Reading with Patrick

Consider Kuo’s observations about the Helena jail and Patrick’s reports about “trusties.” What conclusions can you draw about the American penal system? How does the treatment of inmates in these facilities counter the argument that they are correctional, particularly when compared to correctional facilities in other nations, such as those in Scandinavian countries?

Kuo starts her memoir not by talking about Patrick Browning, but about her own experience as an Asian American growing up in the Midwest. Why is this narrative arc significant, and how does it connect her to Patrick’s experiences in the Delta?

When thinking about Patrick’s sentencing for manslaughter, Kuo struggles between blaming a racist system for creating the conditions in which Marcus Williamson’s murder occurred and for holding Patrick accountable for his actions. Choose a particular argument and write an essay on how Patrick’s circumstances were predetermined by his environment or an essay that argues in favor of his free will. Use evidence from the text to support your selected argument.

How is Kuo’s memoir related to other books and films that describe teachers entering neglected communities and instructing troubled students? In many of these stories, the teachers tend to be White. Aside from the protagonist here being Asian, in what other ways does Kuo’s memoir differ from what are now termed “White savior” stories?

Consider Kuo’s memories of her colleagues at Stars, as well as Patrick’s comments about the Helena Police. What statement does the memoir make about authority. How does Kuo’s relationship with Patrick both reinforce and undermine conventional approaches to authority?

Why do you think that the other instructors at Stars, all of whom were African American, were harsher on the students? Do you think that their attitudes were justified? Why or why not?

Select one of the other students at Stars who is not Patrick or Aaron (e.g., Kayla, Brandon, Miles, etc.) and write a story in which you imagine their domestic lives and the circumstances of their current lives. 

Patrick is one of few students at Stars who comes from a nuclear family and, it seems, maintains his own after he has his daughter. Do you think that the maintenance of the traditional nuclear family is key to moral uprightness? Why or why not?