A Mother in Mannville By: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

In the compelling short story, A Mother in Mannville, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the plot involves a young boy, Jerry, who develops a close relationship with the narrator. The narrator finds out that Jerry who acted honest and trustworthy told her a lie about having a mother in Mannville. This short story with its surprise ending is a boy’s coming of age genre meaning it is about a boy learning to live in an adult world.
Throughout this short story, there is the theme of integrity and honesty. Remembering my trip to Cross Creek, Florida helped me visualize the narrator, Marjorie working at home with her typewriter. The rich use of adjectives about North Carolina and the orphanage helped me visualize where Jerry lived. I have never lived in an orphanage like Jerry did, but I can understand why he wanted to please Marjorie and why he was afraid of her knowing he didn’t have a mother. To me, Jerry lied because he was afraid the person he liked would leave him like his mother did. The irony is that by lying he lost his integrity which is what the narrator admired in him.
The message the author was trying to share with the readers is that being honest with yourself and others is not always easy especially, when you are afraid it will spoil a relationship. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is best known as the author of The Yearling which is about another boy and his relationships. What I liked best about the story was the twist at the end. I really did not expect the narrator to be fooled by Jerry. So in conclusion, I feel this book is for anyone who likes reading stories about real life people and enjoys a twist at the end. I also recommend this story because it is one that will leave you thinking for a long time after you have read it.