Week 16 Analysis: Close Reading of "Recitatif"

For my close reading this week, I chose the paragraph on page 1176 beginning with "I think it was the day before Maggie fell" (1176). The time that Twyla and Roberta have both been at the shelter provides an insightful reflection of their emotional well-beings later in the story. Twyla informs us readers that their mothers were coming to visit them on the Sunday. She goes on to mention that her and Roberta had been at the shelter "twenty-eight days" (1176). She further clarifies that Roberta had been there "twenty-eight and a half days" (1176). This was a very small detail to include, but it goes to show how young and childish both characters are at this point in the story. It gave me the impression that they must have previously spoken to each other about how long they've both been there. Being the children they are, they probably argued over this the same way kids compare ages to see who's older before it inevitably comes down to one being older than the other by something as minuscule as a week, as if that makes a significant difference in their maturity. But this issue, unlike unnoticeable differences in age, is actually something worth noticing. Twyla and Roberta are lonely and scared children as they explicitly state later in the story on page 1187. Neither of them like being at the shelter separated from their respective mothers. This subject of how long they've been stuck at the shelter most likely served as a way for the two of them to bond and find someone to relate to. They're both scared little girls who want to be back with their mothers. Even if they're both filled with such negative feelings as a result of being stuck in the shelter, they're both still very joyed to be united with their mothers on the rest of page 1176 because their mothers help them feel more secure and less afraid.


Morrison, Toni. "Recitatif." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1172-1187

Reading Notes W16: Kenzaburo, Part B

"The Clever Rain Tree" - Kenzaburo

• The narrator stands beneath the eaves of the porch of a large New England-style building (1117)
• Agatha says the tree is a particularly clever rain tree (1117)
• Kenzaburo compares this writing to contemporary Japanese novels (1117)
• He was attending a seminar sponsored by the University of Hawaii's East-West Center on the issue of "Reappraisal of Cultural Exchange and Traditions" (1117)
• He could hardly pay attention the American poet since they became friends (1118)
• He's hard of hearing (1118)
• "I imagine the leaders of the movement still think of me as a spy" (1118)
• The young American was distraught over the rumor of him being a spy. He ended up being put in a private institution for the psychologically disturbed. (1118)
• The tree Krishna was under was most likely a bo tree (1119-1120)
• Agatha shares a portrait of herself called "A Girl on Horseback" (1121)
• "Yes, this is me... before the truly, frightful, unhappy things began to occur" (1121)
• The only people drinking beer at the party were the seminar participants (1123)
• The attacker's argument began with "you are a passionate lover of boys and young men" (1124)
• The poet enjoyed the debate (1124)
• The architect delivered a lecture about the special features of the facility of the mentally ill (1124)
• "The naked, wounded soul in America today is not even guaranteed a private dwelling place" (1124)
• His workshop is in the basement garage of the building (1124)
• "I am launching an architectural movement to place young people everywhere in 'positions' on stairways of ascent" (1125)
• The wheelchair was just a device to manipulate his external appearance. The narrator seems to think that because of how the architect positioned himself on the wheelchair (1125)
• The beatnik poet stayed silent (1127)
• The Jewish Indian poet commented on the stench (1127)
• The architect positioned himself on the wheelchair in a way that made him appear to be double his normal size (1127)
• The narrator can still picture Agatha, but he doesn't think he'll ever know what kind of tree her clever rain tree was (1128)

Kenzaburo, Oe. "The Clever Rain Tree." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1115-1128

Reading Notes W16: Morrison & Soyinka, Part A

"Recitatif" - Toni Morrison

• Toni Morrison is female (1172)
• Narrator is named "Twyla" (1173)
• Twyla's mother danced all night whereas Roberta's mother was sick (1174)
• Mary is Twyla's mother (1174)
• Big Bozo = Mrs. Itkin (1174)
• "Just like nobody every said St. Bonaventure." Did I just find a typo on the first page? (1174)
• St. Bonny's (St. Bonaventure's) is a fictional orphanage outside New York City (1174)
• They were going to watch "The Wizard of Oz" (1174)
• Twyla and Roberta were 8 years old at the time and constantly got F's (1174)
• Twyla could never remember what she read or what the teacher said (1174)
• Roberta couldn't read and wouldn't listen to the teacher (1174)
• Twyla and Roberta didn't like each other initially (1174)
• They weren't "real" orphans because they didn't have "beautiful dead parents in the sky" but were just "dumped" (1174)
• Maggie couldn't talk and Twyla felt like she walked in a funny way (1175)
• Roberta tells Twyla that Maggie can cry, but no sound comes out (1175)
• They try calling her by shouting "Dummy" and "Bow legs" but Maggie never responds (1175)
• They had F's in gym class. I don't know how they even managed that. (1176)
• Twyla and Roberta had been at the shelter for 28 days before their mothers decided to come visit them (1176)
• Twyla is left-handed (1176)
• Mary embarrassed Twyla but Twyla couldn't stay mad because she wanted to stay hugging Mary forever (1176)
• Twyla described Roberta's mother as being big (1177)
• Mary tried to shake Roberta's mother's hand but she just walked away. Mary shouts "That bitch!" (1177)
• Twyla has said "I could have killed her" twice now. (1176 & 1177)
• Roberta left in May (1177)
• They meet later when they're older. Twyla has a job now. Both of their mothers are okay. (1178-1179)
• Jimi Hendrix is an asshole, apparently. (1179)
• Bozo was fired (1182)
• Maggie was pushed down by some girls and they tore her clothes (1182)
• Roberta and Twyla speak again. Roberta seemed to be protesting. "It's about our kids" (1183)
• Twyla and Roberta argue. "Maybe I am different now, Twyla. But you're not" (1184)
• Roberta didn't acknowledge Twyla's presence later. (1185)
• They meet again on Christmas Eve and Roberta says she made up her mind that she had to tell Twyla something if they ever met again (1186 & 1187)
• Roberta tells Twyla that they never kicked Maggie. They wanted to, but didn't. (1187)
• They were both lonely, scared eight year olds. (1187)
• Twyla's mom never stopped dancing. Roberta's mom never got well. (1187)
• "Oh shit, Twyla. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell happened to Maggie?" (1187)

"Death and the King's Horseman" - Wole Soyinka

• "Olohun-iyo" means "Sweet voice" which is a nickname for the praise-singer (1052)
• "The hands of women also weaken the unwary" (1052)
• "Elesin's riddles are not merely the nut in the kernel that breaks human teeth; he also buries the kernel in hot embers and dares a man's fingers to draw it out" (1053)
• "Etutu" was a rite of propitiation and it often involved a sacrifice (1054)
• "Not-I" became the name of the restless bird (1055)
• "Esu" is the god of luck (1056)
• Iyaloja and the praise-singer sing with the women (1058)
• "The world I know is good," said Elesin (1058)
• The praise-singer questions Elesin for denying his reputation (1059)
• Oya is a Yoruba goddess said to live in the River Niger (1060)
• "I dare not understand you yet Elesin" said Iyaloja (1061)
• "I dare not refuse" said Iyaloja (1061)
• This became repetitive very fast. Feels like Bartleby all over again with his "prefer not to"
• Pilkings, Jane, and Joseph discuss what will happen (1065)
• The chief (Elesin) "will not kill anybody and no one will kill him. He will simply die" (1065)
• Joseph says Elesin must die to accompany the king, who died last month, to heaven (1066)
• Pilkings doesn't to miss the ball (1068)
• The praise-singer insists to Elesin that their dog will track Elesin down should he get lost (1076)
• Elesin falls into a trance (1076)
• Elesin, handcuffed, collapses at Olunde's feet and says "Oh son, don't let th sight of your father turn you blind!" (1088)
• Olunde replies, "I have no father, eater of left-overs" (1088)
• Elesin tells Pilkings that he destroyed his life (1089)
• Elesin strangles himself with the loop of the chain (1097)
• 
  

Morrison, Toni. "Recitatif." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1172-1187

Soyinka, Wole. "Death and the King's Horseman." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1049-1098

Week 15 Analysis: Literary Analysis of "Girl"

For this week's literary analysis I decided to write about "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid. One literary devices I felt was worth paying attention to when reading "Girl" were diction. Throughout this very short piece of writing, Jamaica Kincaid lists all of the duties that are to be learned by a young girl. However, Kincaid does so in a way that feels like more of an insulting lecture than a lesson being taught. One of the things the narrator says to the girl is "on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming" (1145). Looking at the choice of diction used by Kincaid, we can see that the speaker is assuming that the girl is going to become a slut rather than simply telling her not to become one by specifying that she is "so bent on becoming" a slut (1145). I thought this was very significant because it completely changed the way that I read this story. The entire entry became less of "here's what you should do as a girl" and more of an accusation. Skipping through other chores that the girl is being taught how to do, like sewing, there's another point where Kincaid wrote "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" (1146). Again, with the exact same choice of diction, there is this heavy implication that the girl is already aiming to become a slut. This idea blows up even further when the speaker says "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 against you becoming" (1146). She says this is so they won't "recognize immediately the slut I have warned against you becoming" which at this point illustrates a shift in the way the speaker views the girl (1146). If the girl--at least in the eyes of the speaker--wasn't already a slut, then no one should be able to "recognize" her as a slut. They could suspect or think she might be a slut, but they can't recognize her as a slut unless she was already a slut. The girl is a slut in the eyes of the speaker and now the effort is no longer to teach her not to be a slut but rather how to hide the fact that she's a slut. The theme present throughout "Girl" is the oppression of women. I feel like it makes even more sense that this is the theme when we look at the bio about Jamaica Kincaid provided in our anthology. She "changed her name" because it "allowed her to evade her family, who opposed her writing" (1144). Her parents might have raised her in a such a way to convince her that she is a girl and nothing more. Maybe they opposed her writing because it wasn't part of the list of things that she was taught to do as a girl. Women, in the eyes of the parent in "Girl," shouldn't be doing anything other than their womanly duties and trying not to become a slut. Having dreams like seeking to become a writer isn't part of that picture. As far as I can tell from reading this story, women are oppressed even by their mothers and Jamaica Kincaid wanted to write something that would criticize this so that women who read "Girl" might see how unfair they are treated just for being women. She must have hoped that women would pursue their dreams just as she pursued hers.


Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1144-1146

Reading Notes W15: Kincaid & Marquez, Part B

"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid

• I recognized this as something I read in my English 100 class from the beginning of the first sentence
• The story is told as one really long sentence.
• "Wash the white clothes on Monday" and "was the color clothes on Tuesday" (1145)
• The story is Kincaid's unusual way of portraying all of the pressure she was under growing up as a girl. There were a lot of expectations and things she was supposed to know how to do. As a girl, there are household chores and she's expected to know how to do them before of the fact that she's a girl.
• "on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming" (1145)
• "you mustn't speak to wharf-rat boys" (1145)
• "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" (1146)
• "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" (1146)
• "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?" (1146)
• There's a large focus throughout this short reading on girls not becoming "sluts." While I can see this as the parents just trying to set their daughter on the right path, it's written in a way that reveals it as more of an assumption than a worry. It's not "don't become a slut" it's "the slut you are so bent on becoming" (1146). The parent is assuming their daughter is going to become a slut which I think shows little trust between the two of them and it comes off as being very condescending.

"Death Constant Beyond Love" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• Senator Onesimo found the love of his life six months before his death (988)
• He was married to a German woman and had five kids. (988)
• He was told that he would be dead by next Christmas (988)
• Nelson Farina didn't greet the senator (989)
• Nelson Farina had begged for Senator Onesimo Sanchez's help in getting a false identity card since the senator's first electoral campaign (990)
• The senator refused (990)
• A woman asked him for a donkey and the senator said "All right, you'll get your donkey" (990)
• He got her a donkey and made other smaller gestures like giving a spoonful of medicine to a sick man (990)
• Nelson Farina dressed his daughter up in her best clothes and sent her to the senator (991)
• The senator stood in the doorway of the meeting room and saw Laura when the vestibule was empty. She told him her father sent her. He thought she was beautiful and told her to come in. (991)
• "Thousands of bank notes were floating in the air, flapping like the butterfly. But the senator turned off the fan and the bills were left without air and alighted on the objects in the room" (992)
• "You see, even shit can fly" (992)
• The senator told Laura that she's just a child. She responded that she turns nineteen in April (992)
• "She was naked under her dress" (992)
• Laura was wearing a chastity belt (992)
• Her dad had the key (993)
• Her dad wanted Laura to tell the senator to send one of his people to get it and a written promise than he'd straighten out the situation" (993)
• Laura's heard that the senator is "worse than the rest because you're different" (993)
• The senator said for Laura to tell her "son of a bitch of a father that I'll straighten out his situation" (993)
• He told her to forget about the key and wanted her to sleep with him for a while because "it's good to be with someone when you're so alone" (993)

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 1144-1146

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. "Death Constant Beyond Love." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 986-992

Week 14 Project Action Plan: Du Tenth Deserves Some Respect

I've decided to use the following project prompt to write my project:
 From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions: 

• What is the author’s attitude towards her? (how can you tell?)
• What is your attitude towards her? 
• How do (at least 2) other characters view her? 
• How does she view herself? 

I'll be writing about Du Tenth from "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." I think I'll address the question "how do other characters view her" and mention the ways that several characters view her and how their views change, if at all, throughout the story. I'll also be sure to share my attitude towards her in my project. I believe Du Tenth is genuinely a good person even if her profession causes people to doubt how sincere of a person she is. She's misunderstood and was betrayed by Jia Li in the story because he let every doubt possible overwhelm his mind instead of trusting her. Dialogue as a literary device will be a major contribution to my project since it will demonstrate how various characters think of Du Tenth. Point of view will also help because the story is told from Jia Li's point of view as opposed to Du Tenth's. If a reader doubts the integrity of their relationship, it's because of how the story is told from his point of view instead of hers. He talks to a lot of other characters who all warn him about her reputation and who she is and we get to see how he processes all of this information to reach his conclusions. We also get more background knowledge about Jia Li which explains why he's worried about being with her and his fears of his father's disapproval. If the story was told from Du Tenth's point of view, there would be zero doubts whatsoever as to how faithful she is to Jia Li. But I'm not going to mention or elaborate on what-if's for this project. I took very useful reading notes for this story which will help jog my memory and remind me of several moments in the story that would be great to mention in this project.

• Du Tenth lost her virginity when she was 13. She was 19 at the present time. (500)
• Tenth's madam viewed her relationship with Li as her being monopolized. Other heirs and lords couldn't have her now. Li was running out of money by spending so much on Du Tenth. His father found out that he was "passing time whoring in the pleasure district" and called him back home. (501)
• The more financial hardship Du Tenth saw Li in, the warmer she grew toward him (501).
• The madam is furious that Li has no more money to spend. Du Tenth mentioned how much he's spent but it didn't manner how much he had spent since he can't spend anymore. She called Du Tenth a slut and said she's been having to pay for the "upkeep of this bum of yours." The madam told Du Tenth to have him buy her out so she can be replaced with a new girl. The madam says Li has 3 days to get 300 in cash or the deals off. Du Tenth got the madam to agree on 10 days instead of 3. Du Tenth has doubts of the madam sticking to her word, but the madam says she's too old to be telling lies. (502)
• Liu put together 150 taels within two days and gave it to Li, not for Li's sake, but because he was moved by the sincere feeling of Du Tenth (505)
• Du Tenth asked about their settlement plans. Li said they can't go to his father since he'll be outraged that Li married a prostitute. (507)
• Sun Fu planted seeds of doubt in Li, saying that Du Tenth might be using Li just to meet up with another lover. Li was at a loss for words and asked what advice Sun Fu would give. (511)
• Sun Fu proposed that he would give Li 1000 taels if he were to "act decisively when opportunity presents itself." (512)
• Li was terrified of his father and told Sun Fu he needed to talk with Du Tenth. "I cannot in justice cut her off all at once" (513)
• Du Tenth told Li she didn't intend for their oath to be broken. She said there's no less than ten thousand taels in the box. She intended for Li to be able to use it all to return to his parents without shame. (515)
• She couldn't believe that he lost faith in her off of some groundless claims and betrayed her heart. (516)
• She wanted everyone to witness that she didn't betray him; he betrayed her (516).

These specific notes will allow me to go back and collect quotes, with context as needed, and address the questions relating to this prompt. My working thesis is: "Du Tenth is a mistreated prostitute who has done nothing that would reasonably suggest that she wouldn't remain faithful throughout her marriage."

Feng Menglong. "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." The Norton Anthology World Literature,

edited by Martin Puchner, third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton, 2012, pp. 497-517.

Week 14 Analysis: Close Reading of "Notes of a Native Son"

For my close reading this week, I picked the paragraph at the top of page 739 of "Notes of a Native Son" that begins with "his illness was beyond all hope" (739). This paragraph does a great job at demonstrating the disconnect between Baldwin and his father. Anytime Baldwin ever mentioned at any point in the story that he hated his father or felt they hardly knew each other, we can trace it back to this paragraph. When speaking of his father's illness, Baldwin says it was "beyond all hope of healing before anyone realized that he was ill" (739). From what's obviously apparent by Baldwin saying "before anyone realized that he was ill," we can see that it took a long time before his family found out he was ill (739). But, the use of the phrase "beyond all hope" when referring to when the family found out gives us a greater picture as to how long this has gone unnoticed. He's been ill for many years without anyone finding out, and it has reached the point where it's become too late for any doctor to assist him. Baldwin continues, "his long silences which were punctuated by moans and hallelujahs and snatches of old songs while he sat at the living-room window never seemed odd to us" (739). Reading over this the first time, I didn't notice exactly what this meant. Doing a close reading just now has helped me understand exactly what this means. To say that his "long silences" were "punctuated" by "moans and hallelujahs" indicates that his father's illness prevented him from being able to remain silent for long periods of time (739). Every time he sat still or tried to relax, his pain would cause him to moan. He would occasionally spout out a hallelujah most likely because it would make it seem like he's okay and that way his family didn't think they would need to worry about him. This is also evident from how Baldwin said it "never seemed odd to us" (739). Baldwin's father was hiding the fact that anything was wrong with for a long time. Most likely, he wanted his illness to sneakily kill him before his family could realize he was ill. If Baldwin's father could try to keep something this important a secret, it's no surprise that Baldwin claims him and his father never spoke much. His father wanted nothing more than to keep to himself. "It was clear from the beginning that there was no hope for him" (739).


Baldwin, James. "Notes of a Native Son." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 739