The inspiration for this writing challenge where I post every day is quite simple; I have recently become unemployed. I quit my job under unusual circumstances and have found myself with about five months to fill before medical school. So while this is day 3 of my writing challenge, this is also importantly day 3 of me not having to work. All this to say, I have been spending quite some time in the local library, rediscovering my love of reading.
Little Fires Everywhere tells the story of two families: the Richardsons and the Warrens. The Richardsons are a generationally wealthy family living in Shaker Heights, Ohio who agree to rent out their second home to mother-daughter duo, Mia and Pearl Warren. The Richardsons also have four children of their own, one in each grade of high school, who are each kind and obnoxious in their way. The children’s fascinating interactions are the basis of the story. Oh, and someone started a fire. While nothing surprises you about the book’s plot, the way the story is told is completely refreshing. Ng creates some of the best characterization and characters that I have ever read.
I am writing this commentary 5 minutes after I finished reading this masterful novel because I have so many thoughts about it. First of all, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize this, but this book is set in the 90s when women were blamed for the bad decisions of men and racial issues could not possibly still exist because people “no longer see color” (as stated by one of the main white characters when speaking about her black boyfriend). The 90s want to be better than previous decades but are not at all sure exactly how to go about doing that. This leads me to my real question after finishing this book:
How much do intentions matter?
SPOILERS AHEAD
Every character has, in their eyes, good intentions. But, some are more capable of accomplishing their goals productively. For instance, Izzie is an activist without the means or audience to make any real change leading her to act out. Mrs. Richardson genuinely wants the best for her children resulting in her micromanaging their lives. Bebe had good intentions in giving up her kid at the fire station, but the result meant that the poor child had to go through a very traumatizing event at a young age.
However, one could also argue that good actions are the result of bad intentions. Moody is nice to Pearl only because he wants to date her. Lexie wants to feel important and superior leading to her donating and buying clothes for Pearl. Mrs. Richardson wants people to think of her as kind and giving so she hires Mia to work in her house and subsidizes her rent.
All this to say, how much does intent matter? Should we only judge an action based on its results? I could talk about this book from many different angles from many different themes ( I did not even talk much about the casual, systemic racist behavior seen in the town), but what interests me most is the overall grey picture this book creates. We have yet to create a post-race, post-sex, post-difference society, so we must continuously be aware of how our actions impact others. Does good intent negate potential harmful results? Are good results cheapened by a selfish motivation?
