A Good Neighborhood

“We need to keep at least seven trees for every human on the planet, or else people are going to start suffocating.”

Valerie’s love for trees serves to develop her character as well as to advance the plot. While other issues, such as racism and sexism, are the primary focus, the author stresses the role trees play in the health of the environment. By including this specific fact, she intends to inspire people to protect trees.

“We won’t pretend that no one paid attention to this contrast. Of course we did. Mostly we felt it gave them an exotic appeal, a kind of celebrity status in a neighborhood that had come to think of itself as progressive yet was not doing much to demonstrate that character.”

The residents of Oak Knoll think of themselves as progressive, but they display racism in their opinion of Valerie and Tom’s interracial marriage. They see them as a visible symbol of their progressive beliefs, but by thinking of them in this way, they are objectifying and commodifying the couple. This is an example of implicit racism.

“There were a lot more folks nowadays who tried not to differentiate their treatment of other based on skin color, yes. Then there were the ones—mostly older white folks—who scowled at him or avoided him or watched him, hawklike, when he was in a store, as if he was going to stuff his pockets or pull a gun.”

While describing Xavier’s experience in his town, the author addresses the concept that fewer people display explicit racism, but she also notes that racism is still prevalent. By using the word “tried,” she also targets implicit racism. Although many might not feel overt racism, they hold underlying racist biases.

“It’s about how foie gras is made. How they force-feed the birds in order to create a fatty liver. They put tubes down their throats. It’s pretty awful.”

With this line, the author achieves multiple purposes. Valerie’s remark advances Julia’s characterization. Julia had been ignorant of the cruelty involved in producing foie gras, and she is appalled but knows that Brad will not stop eating it. It targets individuals for choosing luxury over empathy and compassion. By including this fact, the author sends an indirect call to action to her readers by inspiring them to avoid foie gras because it is unethical.

“Oh, so now if I’m not a caricature of a thug, then I’m not Black.”

Xavier’s friend Dashawn says that Xavier is white because Xavier has interests and goals that are not stereotypically “Black.” Although Dashawn is not serious when he says this, he is highlighting a symptom of racism in society where Black individuals are judged based on whether or not they conform to Black stereotypes.

“It was a sweet kiss. Might even have been her first, he thought. The idea pleased him—more, probably, than it should have.”

Xavier is characterized as progressive, but he holds implicit sexist biases. He is excited by the idea that Juniper has never kissed anyone. He does not want to determine Juniper’s worth by her sexual history, but he automatically does. By incorporating this into the story, the author shows that everyone is impacted by implicit biases. It is how people respond to these biases that arise that matters.

“Also, Julia believed wholeheartedly that even with its drawbacks, marriage combined with full-time motherhood was a far better existence than having to juggle work and child care along with marriage to a man who was never going to see parenting and housework as equally his job. She’d told Juniper she honestly did not know one working woman (or any woman) whose husband was a true partner in that area.”

The author highlights another real-world social issue with Julia’s comments on gender roles. Although many wives in cisgender marriages are equal financial partners, they often take on more than 50% of the housework and parenting duties. By incorporating the language "true partner," the author implies that many husbands make a strong effort to contribute significantly to the household but that they often fall short.

“What was the point of all the progress toward equal rights if a guy like him—i.e., not white—had to keep agitating rather than live in the results.”

Xavier was raised with the belief that his race would not hold him back in life. Although he knows that is not true, Xavier does not want to be a political activist. He wants to live a normal life without having to fight for rights or respect. The point of activism is to secure a peaceful existence, but society is not yet offering Black individuals peace.

“And yes, a lifetime of bad situations that also were not necessarily her fault, like never having sunscreen when she was working in the tobacco fields as a kid, so her skin was not leathery and spotted. Like being too poor to eat right or have time to exercise, so her body was now an uneven composition of squishy lumps.”

Lottie is described as ugly, and although she has contributed to her looks and her state of health by poor decisions, many of her unappealing traits were caused by factors outside of her control. She has lived in poverty her entire life, meaning she had to work in unsafe conditions as a child, and she has not had the luxury of caring for her body. Lottie’s character displays some of the many consequences of poverty.

“Brad thought Julia should try loosening up, not only with Juniper but with him. That’d go a long way toward helping to keep his mind where it ought to be.”

Brad, in part, blames Julia for his attraction toward Juniper. His feelings reflect the theme of Traditional Versus Progressive Gender Roles, as he holds the traditional view that his wife is obligated to satiate his sexual desires. He believes his wife is failing at her role, and he uses that belief to excuse his perversion.

“The kiss had been in January—more than five months ago. When it first happened, she’d known that she wouldn’t tell anyone.”

Juniper does not tell anyone about Brad’s assault for many reasons, which reflects the real world where survivors of assault and rape do not always report the incident. Survivors of sexual assault are often subjected to intense scrutiny. Juniper is worried that she will be blamed for the event, as she has been raised in an environment that blames assault survivors for supposedly seducing or provoking their attackers.

“She wants to take that money and get herself some upgrades. Shiny Cadillac. Big TV. Diamond earrings. Go on a cruise…She wants what all you ladies wish you could get without working for it yourselves.”

Brad displays explicit sexism when he tells Julia that Valerie wants to take advantage of him and take his money so she can afford material luxuries. He is biased against women—including Julia—and he assumes they are all materialistic and lazy. This line characterizes Brad as someone who judges and objectifies women and does not respect them.

“Valerie understood that while her son did and always would hold her heart in his hands, the fact of being a parent was that her son’s heart was and must be reserved for someone else.”

Valerie does not like that Xavier is sneaking around with Juniper, but she also knows that Xavier needs the freedom to choose his own partners. Valerie’s perspective contrasts with Julia, who feels that Juniper is too young and vulnerable to make decisions for herself.

“Here’s what we wonder: How does a man like Brad become a man like Brad—that is, so assured of his authority and viewpoint that he never bothers to interrogate himself? Maybe it’s a question for the ages.”

By questioning how Brad and others like him came to be, the author suggests such individuals are, at least in part, created by their environment. This further suggests that by altering society and culture, fewer people will develop into authoritarian individuals who do not question their own behavior.

“Whatever had gone on here, one thing was sure: His little fantasy of being her first was ruined. […] That boy took something that should have been his, and the boy’s mother was trying to rob him, too, and for that they were going to pay.”

The author uses dramatic irony in Brad’s revenge scheme. Brad has a sexual attraction to his stepdaughter, and he is responsible for killing Valerie’s beloved oak tree. He experiences privilege as a result of his gender, race, social status, and wealth. He holds all of the power, yet he victimizes himself, purely because he cannot get what he wants.

“If he called the cops and the cops came out, what would they find? They’d find Brad Whitman, Whitman HVAC, local celebrity, wealthy white man, angered protector of his virginal stepdaughter.”

Xavier assumes that, if he were to call the police, they would put the blame onto him. Brad is well-known and well-liked, and given the systematic racism in the US justice system, which he later experiences firsthand, he is likely correct. However, it is impossible to determine whether calling the police would have worked out in Xavier’s favor.

“When Juniper thought about it later, this was what felt like a violation.”

Juniper is physically and emotionally violated when she is coerced into completing a rape examination. Her reaction to the examination serves two purposes: Firstly, it supports the idea that the sex between her and Xavier was consensual. Secondly, it serves as an example as to why, in the real world, rape and sexual assault often go unreported.

“If you are a Black person in the United States, you live each day with the knowledge that this scene or one very much like it may be in your future. You needn’t have done anything illegal or have broken any rule.”

The author intends to reflect the fears that many Black individuals feel in the real world. Due to prevalent and persisting racism, Black people are often targeted by suspicious law enforcement individuals or other citizens. This line also calls back to earlier in the novel, when the narrators discuss Valerie’s fear that Xavier’s focus and intensity will get him into trouble with the legal system someday.

“She wasn’t thinking about how easily Brad had engineered the situation; it was so much easier to demonize the Black boy.”

Julia’s reaction symbolizes society’s larger reaction to the story Brad manufactured. She automatically believes Brad because he is a charming white man who is a prominent member of the community. Xavier is judged guilty because he is a young Black man, and many individuals hold prejudice against Black men, so they do not question the story.

“The criminal justice system is designed for efficiency (of a kind), not comfort. When being booked you are officially presumed innocent and yet at the same time treated as though you’re the mass murderer the cops have been after for months.”

By depicting Xavier’s in-processing, the author criticizes the justice system for its hypocrisy and its cruelty. Although presumed innocent by law, all inmates are subjected to harsh and invasive treatment.

“If you put yourself in front of a jury, you’ve got twelve strangers who’ll be literally sitting in judgement of you while the prosecution busts their ass to show how to that white girl that knife equaled a threat of death unless she cooperated with you.”

Harrington believes that any jury presiding over Xavier’s case would likely decide that Xavier is guilty of rape. He wants the best outcome for Xavier, and he knows that the knife is likely to be interpreted as a symbol of malicious intent. Further, he believes that the jury will likely view Juniper as a victim because she is a young white girl, while Xavier will be automatically judged guilty because he is Black and male.

“Black musicians always had a few girls on a string at any given time, the same way Black athletes did—everybody knew that. Maybe it was a cultural thing. He’d envied those guys so much back when he couldn’t get a girl to look at him twice.”

Brad’s racism stems, in part, from jealously and insecurity. He has consistently compared himself to Black men, whom he sees as “slick” and desirable. He hates and resents Black men who are charming and attractive, including Xavier, because he perceives that they have “taken” women whom he feels he is entitled to.

“And can we undo all the news stories, too? And the neighbors avoiding me or looking at me like I’m dirt, or being afraid of me? Can we stop rednecks from trying to kill me?”

After going to jail and losing his ability to play guitar after the attack, Xavier lost all hope of having a reasonable future. Even his neighbors who know him think that he is guilty, let alone the wider population of the state and country. He is innocent, but he believes many in society will judge him as guilty and hate him simply because he is Black.