Georgetown

Georgetown is the Washington, D.C., neighborhood where Joe Williams’s mother and younger sisters live. It anchors his return to family after his detention, but the visit offers little comfort: Joe struggles to explain what has happened to him and soon leaves to look for Janey.

Geographic Identity

During questioning, an elderly official asks Joe whether his family is in Georgetown and mistakes the place for Georgetown in British Guiana. Joe corrects him: his mother and sisters are in Georgetown, which is part of Washington, D.C. The exchange briefly exposes the official’s confusion about the city while establishing Georgetown as the location of Joe’s family home.

Joe’s Return to the Family Home

After arriving in Washington, Joe first hesitates to go to Georgetown. He waits instead for Janey near her workplace, then goes to see his family when he fails to find her. His mother and sisters discuss remodeling the house with the ten thousand dollars from his father’s insurance and ask him to visit the grave. Joe sees little point in going and leaves as soon as he can.

Narrative Significance

The family home brings Joe face to face with a life that has continued in his absence: his mother and sisters are making plans for the house, and they ask how he is getting on. He cannot find an answer that fits what he has experienced. Georgetown thus marks both a concrete return to family and the distance that remains between Joe and the home he has come back to; his next effort to reconnect is to find Janey.