In the New York Times’ online article written by Jacqueline Woodson, “The Pain of the Watermelon”, Woodson publicly hanged a so-called friend, Daniel Handler. Woodson starts the article by describing her childhood experience with watermelons, in addition to learning about what the watermelon meant to the history of African-American slavery. The climax of Woodson’s frustration is expressed when she describes an incident between her and Handler during the National Book Award. Immediately after giving her acceptance speech, Handler said “‘Jackie’s allergic to watermelon . . . Just let that sink in your mind’” (2). This was a critical moment to Woodson because her mission as a writer was to “change the face of literature and erase stereotypes. Forever” (2). In Handler’s defense, Woodson only mentions to her readers one conversation between her and Handler where she describes a dinner, “last summer, at his home in Cape Cod, he served watermelon soup and I let him know I was allergic to the fruit” (2). However, throughout the article, she gives a deeper insight as she describes her allergy as a “deep revulsion that came from the psychological…show more content… Therefore, the ceremony if filled with people from all over the world, with different backgrounds, and various forms of historical context; in regards to African-American stereotypes. Woodson chose to exclude this information to her readers because it has an effect on the reader’s reasoning for sympathizing and even empathizing for her. The same way she chose to exclude the context of what was said before and after the conversation at Handler’s house in Cape Cod. This information plays a role in the reader’s emotions and overall opinion of Handler. Woodson is aware of this and uses it to her advantage. Psychologically, she justifies the reasoning for exposing Handler’s
