First Family of Astoria

First Family of Astoria by Calvin Trillin is a story about town drama. The small town of Astoria is very involved in the rumors surrounding the biggest family living there the Flavels. The story starts off talking about the small town and how it is dying because there are no tourists and its out of the way. The Flavels own a large amount of the town because when Astonia used to be a port city the Flavels made a lot of money from shipping. The last generation of Flavels have been getting into some trouble however. The family is known for its sporadic and odd behavior so when Harry Flavel stabs a man it is of no surprise to the town. Court for the case has to be held out of the town because everyone is already so opinionated on the subject. He ends up fleeing justice and for more than 7 years he gets caught and tried and he sends out appeals. This story reminds me of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil which is also about a prominent member of society in a town that loves to gossip. Savannah much like Astonia lived off the drama and in that murder case the jury needed to be taken from out of town because of the extreme prejudice of the locals. This article has taught me that people love drama and interesting stories because it spices up their lives and if people want to make themselves look slightly crazy for attention then others will pay attention.

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