Cora Jerkins Analysis

This story is about Cora Jerkins, an African American woman who lived in a small village called Melton. Melton was a village full of white people, with only Cora and her family as outsiders, or African Americans. Cora was the eldest child in her family, so she had the most responsibility. By age eight, she was expected to provide the income for her family, and take care of her younger siblings. Which led to her dropping out of school, and giving up her life, just for her family. The Studevants treated Cora like an animal, and was their maid for everything. She was asked to cook, care for their children, clean their dirty clothes, make fires, and about anything else the Studevants could think of. Cora did not appreciate the way she was treated by the Studevants, but she had to accept it, because she needed the job in order to provide for her family. Since
For example, both Cora and Jessie were impregnated at a young age. Cora was impregnated by Joe, who was a white foreigner. While Jessie was impregnated by Willie, who was from a questionable white family. Both Joe and Willie were not there for Cora and Jessie when they found out they were pregnant, and were considered white ‘outsiders.’ Both Cora and Jessie’s family disapproved of the pregnancy, which led to dire consequences. The Studevants were an upper class white family in Melton, so they were held at higher expectations. Mrs. Studevant was a very interesting character because she was always worried about the way others perceived her, and was never actually worried about her actual children. She was always embarrassed by Jessie because of Jessie’s failures. Mrs. Studevant was so worried about being the perfect person that she did not look out for the interests of her children, which ultimately led to her daughter, Jessie’s death. Even until the end, Mrs. Studevant wanted to have face, rather than admit her