There are
so many things that make June Jordan’s Soldier
an amazing book. Her control is amazing, the matter of fact way she express
details the intense juxtaposition between the mother and father, the small
sections of poetry, the one lines of intense revelations, just to name some of
the reasons. From start to finish Jordan has, and she doesn’t let us go.
One of my
favorite sections of the book was part three “Deep Sea Fishing and The Beach.” In
this section we get a good sense of how Jordan’s parents are different. The
form of the chapter is really interesting as well as Jordan goes back and forth
telling two stories at the same time.
In the
sections where she is deep sea fishing with her father, she is along for the
ride being told what to do, under his thumb, with the pressures of being a good
“son.” In the beach section, which seems to be one of few activities that they
do together as a family, she seems more free to do what she wants. She plays
with the sand. Her father tries to teach her another lesson when he throw her
into the water, but her mother steps in. It is one of the few times where he
mother’s wants are show. I think because this was her mother’s day.
Jordan also
shows in that sections that she fears her father and loves her mother. This is
seen by her reactions to the pending trips. To the fishing trip her waiting
consists of “I felt considerable dread about this upcoming expedition,” (82).
To the day at the beach she says, “And I’d be praying inside my head that it
wouldn’t rain, or something else bad, and ruin the day,” (87). The difference
in the anticipation of the events shows, in my opinion, how she feels about her
parents.
Very early
on in the memoir Jordan, subtly gives us a theme that plays out throughout the
book. In the first section Jordan ends a section by saying:
“My mother didn’t say much, but she never said,’All right.’
She was fighting.
They were fighting.
They were fighting with each other.
I had become the difference between them.” (16).
Here Jordan
could be foreshadowing the big conversation that happens later on in the memoir
when she asks her mother “why mommy why” almost as if she is asking, why does
it have to be this way.
Some of the most chilling lines in
this memoir come from the small sections of one liners throughout the work. To
me they sum up the emotions that are sometimes not displayed in the sections
because Jordan is telling us her truth in a matter of fact sort of way. One of
my favorites, because of where it is placed and also what it says comes towards
the end of the book, “I wasn’t too happy about maybe having to choose between
having brains and being pretty. I wasn’t too happy that maybe somebody else had
already made that choice for me,” (260). This section is really interesting
because when I read it I thought the person who made the decision for her was
her father. Who controlled her from a very young age. At that point I put the
book down and was like Damn.
Best,
CF
There's a lot on how the book made you feel and the moments in the narrative where emotions were exploded and ideas illustrated. This is good, but let's get more analysis on how she gets us to the moments and less about story. The development is engaging and important.
ReplyDeletee
Cynthia--I also was struck by the quote on pg260. Lines like this make it clear that although she's speaking from the agentless child's perspective she is still aware that she is being forced in to certain things. There is also a rush of action at times, being pushed on the subway, out of the house and to church, to museums without any decision making power in these activities even though she finds her interest within them. It is clear that the father is the driver of this action and the somewhat reflective tone gives the speaker's awareness in this as well.
ReplyDeleteI also found that chapter unique and engaging. I thought the juxtaposition between the two experiences pointed to the chasm between her mother and father. I also thought the flipping back and forth between both stories put the reader in the position of not knowing where/what is happening next, which seems to mirror the experience of June. I thought it was important that she chose these two events as some of the most detailed sitations that she describes being with her parents outside the home--I think it describes the unpredictability of her experience, her adaptiveness. I also thought it was an effective balance between her child perspective (like wanting the attention of being thrown in the ocean and saved) and the adult sitations she is put into (like being on a fishing boat full of men).
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