Rick Bragg's stories portray feelings of emptiness, feeling unheard, and being disregarded. In "The Valley of Broken Hearts", he shows the struggle of going unnoticed in a small town. In "New Development Stirs Old Case", the characters constantly feel dismissed or ignored. In “French Quarter's Black Tapping Feet”, there is a sense of longing for recognition and validation. In the three stories, all the characters fall into having issues within themselves due to their circumstances. Throughout our lifetime, many of us encounter death either through friends, family, or loved ones. In the story “Valley of Broken Hearts’’ endless counts of miners die due to respiratory issues or cancer. This left multiple homes feeling empty and devastated. In …show more content…
Renfroe was imprisoned for years, causing him to miss out on things he loved doing like spending time at the church and working at the car dealership. This can make a person feel worthless. In “French Quarter’s Black Tapping Feet” Rose suffered a great loss of a parent. This makes her long for a strong and content family relationship. These characters relate to constantly feeling empty and devastated because of death. The second category that all the character issues relate to would be feeling unheard. In “The Valley of Broken Hearts” Mary Ann feels unheard and constantly overlooked by the doctors who don’t take her husband’s pain seriously. In “New Development Stirs Old Case”, the character Billy Wayne is ignored about his concerns about the unsolved murder going unnoticed. In “French Quarter’s Black Tapping Feet”, the dancers and musicians feel unheard of by society and often underappreciated. The musicians say “The box is important”. It needs to be big enough to catch the pocket change and wadded up $1 bills that the passerby throws at them with varying degrees of sobriety”(Briggs160). Dancers and musicians rely on tips to make ends meet. Being overlooked can greatly affect someone's situation or