Hull uses detail to full effect but also embeds comments in her narrative that advance her larger point. Notice this phrase in the lead paragraph of this third installment: Amy’s school supplies are “all the gear needed for a well-planned ascent”—the ascent of the child of ambitious immigrant parents. And so with a small phrase, we begin to know where we’re headed; we’ve got the inklings of a theme.
Read “Rim of the New World: Weight of a Family’s Hopes,” by Anne Hull