deep response: examining our reading “girl” by jamaica...

EXAMINING OUR READING 1

Deep Response: Examining Our Reading

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

Kaye Bishop

Eastern Connecticut State University

EXAMINING OUR READING

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Abstract

This paper is in response to an assignment, asking me to closely examine a poem and to make

my “implicit act of reading explicit.” My process for dissecting and understanding a poem, with

the goal of true comprehension, transpires over four stages. The first stage occurs pre-reading,

where I use the facts I know to hypothesize what the poem may be about. The next three stages

consist of reading, re-reading, and again, re-reading the poem, each time stepping back and

focusing on a larger component.

Keywords: pre-reading, reading comprehension, poetry

I look at an unfamiliar poem with the same apprehension that I do a pile of dirt laundry; with

a family of six, the pile is as endless as a toddler’s energy. Poetry intimidates me, I often feel

defeated even before I start. Like when tackling the pile of dirty clothes, I easily find myself lost

and discouraged when reading a poem. This is why, for this assignment, I have selected to

evaluate my reading comprehension process using a prose poem. What better way to empathize

with the angst my students will feel when meeting Chaucer for the first time?

I tackle reading comprehension like I do that bottomless pile of laundry. I collect all of the

dirty misplaced garments from bedroom floors, put them in a pile, look at each article, place it in

another pile of similar items (whites, colors, delicates), wash, dry, fold, and return them to their

proper homes in closets. Similarly, when reading a poem, I need to collect all of the things that

do not seem to fit, process them, and then organize them so that I can understand the bigger

picture.


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Broken into smaller pieces, my process looks like this:

Do you remember Magic Eye stereograms, where you hold a distorted image up to your nose

and slowly pull the image away from your face until you see the picture hidden inside? I use a

similar approach when reading a poem, by reading the poem three times and stepping back a

little further each time through. First, I do a close reading, focusing on words and phrases. This

read takes the longest because I look at each word and question it, pausing frequently to identify

things I do not understand, and mark areas that jump out as important. To keep track of my

progress I use a marking system where I circle words I do not know, underline what seems

important, put question marks where I get confused, and jot down any questions I have in the

margins. During my first reading of “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (the prose poem I have selected

for this assignment), I learn the ways I behave when confused. For example, I day dream, find

myself re-reading the same section over and over again, am unable to visualize what is

happening, or question who is talking.

Before I begin the next step, I prepare by doing research. I look up definitions to my circled

words and try to find answers to any of the questions that the internet might have the power to

answer. For example, in “Girl” I note repeat references to cooking salt fish as well as guidance

on how to handle the hot sun. I pair these observations with the author’s name “Jamaica”, which

prompts me to question if the poem takes place on an island. Through some digging, I learn that

Kincaid was in fact born in Antigua and her writing is typically set there. This information, along

with an image I find of Antigua in the 1970’s gives me a mental picture to place the poem

within, preparing me for my next read through.


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In this second read, I take a step back and focus on sentences and stanzas to look for patterns

and relationships. My questioning concerns larger features, such as: what is the tone? Does it

shift? Where is this taking place? Who is talking? Does the author use symbolism, alliteration,

metaphor, or other literary devices? And why does she? What is the structure? Is it

chronological, cause and effect, or compare and contrast? But ultimately the goal here is to see

how the answers to these things relate to each other. What do they reveal together? In “Girl” I

note that the poem is a collection of commands within a single sentence, that divide into three

classifications: warnings, criticism, and domestic guidance. I then recognize a pattern, that while

the poem primarily comprises of a mother’s guidance, these chunks are held together with the

shame of criticism.

Finally, I read through one more time. My goal is to do this read without stopping, in an

effort to get a feel for the poem as a whole. After which, I sit and reflect on how the poem makes

me feel. I think about the themes there may be and what they say about life. I consider how I can

relate to the poem, or why I do not relate to the poem. I recognize now, that it is in this final

reflection that I begin to care about the poem. Thinking about how I identify with the writing and

what the writing means within society matters to me.

At this point with “Girl”, I feel I have a decent handle on the poem. But as I create my visual

presentation I make a deeper connection. It is not surprising that a visual aid helps enhance my

comprehension, as I am a visual learner and have spent the last decade as a graphic designer and

watercolor artist. What does surprise me is that my “ah-ha!” moment comes not while I am

looking at the visual aid, but instead while I am planning different ways to present my previous

findings. I find myself looking at my pile of notes and the drawings I have developed to

represent elements of the poem and repeatedly fail in my attempt to manipulate these pieces into


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a cohesive story board. Until the pieces that I have been thinking of individually, began to relate

to each other. From my deep reading I know that the poem is about a mother’s advice to her

young, poor, Antiguan daughter. But it is in the process of bringing my sketches into a unified

piece that I realize it is not the mother speaking, but rather the daughter’s thoughts, set on repeat,

from her childhood of listening to her mother’s criticism, domestic preparation, and warnings of

temptations. My story board now has the elements of the poem come out of the mother’s mouth

and create a thought bubble over the girl to represent this new understanding of where the words

derive.

From this last step, I learn that the peak of comprehension is when we understand how and

why the pieces fit together. This experience has helped me to understand that there are levels of

comprehension and that we reach a higher level when we are afforded the freedom to explore a

text using our own strengths. I will apply this realization when I am teaching by offering the

framework for initial comprehension, because the repetition of using go-to strategies creates a

level of comfort fostering the confidence to even begin reading. I believe it will be important to

lead my students through this process many times before they too can find comfort. Most

importantly, after a basic understanding is reached, I will ask students to utilize their talents to

take their understanding a step further.


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Process Outline

1) Pre-read I read and examine the title, author’s name, and date of publication.

• What clues does the title give about the story? “Girl” • most likely about a female • the girl is young, as girl is used for females before becoming an adult • singular implies it is about a specific girl • the lack of an article before “Girl” makes it feel more personal

• What clues does the author’s name give about the story?

Jamaica Kincaid • Jamaica is a Caribbean name • Most likely female • I think Kincaid is Scottish? I am unsure. • Could she be Caribbean but married to a Scottish person? Or one parent was Scottish

but the other was Caribbean?

• What do I know about the date the story was published? 1978 • 3 years before I was born. Before cell phones and the collective electronic driven

society. I imagine what society looked like then.

2) Close Read I read the story through paying close attention to words or phrases that I struggle with.

• What don’t I understand? • Circle words or phrases that I need to look up

(1) Stone heap (2) benna (3) Okra (4) Dasheen

• Underline the repeat phrases – is there a pattern here? Why? • Write down questions I have while reading, and mark text with a ? • Draw/doodle images to remember or understand the information • Religious symbols? White and bread. Note these open and close the poem.

3) Step Back Re-Read

Focus on sentences and stanzas. Look for patterns and relationships. • What is the tone? Does it shift? Aggressive, critical, motherly • Who is speaking?

(1) A mother to her daughter


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(2) Or a daughter replaying what she hears - I think this one • What point of view is the story told in?

(1) Second person, brief shifts to first person (daughter speaking, which is why I think the daughter is playing this out in her mind),

• Structure – One long sentence, ends with a question mark – why? (1) Not chronological or cause/effect. Not a traditional structure. Criticisms seem to

bind together guidance. However, even the guidance is suppressive (2) Repeat phrases: This is how… Don’t…

• What are clues about the setting of the story? (1) Salt fish – island, Caribbean? (2) Dasheen, where does this grow? (3) Church (4) Poverty

(a) Make your own medicine (b) Make ends meet

• Repeated reference to insects (ants and flies), why? Is the daughter seen as a pest? • Gender issues

(1) “you are not a boy” (2) All the guidance is how to take care of a man and a house (3) The repeat references to the girl becoming a slut

4) Big Picture Read Step back even further and look at the poem as a whole • Theme- Coming of age, parent/child tension, gender suppression • Relate- I have children, pay attention to how I speak. Is it possible the girl inferred the

slut part from the mother’s focus on purity, or did she really say it? • Opinion- This poem does make me want to take action, like I said above. To be more

self-aware as a parent.

READING COMPREHENSION

strategies

1: Pre Read Look for clues in the title, author's name,

and date of publication

2: Close Read Focus on words and phrases.What do you not understand?

CONFUSION

You start to day dream You keep re-reading thesame word/phrase You can't visualize whatis happening You don't know themeaning of a word You don't know who istalking

3: Step Back & Re-Read

Focus on sentences and paragraphs. Look for patterns and relationships.

Tone

What is the tone? Does it shift?

LOOK UP what you do not know

Setting

Where is thishappening? When?

Characters

Who are thesepeople?

Structure

How is the textorganized?

Literary Devices

Do you see: Symbolism?Alliteration? Metaphors?

Connect

Look for connectionsbetween these items

REFLECT: free think and visualize

Point of View

What perspective is thetext told from?

4: Big Picture Read Step back even further, take the text in as a whole

Themes

What does this text sayabout life?

Relate

How does this text relateto me and my life?

Opinion

What does the text makeyou feel? Or do?

KAYE B I S H O P

B Y

Underline

Circle

where you are confused

words you do not know

important words/phrases

Question ?

TOOL KIT

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The NewYorker, June 26, 1978 Issue

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; don’t walk bare-head 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

doesn’t have gum in it, because that way it won’t hold up well after a wash; soak salt fish

overnight before you cook it; is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?; always eat

your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach; on Sundays try to

walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in

Sunday school; you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions; don’t

eat fruits on the street—flies will follow you; but I don’t 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

buttonhole 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 father’s khaki shirt so that it

doesn’t have a crease; this is how you iron your father’s khaki pants so that they don’t

have a crease; this is how you grow okra—far from the house, because okra tree harbors

red ants; when you are growing dasheen, 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 don’t like too much; this is how you smile to someone you don’t like at all;

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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 don’t know you very well,

and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against

becoming; be sure to wash every day, even if it is with your own spit; don’t squat down

to play marbles—you are not a boy, you know; don’t pick people’s flowers—you might

catch something; don’t 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 doukona; this is how to

make pepper pot; 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 don’t like, and that way something bad won’t

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 doesn’t work there are other ways, and if they don’t work don’t 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 doesn’t fall on you; this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze

bread to make sure it’s fresh; but what if the baker won’t 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

won’t let near the bread? ♦


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References

Kincaid, J. (2017, June 19). Girl. Retrieved January 26, 2018, from

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/06/26/girl

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