“I don’t think I changed the quality of their lives
significantly or altered the inexorable fact that they were imprisoned by the
very circumstance of their birth.”
This is a statement Mr. Conroy made at the very end of the
chapter, which is the very end of the book. I chose this sentence because just
in these few words it shows how Mr. Conroy felt about his whole experience with
the children on Yamacraw. He does not think he made a big difference in their
lives because they are in a living position that they could not help. They were
born into a life that was bound for no success because of who they were and how
their local society was. It is really said to think about knowing that these
children are a victim of circumstances that they can not help. In this sentence
Mr. Conroy says he does not feel like he changed the quality of their lives.
This is true in a way but his job was not to change their living conditions or
economic factors. It was to teach them and that he did. These children in my
opinion learned more from Mr. Conroy within his one year teaching them than
they had in their entire schooling. I believe he was feeling this way because
after all this push and fight against Mr. Piedmont and the Board he still did
not get the Yamacraw people any help. He did teach the children though and helped
the people in more ways than he knew.
This final chapter is Mr. Conroy reflecting back on his
experiences the past year on the island. He explains that Mr. Piedmont and Mr.
Bennington were not bad people like he thought after all. They were just two
men that were stuck in a changing society that they were not used to and did
not know how to cope with. He talks about Mrs. Brown and how he hopes she is will
be happy for the rest of her life. It is sad that society has made her feel
like she should not be proud of who she is and treat her own people so badly. Overall,
Mr. Conroy enjoyed his year on Yamacraw
Island
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