In " Good Girl" by Kim Addonizio, the tone is set for the story by the speaker instantly. The tone of the speaker is much of an antagonizing tone, as if throwing these words into the woman's face to make her break. In the first line the speaker says " Look at you, sitting there being good" and right away ambiguity is present to whether this woman truly is sitting there being "good" or if sarcasm is being present it could be presented as a remark of sarcasm towards the woman . The speaker continues to set the tone of antagonizing the woman by saying "Don't you want to run to the corner right now for a fifth of vodka and have
it with cranberry juice and a nice lemon slice" Analysing the sentence, there is obviously some type of alcohol use in the past with this woman who gave it up. In the line "Aren't you a dog anyway,
always groveling for love and begging to be
petted? The woman is obviously not a dog but with the connotative meaning, she is referred to as a dog who "grovels" for love and is "begging" for attention. The references to the emaculate kept yard and the desire to destroy it shows the double life of the woman. This paradox is shown throughout the story that she is a good woman, no longer smoking her cigarettes or drinking on the weekend but yet is fighting her old self to maintain this image. The woman herself is a paradox. She is thought of as "good" yet is battling the war within herself to maintain this image, instead of unleashing the old her and going back to her ways. The reference to " isn't it time you set them loose in slutty dresses and torn fishnets
to
totter around in five-inch heels and slutty mascara?" She is being antagonized to break loose to her old ways and dress in slutty dresses and torn fishnets and where extremely high heels just like she had before. This is why she is referred to and compared to a dog, and thought low of. The resolution to this paradox would be to break free from this boring "good" life the woman is pretending to be, and instead run free and pounce on every man and be provactive and drink.
I really like your analysis of the story. The quotes you used are very good and you do a great job at explaining them.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the poem when the narrator talks about the neighbor's dogs howling for her, do you think she is talking about all the slutty men in the neighborhood?
I definitely interpreted the ending the same way as you when you said that the paradox would be to break free from this boring "good" life the woman is pretending to be, and instead run free and pounce on every man and be provactive and drink. It is very easy to see that this woman is struggling with going back to her old ways. She has been on the right path, but is being pressured by her own conscience to relapse
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicholas and Bryce for your feedback!
ReplyDeleteIm glad we are all on the same page with this[:
Nicholas I do think at the end of the story the "dogs howling in the neighboorhood" are intended to be men howling for her,or some sort of comparison of that sort.
Jovana,
ReplyDelete“Good point, but work on wordiness and redunandcy, etc.: “The tone of the speaker is much of an antagonizing tone, as if throwing these words into the woman's face to make her break.” For example: The speaker’s antagonizing tone appears to throw the words into the woman’s face to make her break.”
Same thing here: “Look at you, sitting there being good" and right away ambiguity is present to whether this woman truly is sitting there being "good"or if sarcasm is being present it could be presented as a remark of sarcasm towards the woman” Good observation, but this could be whittled down to a much clearer version: “ The word “good” is instantly ambiguous; it’s unclear whether the woman is, actually, “being good” or the speaker is being saracastic.” The speaker is certainly provocative, yes, but you do think she’s also condescending?
“The speaker continues to set the tone of antagonizing the woman” = The speaker continues to antagonize, saying . . .”
Lastly, in terms of grammar/syntax, avoid explicitly stating you’re analyzing something; doing so is redundant as it’s already obvious you’re doing so. “Analysing the sentence, there is obviously some type of alcohol use in the past with this woman who gave it up” becomes “Obviously, the woman has a history with alcohol”, or something similar. Also – I don’t know that past alcohol use/abuse is apparent or even verifiable – what the speaker suggests is an activity that purportedly a “bad” girl desires (i.e., “wouldn’t you rather be irresponsible and “bad” then sit here being good?”) I don’t think the poem offers evidence enough to suggest anything about her history with alcohol.
You’re right about connotative meaning re: the dog (“she is referred to as a dog”). Is this a metaphor then? An analogy? Contrast? Work on identifying what the writer’s doing with literary elements.
“The references to the emaculate kept yard and the desire to destroy it shows the double life of the woman.” Does she have a double life? Or do you mean that her internal, cerebral life differs from the one she lives on the outside?
You’re right about the paradox: “This paradox is shown throughout the story that she is a good woman, no longer smoking her cigarettes or drinking on the weekend but yet is fighting her old self to maintain this image” but it could be stated more concisely and efficiently. (i.e., “The woman is simultaneously “good” and “bad”. . . “)
Well done here: “The woman herself is a paradox. She is thought of as "good" yet is battling the war within herself to maintain this image”. You might point out that this internal conflict is what forms the major tension of the poem. The “the woman herself is a paradox” would be a great way to begin your thesis, actually.
“The resolution to this paradox would be to break free from this boring "good" life the woman is pretending to be” – well, does this resolution actually occur? Is the paradox deliberately left unresolved? You’ll definitely want to do more analysis here, clarify.
You’re certainly on the right track. You’ll want to deal with irony as well as tone and perhaps imagery (as well as metaphor or symbolism re: the dog). Doing some explicit analysis of elements other than paradox and tone will add a lot of depth to the discussion. Hope the feedback helps!
A
***I meant "redundancy" in the first sentence
ReplyDeleteBryce,
ReplyDeleteYou write, "It is very easy to see that this woman is struggling with going back to her old ways. She has been on the right path, but is being pressured by her own conscience to relapse."
My own response is a bit different - I see the speaker encouraging the woman to break free of the stereotypical and constricting good girl role, goading and provoking her toward movement outside of this sphere. In this reading, the speaker is frustrated with the woman and perhaps feels empathy toward her. Totally different take on this, to be sure, but that's the joy of reader response criticism.