Conversation so far:
How does the story begin?
It reveals a tale, mostly in the form of brief dialog extracts by the narrator's family at dinnertime, on the day that a local boy.
What did the local boy do?
jumped to his death from a nearby bridge.
Why did he jump?
the suicide and other tragedies are contrasted against the banality of everyday routine and polite conversation.
Who are other characters in the song?
The song begins with the narrator, her brother and her father returning, after agricultural morning chores, to the family house for dinner (on June 3).
What did they do next?
After cautioning them about tracking in dirt, "Mama" says that she "got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge" that "Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge".

Question: How did the family react>?
Self-contained rewrite: How did the family react in Ode to Billie Joe?