Caught By Surprise
In Tara Westovers memoir Educated she does an exceptional job at making the small moments so vivid it’s like we are in the book right there with her. The book this far was so well written there are many moments I as the reader feel like I lived in the vivid moments with her.
One of these moments that I really enjoyed reading was in chapter four “Apache Women” on page 36. This moment in this chapter made me feel like I lived through the car accident with the Westovers. This chapter started out explaining how no one remembers the car leaving the road. The Westovers were going on a trip. Tara’s brother Tyler was driving the family early in the morning. He fell asleep behind the wheel of the Westovers family vehicle. Tara explained where exactly the accident occurs. She stated that the station wagon crossed the center lane about twenty miles from Bucks Peak. Then Tara goes on to describe how the car collided with two power poles and stops when the station wagon hits the row-crop tractor.
After the first paragraph Tara goes on to explain why the family was traveling at six in the morning to begin with. She explained that her mother had planned the trip. The idea began with Taras dad in high spirits and tapping his feet to show tunes and oftentimes pointing to the mountains. Tara’s mom then had the idea to take the family on a trip to the mountains. A little bit of time passed by before her mom announced the trip to the family. Tara described her dad lighting up like a sunflower once finding out about the trip. The Westovers drove the car twelve hours before they ended up at the Westovers grandparents house. Tara explains the trip and the events that took place while visiting with her grandparents. Then keeps me as the reader wondering what else happens in the wreck and if anyone in the car gets hurt.
Westover goes back to the car accident and explains the details of the accident after keeping the reader questioning for half of the chapter. She explained that she had been asleep in the back floorboard of the car with her sisters feet over her head. During the accident her sister fell on top of her in the car and she was unable to answer when everyone was asking if she was okay because her face was crammed underneath the seat of the car. When she got up she was able to look around and she could see her brother was twisted almost climbing into the back seat. She noticed that her brother had blood coming from his mouth running down his shirt. She also noticed that her sister’s nose was bleeding. After checking everyone out for herself she could hear her dad asking if everyone was okay. He informed the family that they needed to be careful and not to get out of the car because there were power lines across the car. Tara was listening to her dad ask if her mother was okay but he did not get a response. Then Tara realized how bad the accident really was. She described how the windshield looked like those she had seen in the junkyard. Her dad asked if he should call an ambulance. At this time we still do not know the extent of the injuries for Tara’s mom. This is a way that Tara keeps the suspense building making the reader crave more information.
Tara ends the chapter by explaining that they made it home and she doesn’t know how. She explained that her mother was laying on the sofa and complaining that the light was hurting her eyes so she must be alright. She also describes her brother feeling guilty for the accident. Tara’s mother also has no memory of the accident. Tara begins to explain in her later years why she titled the chapter the apache women and all the decisions that go into making life.
Works Cited
Westover, Tara. Educated. Random, 2018.
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