High School Literary
Criticism Papers
Valdosta State University instructors, VSU Archivist
Deborah Davis, and Janice Daugharty collaborated with
high school English teachers at Valdosta High School, Lowndes High School,
Echols County High School, and Clinch County High School to instruct high
school students for three days about engaging in the writing process, conducting literary and historical research on
primary sources, regional identity themes, Southern authors, the writer's role
as an observer, and writing literary criticism.
Students were prepared for the
project activities by reading a Janice Daugharty's
short story "Shorn Glory" and by reviewing a CD handout created by
the project developers containing primary and secondary sources and literary
criticism related to Daugharty's short story.
On day one of this project activity, Deborah Davis
presented a tabletop exhibit and a multi-media show on Daugharty,
and discussed the VSU archive collection of Janice Daugharty,
and her writings including various drafts of her works. She also demonstrated
how the archive collection can be used as a primary resource in studying a
piece of literature.
On day two instructors, Daugharty, and students,
discussed Daugharty's short stories, the writing process,
and sense of place as it related the
stories.
On day three instructors taught students about how to use historical and
literary research; and instructed students about how to incorporate what they
learned about sense of place into their critical essays.
As part of this project activity, approximately 100 high school juniors and
seniors submitted literary criticism papers for evaluation and nine were chosen
for this journal. The nine students whose essays were chosen presented their
papers at the Janice Daugharty Festival, a regional
writing conference, held on
Symbols and Colors
by Nicolas Sinkule
Through the interaction of a drunken barber and a triad of religious little girls, Janice Daugharty manages to convey powerful messages about religion and life. In “Shorn Glory”, she uses intense color imagery along with multiple symbols and religious allusions to communicate the theme of the strict religious laws of the south. Through the use of these literary devices, Daugharty gives the story a whole new level of meaning.
Daugharty uses the three pure religious girls as foils to the drunken Clifford. The girls symbolize angels and are described as such. They are said to have “mantels of silvery hair” as well as “the bluest eyes, this side of heaven” (Daugharty 123). They are meant to stand for the normal Christian upbringing and Clifford is the antagonist to this belief. Daugharty’s description of Clifford is of a drunk and dirty aging man with a “scrawny neck”, “frayed collar”, and a “once-white shirt”. Their hair, which the girls’ parents call “a Woman’s crown and glory”, is long and hot and Clifford offers to cut it for them. This act is also a religious parallel to the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden. The girls are shown as being a little tempted at this new idea proposed by Clifford. Clifford obviously dislikes religion, saying, “That’s one bunch of curious people in my estimation. Got Crazy Beliefs” (Daugharty 126). Through the use of this extended
metaphor, Daugharty manages to make the story identify to people on a more personal level.
Another important aspect of the story is its scene and how the setting and imagery make the story come alive when read. The story is set under “the umbrella shade of a chinaberry tree” which is just to the south of “a paintless cabin perched on wooden blocks with cockeyed windows” (Daugharty 123). This place is designed especially for this story because Daugharty says, “…I know my story starts with place, a specific place, where my characters can carry out their actions” (Daugharty 32). Daugharty uses deep color imagery throughout the story. The sun holds on “spits of white-hot fire” while the road sent up “sparklers of yellow and red”. Clifford’s first view of the girls is “angel faces reeled in carousel colors of pewter and pink” (Daugharty 123). Clifford’s character fits in well with the southern atmosphere, because many stories written about the South contain odd or “weird” characters such as Clifford. His odd appearance and actions also help him to serve as a contrasting character to the religious southern girls. Clifford introduces these children to something new: a freak. Flannery O’Connor describes the tendency of Southern writers to write about freakish characters: “Whenever I’m asked why southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one” (44).
Another important impact of the setting is not in the imagery, but in the dialog.
Daugharty uses sometimes hard to follow, but always smooth vernacular to convey a sense of homeliness to the story. Through the use of specific language and imagery used to describe the setting, Daugharty lets the reader visit a world she is familiar with and helps them make it his own.
Although the story is a short story, Daugharty manages to allow the characters of Clifford and the three girls to develop and change over time. At first the girls are very hesitant to help Clifford. When handing him water, Gloriann’s hand “coiled to her waist, like a reverse snake strike” (Daugharty 125). As the story goes on and Clifford begins to talk more to these three puritanical children, they begin to be more at ease with him all the way to the point of their letting him cut their hair. This removal of hair, a sacred part of their bodies, from their heads symbolizes a fall from grace, but this fall from grace allows both the girls and Clifford to be symbolically reborn. Clifford has shed tears for his dead mother and the girls have gained a sense of independence. They have sinned by allowing Clifford to trim their “crown and glory”, but in doing so they have gained uniqueness from one another and also from their harsh strict Christian beliefs. As Clifford is about to leave, he sees the girls one last time through their window: “One girl popped out in relief from the round of somber faces with a quality of distinction: a smile and a pageboy hairdo.” Gloriann is then seen “returning the nod with a faint smile of familiarity and gratitude more than scorn” (Daugharty 131). The girls have a faint realization of what has happened, and are thankful for it.
The
entire story revolves around a central theme of change and redemption. The
girls have gained independence from their strict religion and hot hair as well
as from each other, as their haircuts now make them stand out. Clifford, reborn
due to his experiences, travels off into the sunset. “Shorn Glory” is a short
story in a collection called “Going Through the
Change”. All of these stories “depict women going through a change in their
lives, but which are not necessarily about menopause, or limited to midlife
crises” (Hollandsworth). Daugharty
uses a seemingly ordinary situation like getting a haircut to symbolize a life
changing experience. According to Hollandsworth, she “presents
bizarre but real changes that take place in women's lives through the medium of
lively dialogue and sharply etched situations drawn from everyday turmoil”
(302). This particular story represents the breaking away from family ties as
well as religious ties by breaking out on one’s own. The three girls have
experienced the first time they have ever questioned the validity of their
mother’s religion and have formed a milestone in their lives to look back upon.
Through the guise of a simple story about a haircutting, Daugharty manages to combine delicious imagery and symbolism to create a story that parallels the changes people face in their life. Although her story is short, her characters seem to have a personality of their own, and act accordingly. Daugharty’s style of writing blends smooth vernacular speech with religious allusions to create a sense of truly being in the time and place of the story. With her multiple symbols, she is able to convey a powerful message about Southern beliefs, while also giving the reader the ability to draw conclusions by themselves. She conveys powerful messages despite the fact that the only dialog is between three shy little girls and a drunken barber. She depicts a story that not only gets a message across but also encourages the reader to create links to the past and form his own opinions about the South and its practices by hearing a story told from someone who knows the area and its people well.
Works Cited
Daugharty, Janice. “Shorn Glory.” Going Through the Change.
Press, 1994. 123-131.
Daugharty, Janice. “Write Where You Know.” Writer’s Digest, 77, 5, May 1997, 32
Galileo.
Hollandsworth, Linda P. “Reviews the book `Going Through the Changes: Stories,' by
Janice Daugharty.“ Studies in Short Fiction. Spring 96, Vol. 33 Issue 2, 300-303.
O’ Connor, Flannery. “Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction.” Mystery and Manners.