Read the following story, and then answer the question that follows.
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.”
Question:
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.
As Papa approached his house, he could see his family gathered on the porch, their faces clouded with worry. Mama, Maud Martha, and Helen were all rocking slowly in their chairs, and he could sense the tension in the air. His heart sank as he realized that he had not been able to secure an extension on their home loan.
He opened the gate and greeted his family with a forced smile. "Hello," he said quietly, trying to mask the fear he was feeling inside.
Mama stood up and followed him inside, leaving him alone with his daughters. Maud Martha looked up at him, her eyes filled with apprehension. "Did you...?" she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
Papa swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't get the extension. We... we have to leave."
Maud Martha's lower lip trembled, and she looked away, blinking back tears. Helen stood up abruptly, her fists clenched at her sides. "But this is our home!" she cried. "We can't just leave!"
Papa felt a lump form in his throat, the weight of their disappointment heavy on his shoulders. "I know, I know," he said, his voice cracking. "But we'll find somewhere else, I promise. We'll stick together, no matter what."
Just then, Mama emerged from the house, her eyes shining with relief. "It's all right," she announced. "He got it. It's all over. Everything is all right."
Papa felt a rush of gratitude and relief wash over him as he gathered his family in his arms. They stood there, holding each other tight, grateful for the miracle that had just occurred.
Make it into 300 words with extra detail and heavy Dialogue
As Papa approached his house, his steps felt heavier than ever before. The weight of impending news hung over his head like a storm cloud. He could see his family gathered on the porch, their faces etched with worry. Mama, Maud Martha, and Helen rocked slowly in their chairs, their eyes searching his face for answers.
Opening the gate, he felt the weight of their gazes like a physical force. "Hello," he managed to say, trying to sound composed despite the turmoil inside him.
Mama rose from her rocking chair and silently gestured for him to follow her inside. As they disappeared behind the front door, leaving him alone with his daughters, Papa felt a knot form in his chest.
Maud Martha's eyes were wide with fear as she looked up at him. "Did you...?" she began, her voice trailing off uncertainly.
Papa swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. "I'm so sorry," he breathed, the words heavy on his tongue. "I couldn't get the extension. We...we have to leave."
Maud Martha's eyes welled up with tears, her bottom lip quivering. Helen's fists clenched at her sides, her voice rising in desperation. "But this is our home!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking with emotion.
Papa felt a sharp pang of guilt shoot through him as he looked at his devastated daughters. "I know, I know," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "But we'll find somewhere else. We'll stick together, no matter what."
Just then, the front door burst open, and Mama emerged, her eyes alight with joy. "It's all right," she beamed. "He got it. It's all over. Everything is all right."
Relief flooded through Papa like a wave, and he gathered his family into his arms, his heart overflowing with gratitude for the miracle that had just unfolded before them.