In Grace Paley’s “Traveling”, she is able to find community through a sense of common humanity. Despite that she has been taught by her surroundings to treat those different from her with disrespect, she finds ease and acceptance in understanding the plight of the young mother who is struggling with exhaustion. This is a feeling she understands and she has an instant empathy for this woman, instinctually, despite what those are her may be doing differently and communicating to her. Through this common sense of human struggle, she is able to find a sense of community and understanding even within a setting that may be unfamiliar to her.
