June Jordan

June Jordan’s purpose for writing “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You And the Future Life of Willie Jordan” is to further validate “Black English” as a language. To do this she provides various accounts from her time teaching a course on “Black English” as well as telling the story of Willie Jordan Jr, a student of hers who faced a tragic loss as a result of the ongoing systematic oppression in America.   

Jordan begins with a brief overview of the English language in which she claims that the English of the modern world is a far cry from the “Gentlemen’s English” of old. Jordan states that “more than thirty-three countries use this tool as a means of intranational communication”, and explains how the language could not possibly be constrained by rules or a standard because each dialect is regional. According to Jordan, roughly “ten percent of native speakers of English are African American citizens of the U.S.A.”, Jordan claims that despite America’s multicultural identity White standards reign supreme and unopposed, suppressing the identity of the Black community by assimilating their culture and language. Jordan writes about how while she was teaching her students they created a set of criteria or rules by which Black English must abide, with Jordan also providing various phrases and their translations from “Black English” into “White English”. It is around this point in the article that an opportunity for Jordan and her class to use their newfound knowledge and language becomes apparent. Willie Jordan Jr was one of Jordan’s students whose interest was in South African apartheid and the widespread oppression of Black people made him stand out to Jordan. Sadly Willie Jordan Jr. and his family would suffer a great loss that many African American families know all too well, Willie’s brother was murdered at the hands of New York City police!  Any excuse the police gave Willie and his family did not hold water, and the lack of accountability and coverage would sadly condemn poor Reggie Jordan to be just another statistic. Jordan and her students were faced with the choice of how to address the situation and those accountable, would they be forced to address their oppressors in their tongue or would they use their newfound power in their language to challenge their oppressors? Jordan and her students chose the latter, making a powerful address to the public and those accountable in their way, sadly this did not work and no news coverage or political change came after they released their statement. To end the article Jordan includes Willie Jordan’s testament, which contrary to his classmates was written in “White English”, shocking readers with the words of a grieving son and brother. 

Jordan’s intended audience includes three groups. The first group Jordan addresses is African Americans. Jordan specialized in teaching Black English and throughout the text she seeks to empower African Americans by stressing the importance of preserving their culture and embracing their unique language by creating guidelines and practices that validate Black English. Through this empowerment, she seeks to educate Black Americans to challenge their oppressors. Jordan iising the narrow-minded belief that there is a “standard” for a language spoken across continents and cultures. Lastly, Jordan is criticising government figures and politicians by drawing comparisons between the ongoing systematic oppression in America to Apartheid in South Africa. To further illustrate this gruesome reality Jordan writes about the loss one of her students faced as a result of America’s oppressive ways.

I believe Jordan did achieve her purpose. Jordan’s use of narration in the article allows the reader to draw connections between her experiences to the greater context, statistics, and other information she provides in the article. Secondly, Jordan’s use of Pathos by including Willie Jordan Jr.’s statement to appeal to the audience’s emotions was brilliant. As an older brother myself the pain Jordan felt appealed to my emotions, and the comparison between his statement and the class statement was executed subtly but its effects are still felt. Lastly, through creating the guidelines and rules for “Black English” Jordan is using logos to convince the scholars in the audience to respect the language because like its predecessor it has structure. In conclusion, Jordan did achieve her purposes also addressing White Academics and Scholars who are dismissive of “Black English” by critic

Jamaica Kincaid

In Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl”, Kincaid creates a narrative of a young girl learning from her mother what it means to be a girl. Through this the reader is able to understand the perspective of maturing into womanhood and what knowledge a mother would pass onto her daughter. Kincaid exposites all manners of knowledge; how to do house chores, how to prepare food and cultivate crops, how to navigate social situations with men, how to carry yourself in public, etc. Ultimately this allows Kincaid to bring to light the patriarchal undertones that established all of these norms and responsibilities through her use of tone, repetition  and narration.

For context, Jamaica Kincaid is an Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, avid gardener, and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Kincaid is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship  for Creative Arts award and is best known for her novels which focus on the dynamic between mother and daughter. Some of her most noteworthy works are “Annie John” , “Lucy”, and “A Small Place”. 

Kincaid begins “Girl” by providing instruction on the proper days to wash laundry, cooking advice, instruction on how to behave in church, how to act “ladylike”, and lastly table manners. What follows is the first instance of a tone switch with the line “On Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming”.  The use of didactic tone by Kincaid allows for the reader to visualize the dynamic between the mother and daughter, and the mother’s use of such a misogynistic accusation stems from the patriarchal belief women must carry themselves in a “ladylike” way in order to preserve their innocence and femininity. Kincaid continues by advising the girl to stay away from “wharf-rat” boys, instruction on how to sew and hem a dress before once again accusing the girl of wanting to become a slut. Next follows instruction on how to iron her fathers clothes, how to cultivate okra and dasheen, and how to sweep. From here Kincaid advises the young girl on how to navigate different social situations such as hosting, dealing with people you don’t like before once again accusing her of wishing to become a slut. Kincaid repeatedly makes this accusation throughout the text to once again exemplify the importance of virginity and purity to the patriarchal role which many women are condemned to. Kincaid ends the story by describing how men and women bully each other, how to love a man and what to do if that doesn’t work, how to make ends meet. Kincaid ends with a change in narrative, whilst describing how to check bread she includes a dialogue between the mother and daughter where the daughter questions what to do if the baker does not allow her to touch the bread, to which the mother replies “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?”. Kincaid ends on this note as if the mother is questioning the girl’s knowledge after all the information she just exposited, once again expressing the didactic tone.

Although Kincaid narrates the text from the perspective of a mother educating her young daughter, young girls are not the intended audience of “Girl”, rather mothers. Kincaid’s work often highlighted the dynamic between mother and daughter, and in “Girl” Kincaid is criticizing the misogynistic norms that mothers have continued to pass down onto their daughters as well as the internal conflict between women. By repeatedly accusing the girl of wanting to become a slut and catering towards the demands of men rather than encouraging her expression of femininity and the pursuit of what she enjoys, Kincaid is exemplifying how patriarchal the cycle is. In conclusion I believe Kincaid achieved her purpose through her use of tone, repetition  and narration.