Reading with Patrick

Reading with Patrick is identified as a memoir, but it incorporates the characteristics of other genres. How else could the book be identified? How does it relate to other books (e.g., W.E.B. DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk) that incorporate facets of various genres to discuss a social concern?

Consider Kuo’s observations about the Helena jail and Patrick’s reports about “trusties.” What conclusions can you draw about the American penal system? How does the treatment of inmates in these facilities counter the argument that they are correctional, particularly when compared to correctional facilities in other nations, such as those in Scandinavian countries?

Kuo starts her memoir not by talking about Patrick Browning, but about her own experience as an Asian American growing up in the Midwest. Why is this narrative arc significant, and how does it connect her to Patrick’s experiences in the Delta?