Texas, 1961 by Mary Karr

Mary Karr’s “Texas, 1961” is a brilliant piece of writing that illustrates Karr’s troubled childhood. Karr is a great poet and essayist that knows very well how to get reader attention. Her language skills brilliantly illustrate two transitions of her childhood—before and after the arrival of her grandmother. After reading the story, I was emotionally touched by Karr’s family circumstance, but my emotion drifted away toward the end of the story due to the detail of grandma’s suffering. The action that was describe as “ring-tailed bitch” was the action of a caring grandmother.
Her use of language is marvelous. There were three aspects of her writing that she combines to empower the story. First was her description of people and family circumstance. Her descriptive words vividly bring the reader into the story. Second is the humor she bought to the story. Third is her persuasive organization. These three aspects are combined to give the story clarity and ...