concerned about the effect that it will have on their father.
Based on your answer from Part A, answer this question.
PART B: Which quote BEST supports the answer from PART A?
(1 point)
Responses
“Yes,” Maud Martha cracked in, “that’s what you always say — that God knows best.” (Paragraph 15)
“Yes,” Maud Martha cracked in, “that’s what you always say — that God knows best.” (Paragraph 15)
“She merely gazed at a little hopping robin in the tree, her tree, and tried to keep the fronts of her eyes dry.” (Paragraph 5)
“She merely gazed at a little hopping robin in the tree, her tree, and tried to keep the fronts of her eyes dry.” (Paragraph 5)
“‘I think I’ll give a party. I haven’t given a party since I was 11. I’d like some of my friends to just casually see that we’re homeowners.’” (Paragraph 24)
“‘I think I’ll give a party. I haven’t given a party since I was 11. I’d like some of my friends to just casually see that we’re homeowners.’” (Paragraph 24)
“‘It’s just going to kill Papa!’ burst out Maud Martha. ‘He loves this house! He lives for this house!’” (Paragraph 10)
(1 point)
Responses
They watched his progress. He passed the Kennedys’, he passed the vacant lot, he passed Mrs. Blakemore’s. (Paragraph 18)
They watched his progress. He passed the Kennedys’, he passed the vacant lot, he passed Mrs. Blakemore’s. (Paragraph 18)
“They’re much prettier than this old house,” said Helen. (Paragraph 4)
“They’re much prettier than this old house,” said Helen. (Paragraph 4)
“The rain would drum with as sweet a dullness nowhere but here.” (Paragraph 9)
“The rain would drum with as sweet a dullness nowhere but here.” (Paragraph 9)
“Papa was to have gone that noon, during his lunch hour, to the office of the Home Owners’ Loan.”(Paragraph 2)
(1 point)
Responses
Growth can only come from change.
Growth can only come from change.
Families who are honest with each other have better relationships.
Families who are honest with each other have better relationships.
A home can bring families a sense of peace and safety.
A home can bring families a sense of peace and safety.
The stress of waiting for bad news can be worse than the bad news itself.
Imagine how the story would be different if it were told from the point of view of the character, Papa. Using the information from the passage, rewrite the ending of the story starting from when Papa walks home (Paragraph 17). Make sure that you provide dialogue from the characters (Papa, Mama, Maud Martha, or Helen), and use sensory details and language to capture the action of the story. Stay true to the author’s voice and style. You should have a minimum of 300 words. Be mindful of conventions, so that they do not interfere with meaning.
(16 points)
(8th grade writing)
Upon reaching the gate, Papa's hand trembled slightly as he reached for the latch. The creak of the gate opening seemed to echo in the stillness of the air. As he stepped onto the porch, he was met with the anxious gazes of Mama, Maud Martha, and Helen who waited inside.
Mama's eyes flickered with hope and fear as she watched Papa's every movement. "Well, love," she said tentatively, "did you...?” Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the question that held their future in its balance.
Papa took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves as he looked at his family gathered before him. "It's... it's all sorted," he managed to say, his voice tinged with relief. "We're not going anywhere. The house is ours."
Mama's face broke into a wide smile as she rushed forward to embrace him. Maud Martha and Helen let out cries of joy, their eyes shining with tears of relief. The tension that had filled the room dissipated, replaced by a sense of overwhelming gratitude and happiness.
As the family celebrated their good fortune, the late afternoon light filtered through the window, casting a warm glow over the room. The snake plant in the jardinière seemed to sway gently in approval, and the poplar tree stood tall and proud outside, as if sharing in their joy.
In that moment, surrounded by the comfort of their home and the love of his family, Papa knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, they would face them together. And as the evening settled in, their laughter and chatter filled the house, a testament to the enduring strength of their bond and the safety found in the walls of their home.