Imitation Writing: CNF Writing Challenge
Introduction:
Here's a story in which the conventional use of plot, character development, point of view, dialogue, setting — you name it —fly out the window! The story has an especially innovative point of view because there are two voices, one belonging to a young girl, and the second belonging to an older woman, probably the girl’s mother. The form is different, too, because there are few dialogue quotes “ ” and it’s a short, short story also known as flash fiction or sudden fiction. YOUR GOALS ARE TO:
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Jamaica Kincaid |
Step #1 “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid:
Read the story below and answer the questions that follow it. Or LISTEN to Kincaid read the story to you. The text is included below because you will need to revisit it to answer questions in the next step.
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 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 doesn't have gum on 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 very much; this is how you smile to someone you don't 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 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?
(from Sudden Fiction International edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas.)
Book cover for Jamaica Kincaid's book about her real-life mother.Jamaica Kincaid is an American writer, although she was born in Antigua. When she was a teen, she got a job in the United States as an au pair (nanny). Instead of sending the money home to her parents, whose morals she disagreed with, she worked odd jobs to stay in New York City, all the while writing notes for stories. |
Step #2
Respond to the Story: 15 pts (a) The mother is the primary speaker and the daughter is the protagonist; the story is written in such a way that the reader responds along with daughter to the mother's comments, which take the form of a series of lessons. Explain what the lessons seem to be mostly about – if you had to group the commands into about 6 categories, what would you say the categories are? Explain. (b) Each series of commands ends with a follow-up question or negative statement in which the mother shows her disapproval toward her daughter. Explain how or why the mother is disapproving of her daughter. (c) What do you think is the point of these lessons? What do you think the mother is trying to teach her daughter or prepare her daughter for? Critics have said the mother’s voice is reflecting the demands of the larger society in which they both live. If that’s true, then what are the social expectations on the girl? (d) Critics say the daughter’s voice reflects someone who, feeling nagged and oppressed, responds by rebelling. She has her own sense of herself and resists the rules and way of life her mother is trying to instill in her. Support this idea with excerpts from the text, meaning, how would you prove that statement to be true? Explain. (e) This story is a great example of literature's ability to leap across cultural boundaries. Kincaid is from Antigua (in the Caribbean) and it seems the story is set there. But it transcends this setting, too; it's a timeless, universal story about the generation gap. Parents will always try desperately to pass their own values on to their children — their lifetime's worth of learning and wisdom — and children will also try desperately to discover their own values and gain their own wisdom. Write your response to this statement: do you agree? Disagree? Do you see it in the story? Do you feel the story is more about something else? Explain your ideas. |
Step #3 Creative Writing Prompt: 15 pts
This prompt is designed to help you write a short piece of creative nonfiction somewhat like “Girl,” using the same format as Kincaid. Begin by compiling a list of fifty or more comments, accusations, or words of advice that you’ve heard repeatedly, or that have become embedded in your mind for some other reason. Try to remember these comments word for word, but if this is impossible, improvise to the best of your ability. Use the prompts below to help you generate your list.
- things people have said to you beginning with the phrase, “This is how you…”
- advice that employers, teachers, or coaches have given you.
- accusations that employers, teachers or coaches have addressed to you.
- advice that your parents have given you about the opposite sex, about being successful, about getting along in the world.
- advice that your friends have given you about the opposite sex, being successful, or getting along in the world.
- advice that your grandparents or some other older person have given you about the opposite sex, being successful, or getting along in the world.
- things those closest to you often say when they are angry with you.
- things those in authority over you have told you. (Think of police, counselors, traffic court judges, doctors, etc.)
- what your grandparents often say to you.
- something people say to you that you strongly disagree with.
- things a boyfriend or girlfriend told you that caused you a lot of pain.
- things a boyfriend or girlfriend told you that caused you good feelings.
Step #4 Write the Story: 30 pts
Kincaid herself left Antigua (in the Caribbean) at age 17 at least partly to escape her mother, and that makes the story “Girl” seem especially biographical, though of course it is still fiction. Follow these pointers as you begin to put together your own story...a piece of creative nonfiction:
(a) After you have compiled your list of fifty items, organize these into a “story” of some kind, imitating
Kincaid’s style if it seems appropriate for your needs.
(b) Although “Girl” involves only two voices, your writing may involve many voices, so you may find that
using a different form (multiple paragraphs, quotes, etc.) or different tone works better for you.
(c) You should develop at least one page, single spaced.
(d) Also, write a title.
(e) Remember, it is NONFICTION, and this format makes it CREATIVE NONFICTION. You must be
willing to stand by the truth of the story, though you are not required to read aloud in class. Good
Luck!
Extra Credit:
Access these two links to collect information about Jamaica Kincaid, her experience growing up in the Caribbean culture, and any details that support the information in the story “Girl”. You must collect 7-10 relevant facts to earn extra credit.
Biography and Major Themes
Life Events
Kincaid on her book The Autobiography of my Mother
Biography and Major Themes
Life Events
Kincaid on her book The Autobiography of my Mother
Image Credits :
school girl on the bench http://news.washcoll.edu/press_releases/2009/04/01_jamaicakincaid02.jpg
Jamaica Kincaid in straw hat http://3.bp.blogspot.com/
Kincaid's book cover http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/shrt98.htm
Jamaica Kincaid http://djd-elks.blogspot.com/2009/01/jamaica-kancaid-girl-by-cornelia-and.html
Map of Antigua and Barbuda www.expedia.com
Typewriter http://horstmann.com/sjsu/mscs-orientation/#(1)
PART OF THE INTRODUCTION AND THE INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICA KINCAID IN STEP 4 IS FROM STACY TARTAR ESCHE'S WEBSITE: http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2005/girl-notes.html
QUESTIONS IN STEP 2 WERE ADAPTED FROM STACY TARTAR ESCHE'S WEBSITE: http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2005/girl-notes.html
Jamaica Kincaid in straw hat http://3.bp.blogspot.com/
Kincaid's book cover http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/shrt98.htm
Jamaica Kincaid http://djd-elks.blogspot.com/2009/01/jamaica-kancaid-girl-by-cornelia-and.html
Map of Antigua and Barbuda www.expedia.com
Typewriter http://horstmann.com/sjsu/mscs-orientation/#(1)
PART OF THE INTRODUCTION AND THE INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICA KINCAID IN STEP 4 IS FROM STACY TARTAR ESCHE'S WEBSITE: http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2005/girl-notes.html
QUESTIONS IN STEP 2 WERE ADAPTED FROM STACY TARTAR ESCHE'S WEBSITE: http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2005/girl-notes.html