Date of Award
3-21-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Rhetoric and Writing
First Advisor
George Jensen
Abstract
This thesis examines a local Little Rock community, anchored by its 99-year-old matriarch, Mary Stafford. Mary lives on her, and her lifestyle is dependent on a network of neighbors that help care and provide for her daily needs. This network exists because Mary has touched the lives of those around her so deeply, that now in her senior years, she has enough assistance to maintain an independent lifestyle in her home. With strong themes of sacrifice and motherhood, told through the narrator's own life experiences combined with Mary's, this project explores how a community impacts the lives of its members. Using interviews with several caregivers and Mary, this project advocates for social responsibility in caring for a community's elders, as well as its members. One woman's attitude has affected an entire neighborhood, which has learned that being a good community steward can reap surprising rewards.
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Sara, "Y'all Come See Me: Lessons Learned from the Life and Community of Mary Stafford" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 417.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/417
