Being led by Kidder

A Moral Place is written by Tracy Kidder. I'm unsure of the author's gender so I will refer to Kidder as "him".

The piece is colored significantly by Kidder's disposition. On page 101, "In spite of the nightly masquerades and all the luxuries for sale. Northampton was a moral place." The hint of sarcasm sets the reader up for the rest of the reading. Kidder does do a good job entwining history, quotes, and town lore. He does a great job of describing the appearance of the town. The use of the story of the salesman finding the Colonel in a leather apron with an anvil and Major Hawley in an old ratty chair is picturesque. He colors the town further with Timothy Dwight's observation that the "rich hadn't settled into exclusive neighborhoods." The town is painted as one that is bordering middle/high class, parading as an average town. Appearances and uniformity are vivid tones in Kidder's narrative thus far.

When we get to the underlying theme of this piece we are already set somewhat negatively toward the traditionalist members of town. Kidder's opinion gets louder and louder toward the end. We know that the writer has a lot of apathy for the gay/lesbian residents of Northampton. He glosses over the traditionalist's service in a few sentences. The others are described in great detail. He portrays their strength, beauty, and forgiving natures.

The piece loses all credibility because of the author's inability to separate his own feelings from his topic.

I see both the good and the bad in my town. I live here because its where my family is. I don't think that I could do a fair job of writing about it. My opinions would be hard to with hold and I am very opinionated regarding some stuff. In that respect I'm very glad that Melissa has us exploring communities that we aren't a part of.