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Harriet Tergat

Mrs. Correll

English

October 8th 2009

“Sweet Potato Pie” Reminds Me of My Own Life Experiences

“Sweet Potato Pie,” by Eugenia Collier, is about a young man named Buddy who turned

himself from nothing to something. He was the youngest out of five children. His parents were

sharecroppers so they didn’t see much of them. All the children went to school, but Buddy was

the first one to actually graduate. He was determined to break the chain of poverty in his

family. After reading this piece of writing it reminded me of my own life experiences, and how

students like me can achieve anything when we put our minds to it.

Before Buddy started school his father gave him an excellent piece of advice. His father

sat him on his knee and began talking,

“Well, boy,” Pa said at last, “if you got to depend on your looks for what you get out’n

this world, you just as well lay down right now.” His hand was rough from the plow, but

gentle as it touched my cheek. “Lucky for you, you got a mind. And that’s something

ain’t everybody got. You go to school, boy, get yourself some learning. Make something

out’n yourself. Ain’t nothing you can’t do if you got learning” (Collier 215).
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This moved me to tears because right before I started high school my father sat me down, and

told me something quite similar to what Buddy’s father told him.

Buddy finished high school at the top of his class. “For Mama and Pa and each of my

brothers and sisters, my success was a personal triumph” (Collier 215). Being the valedictorian

he had to give a speech, “My valedictory address was the usual idealistic, sentimental

nonsense” (Collier 215). Everyone from his family came for Buddy’s graduation, “All of them,

even Alberta down from Baltimore-different now, but united with them in her pride. And

Charley, on the end of the row, still protector of them all” (Collier 216). This shows how family

played a huge role in every one of their lives. They all worked hard to get Buddy to where he

was at that time. Just like how our parents have worked hard to get us to where we have

reached, and we should be grateful.

Buddy fought in a war for the GI Bill for three years, and he received a college

education. “One by one the changes came- the old house empty at last, the rest of us scattered;

for me, marriage, graduate school, kids, a professorship, and by now a thickening waistline and

thinning hair” (Collier 216). Reading about how Buddy’s family struggled to help him get to

school and make something out of himself, reminds me of my own family. My father has

several brothers and sisters; most of them are married and have children of their own.

Unfortunately, they are not doing too well financially. My parents have to go the extra mile in

order to educate my siblings and I, and my cousins too. Furthermore, we should take our

studies seriously, learning from Buddy’s father “Ain’t anything you can’t do if you got learning”

(Collier 215).
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I would strongly like to urge students alike to take education seriously. It may seem

tough and stressful right now, but it will pay in the long run. Education is the key to success; this

is how we get into good colleges, great jobs, and excellent lives. Thrive for the best.
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Works Cited

Collier, Eugenia. “Sweet Potato Pie.” Black World. n.p: n.p, 1972: 215-216.