Tell Me a Riddle Lesson Plan

Discuss Jeannie's relationship with Whitey. How does it change over the course of the story?

As a young teen, Jeannie no longer seems as enthralled with Whitey as her younger sisters do. She seems embarrassed by his arrival, calling her friend Marilyn and switching their plans to finish their homework over at her house instead, "I'm certainly not going to take a chance and let her come over here." But, when Jeannie returns later that evening, she seems to have softened toward Whitey. She gently greets him in his traditional manner, "Hey Sailor, what ship?" and inquires if he will be able to come to her graduation in three weeks - though she does imply he will need to be...