Fluent Essays

JOURNAL ONE Introduction | Context (Read first)At just 687 words long, “Girl” is a somewhat unconventional story. It is in the form of a dialogue, although a mostly one-sided one. There are no introductions to characters, no sequences of action, scene changes, flashbacks, or passages of description. Nevertheless, the story is able to conjure a memorable portrait of a childhood, a set of characters, an intense relationship, a way of life, a time and place, cultural flavor, and a complex social context.How?Very little is explicitly stated or explained in the story. Much more is left off the page than on it. But by paying close attention to the text, the critical reader begins to notice things, filling in blanks, raising questions, picking up on tone, meaningful details, patterns and references. This is a story that thrusts the reader abruptly into a fictional world, where s/he must draw conclusions, inferring (Links to an external site.)a great deal from what is declared, but not explained, what is left unsaid, and what is only implied or referred to indirectly. (For example, there are no boys or men in the story, but one could argue that their presence and their importance are keenly and constantly felt).With all that in mind,1) Carefully review the story2) Go over your annotation notes, and then3) Formulate your journal response to the following prompt:PROMPT:Consider this statement: The mother in the story is both a powerful and powerless character. Discuss.Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? Offer and discuss evidence from the story that supports your point of view. In addition, draw conclusions about what this character has to do with the storys THEME.To develop an analytical response to this prompt, you will have to consider the ways that information is conveyed in the story, both in obvious ways (ie., explicitly) and in ways that are less obvious; only implied, or hinted at off the page - i.e., implicitly?) TIP: Your task is to analyze and draw conclusions, not summarize plot.Journal Length:Approx. three paragraphsJournal Format:Adhere to all MLA format standards. If/when you quote the story, cite your quotation(s) properly with in-text parenthetical citations. For format guidelines and examples, consult the MLA links in the Student Support Guide.Required Text:Girl, by Jamaica Kincaid, (p. 355 of Literature) (Links to an external site.)and available for download and annotation here as a pdf file.Preview the document Note: When you cite the story in your Works Cited, refer to How to Cite a Class Handout in MLA (Links to an external site.). What is A level work?Excellent journals that earn full marks: Are on-topic, directly addressing the promptEngage with the text by referring to it in specific ways, such as offering supportive examples, paraphrases, observations, and where appropriate, direct quotes (cited correctly).Are written in complete sentences and coherently organized paragraphs. Are grammatically soundAre specific, never vague or generalReflect close, observant reading and annotationGo beyond obvious plot summary and description to comment on the story in an inferential way:Draw analytical conclusionsBe alert to what is implied, and suggested, not only by what is explicitly statedTry to consider the texts tone, mood, subject, theme, meaning _girl___by_jamaica_kincaid.pdf scan0003.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview “Girl” was Jamaica Kincaid’s first piece of published fiction. It appeared in The New Yorker June 26, 1978 and later, in her collection, At the Bottom of the River (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000). It may have been inspired at least partly by memories of the author’s birthplace, the Caribbean island of Antigua. Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; dont walk barehead in the hot sun; cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil; soak your little cloths right after you take them off; when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, be sure that it doesnt have gum on it, because that way it wont hold up well after a wash; soak salt fish overnight before you cook it; is it true that you sing benna1 in Sunday school?; always eat your food in such a way that it wont turn someone elses stomach; on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; dont sing benna in Sunday school; you mustnt speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions; don’t eat fruits on the street--flies will follow you; but I dont sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school; this is how to sew on a button; this is how to make a button-hole for the button you have just sewed on; this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming; this is how you iron your fathers khaki shirt so that it doesnt have a crease; this is how you iron your fathers khaki pants so that they dont have a crease; this is how you grow okra--far from the house, because okra tree harbors red ants; when you are growing dasheen,2 make sure it gets plenty of water or else it makes your throat itch when you are eating it; this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house; this is how you sweep a yard; this is how you smile to someone you dont like too much; this is how you smile to someone you dont like at all; this is how you smile to someone you like completely; this is how you set a table for tea; this is how you set a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest; this is how you set a table for lunch; this is how you set a table for breakfast; this is how to behave in the presence of men who dont know you very well, and this way they wont recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming; be sure to wash every day, even if it is with your own spit; dont squat down to play marbles; you are not a boy, you know; dont pick peoples flowers, you might catch something; dont throw stones at blackbirds, because it might not be a blackbird at all; this is how to make a bread pudding; this is how to make doukona3; this is how to make pepper pot4; this is how to make a good medicine for a cold; this is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child; this is how to catch a fish; this is how to throw back a fish you dont like, and that way something bad wont fall on you; this is how to bully a man; this is how a man bullies you; this is how to love a man; and if this doesnt work there are other ways, and if they dont work dont feel too bad about giving up; this is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it, and this is how to move quick so that it doesnt fall on you; this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure its fresh; but what if the baker wont let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker wont let near the bread? 1 Calypso Music A kind of potato 3 A spicy pudding made from plantains 4 A kind of stew 2 ... 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