Some Everyday Folk and Dawn

"Some Everyday Folk and Dawn" by Miles Franklin is a story from the early 1900s that tells of folks with everyday lives. We get to know Dawn Clay, a young woman with big dreams who wants more than her little town of Noonoon can offer. The book looks at what it was like for women back then, when they were just starting to get more rights, and how hard it was to balance what society expected with what they wanted for themselves. As the book begins, the narrator gets to Noonoon and starts meeting people, including Dawn and her grandmother, Mrs. Clay. The town comes alive through descriptions, and we see how everyone gets along and what problems they face. As the narrator thinks about staying at the boarding house, she becomes interested in Dawn, who everyone sees as both beautiful and someone to compete with. The story shows us a world of country living mixed with people reaching for their dreams, setting the stage for stories of love, goals, and community.