44. Explain the purpose of the Dinitia stories.

The Dinitia stories illustrate the divide between blacks and whites that existed in Welch during Jeannette's time there, and the divide between Jeannette's beliefs and those of Erma and Uncle Stanley.

Jeannette started grade seven (high school) that fall, and found out Dinitia was pregnant. She tried to visit her, but Dinitia’s mother’s boyfriend, who Dinitia later stabbed to death, opened the door and refused to let Jeannette in. Jeannette herself wanted a guy to show interest in her, but knew that her buck teeth wasn’t one of her most attractive features so she made herself braces.