Loretta, despite her alcoholism and subservience to Iggy, a gang boss, is sympathetic towards Max because of his low station in life. At first, she is only concerned with keeping herself safe first from Iggy's anger and then from Kenny Kane, Max's father, who is violent and bad-tempered. When Loretta discovers that Kenny is keeping Max tied up, she tries to help him escape:
"Keeping your own kid tied up, it ain't right. He ain't the man I thought I remembered, that's for sure."
Loretta thought that she remembered Kenny being a better man, but is shocked out of her obedience by this cruel act. She still has some humanity, despite the abuse she suffers from Iggy and Kenny, and so she tries to redeem herself in a small way by helping Max. Her actions are selfless and she almost dies for standing up to Kenny.
"The Black Ball" is a collection of stories by Ralph Ellison. In this collection, Ellison describes the problems and tribulations that African American people experienced in the years after World War II. The collection discusses many important topics, including segregation, racism, the divisions that existed between Americans of different races, etc.
Literary works of this kind were extremely important in the period after World War II. After the war, African Americans began to fight for equality and representation in a more systematic way. Their contributions during the war years exemplified the importance of their role in society and the need for equality. These works became significant because they illustrated how unique African American experiences were. They became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement that would take place in the 1950s and 1960s.
In the story, "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin, Barton the pilot wanted to save Marilyn, the 18 year old girl who was considered an EDS stowaway. He most likely will not succeed because the mission he was carrying out would fail and ultimately kill a lot of people. The girl wanted to meet her brother and talk to him. The story shows events with restriction wherein a hero defies the restriction and tries to save the girl in the process, despite the negative feedback from the government pertaining a law to throw the girl off the ship. In the end, the girl accepted her fate, and after talking with her brother, she was ejected off the ship.
