Reading Response for Danzy Senna’s “Admission”

            I was captured from the beginning. The opening line, “the letter was unexpected”, held a lot of weight. I asked myself, what letter and from whom? Or to whom? It’s the kind of line that a person should use to hook in a reader. From then on, I stayed hooked. I appreciated how easy it was to follow along. We move naturally from the letter to dialogue between Cassie and Duncan and then to when the two went to the Institute for the first time. The instances of flashback or background info didn’t feel out of place because Senna maintains homeostasis throughout.

            An example of this is on page three when someone from Cassie’s playgroup says “I head Will and Jada got wait-listed,” immediately followed by “The Institute for Early Childhood Development.” I knew the subject was going to focus on the school by that statement, yet Senna didn’t simply go on a rant about the school. She eases us into it through the circumstances that led to Duncan and Cassie eventually visiting the Institute. Another thing that made this story more accessible and easier to empathize with was the modern euphemisms and pop culture references. I’m known to read novels from way back when and a lot of things go right over my head. One line that stuck out to me was “You have to be Google-worthy.” Senna name drops celebrities I recognize to help illustrate how prestigious the school is, but this hit the mark. Being internet famous is all the rage so I completely understood how elite the families attending would be.

            The piece felt real, raw, and believable. I admire the topic being discussed, especially considering I go to Chapman. The whole private versus public school dilemma comes across many parents and can affect critical parts of your life. What I appreciate even more is that Senna takes this dilemma and goes through the emotions of it in the perspective of a mother from a poor background. If that kind of thin doesn’t spark sympathy and emotion, I don’t know what does. The line “neither  father not son saw her where she stood in the shadows” (15) perfectly encompasses Cassie’s dilemma. Her thoughts are being pushed aside while she tries to keep the best in mind for her family. Even if this is somewhat like a slice of life piece, the oddity of the woman Penny begging Cassie to come to the Institute really spices things up. I honestly didn’t know or completely understand her begging, but maybe someone else does and will mention it in class? I found it creepy to say the least.

            Something I love and tend to do in my writing is repeating specific images. Cassie fixates on the girl who’s hair burnt off. She brings it up in the beginning and then later on when she is holding Cody. She notes the outcome of that experience with Tasha as being when she told “her first lie, or the first she’d been conscious of telling, anyway” (32). Lying and flashbacks to school are recurring themes that aren’t overt enough for the casual reader to notice. Cassie brings up lying to others often, which I liked because the whole time she is fighting back her wishes to send Cody to the Institute and lying to herself. She recalls the details of her childhood and the kids she knew, but also some of Duncan’s experiences in school. She makes the comment that it seems “fresh” in his mind, keeping it fresh in my mind as well. It helped me understand that a lot of why Cassie wants Cody to go to the Institute is so he doesn’t have to be nice to a Tasha or be bullied by his name.