Neal Brautigan's Childhood essay, "Backyards"

"The bees didn't do nothing to me, it's true. Actually I think they're pretty neat--buzzing around, stopping on a dime in midair in front of me, scanning my insides, wondering what I am."

I think sentences like this one ground this essay in childhood. There's a lot of heavy stuff going on here--bee cadavers for money, welcomed strangers dropping children, parents reacting violently--and this brings us back into that child mindset after reading all of that. It's that idea that we know it's maybe not so good to kill things--even bugs--but that it's grampa-sanctioned and at least fairly lucrative, so we do it anyway. There are sort of a lot ideas going on here--we've got the commentary on grandpa, on dad, on the stranger, on mom, on killing bees, on making money, on feeling out of place in class...it's a lot. I actually wonder how much the perfume section is needed, or how it really adds to the others. I understand how it ties in, but I think taking it out would add more emphasis on the bigger issues at work in the text.