The Life to Live

This is my college thesis I'm writing. My two concentrations are African and African-American Studies and English, so the thesis has to incorporate elements from both of my disciplines. The novel itself is the English aspect of it, and the story is the African-American portion of it. Jada is my way of exploring many issues within African-American life I have studied/lived--community, interracial relations, individual v. public perception, responsibility, etc. I set the story in the South because those issues are more salient and that is where "traditional" black life is. I also chose a woman because often in academic literature, etc, the perspectives are inundated by men; also, the discourse of interracial relationships have much focus, nowadays, on black men/white women. Jada is a mix of me, my mother, and some of Janie from Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Comments are greatly appreciated.