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Bud, Not Buddy,
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Miriam Robarts
I wondered what she died from as well. He said she was sick for a week, then died quickly. It sounds like she had a serious illness & no medical care.
She must have been poor, since a black woman in the 1920s-1930s would have very limited opportunities, especially since we later learn that she left home when she was around 16 years old. So she wouldn't have been able to go to a doctor or get medicine. She probably worked long hard hours with no sick leave, and depending on how bad things were, she might not have had enough to eat.
She also may have been sick longer than a week. A single mother trying to care for her child would be likely to keep pressing on & just hope she'll get better. She probably would have hid how sick she was, since her son was only 6 years old. She would have wanted him to think everything was fine.
What else could she do? She could have tried to contact her father. We know she spent time looking sadly at the flyers. I think she missed him, but was afraid that he wouldn't forgive her for running away. And we learn that he's a hard person to live with, so she must have had mixed emotions about attempting reconciliation. Plus, by the time she realized how sick she was, she would not have been well enough to look for him, and it was just too late. :(
She must have been poor, since a black woman in the 1920s-1930s would have very limited opportunities, especially since we later learn that she left home when she was around 16 years old. So she wouldn't have been able to go to a doctor or get medicine. She probably worked long hard hours with no sick leave, and depending on how bad things were, she might not have had enough to eat.
She also may have been sick longer than a week. A single mother trying to care for her child would be likely to keep pressing on & just hope she'll get better. She probably would have hid how sick she was, since her son was only 6 years old. She would have wanted him to think everything was fine.
What else could she do? She could have tried to contact her father. We know she spent time looking sadly at the flyers. I think she missed him, but was afraid that he wouldn't forgive her for running away. And we learn that he's a hard person to live with, so she must have had mixed emotions about attempting reconciliation. Plus, by the time she realized how sick she was, she would not have been well enough to look for him, and it was just too late. :(
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