Hello and welcome back to my blog about the novel Pushout written by Dr. Monique Morris! In case you missed it, last blog I introduced the book and what my ideas were surrounding it so far. I briefly went over the long list of Morris’ accomplishments and discussed the ideas of how sheltered we are, here at Hopkinton High School. In this blog, since I have read more, and am beginning to understand the deeper concepts of the novel, I will be analyzing the important choices and strategies used by Dr. Morris.
One of the most critical pieces of literature is the way in which authors capture their readers. This is something that is notably difficult to do when writing a non-fiction novel about a topic that is quite controversial. Many authors will lose their readers in just the first few pages because nothing reels in their attention and the words seemingly droop off the page with no purpose behind them. While this may be a common issue for some, Monique Morris has no trouble drawing readers in and grasping their attention throughout the entire novel. To do this, Morris appeals to readers through pathos and logos.
Pathos meaning “a quality that evokes pity, sadness or sympathy” (Dictionary.com), and logos meaning “the rational principle that governs the universe” (Dicitonary.com), these two terms are present throughout the entire novel. Morris uses the pathos strategy to provoke certain feelings in readers and have them develop emotional connections to the girls, whose stories are used in the book. An example of this can be seen when Morris quotes a story told by Deja about what happened to her when she wore a certain pair of shorts to school:
“...So I walk in the office, and they’re like, ‘You need to go back home and change.’ But this [White] girl walked in the office, and her shorts were shorter than mine, and she was kinda thicker than me so, like, you could see everything, like her butt cheeks were hanging out kinda and everything. And then they gave her a pass to class!”(126).
Deja then questioned why the white girl could go to class even though her shorts were shorter than hers. The suggested fear as to why Deja almost got sent home was that if Deja wore these shorts the boys would be “feeling all on her and stuff”. That suggestion right there evokes emotions in readers. That suggestion brings forth frustration and anger towards the principal who made this unrealistic comment about Deja. The action of letting the white girl go to class but not Deja severely sexualizes her and it is pretty much saying that because of her skin color and her fashion choice, boys will not be able to control themselves around her. Morris points out that instead of teaching girls to pick a different outfit, the school should be spending more time teaching boys how to behave themselves in a polite manner.
I’m not sure about you but for me, this was very emotional to read. The two main upsetting points revolve around the blatant discrimination and the blatant sexism shown in one instance. This double whammy concerns me because I cannot decide which part is worse. The idea that the other girl was able to go about her merry way without an issue, and the fact that the principal felt that she had more control over a personal fashion choice than a group of students, seem to be equally as bad. Certainly for Deja, this instance must have been much more confusing. I cannot even imagine how I would have handled myself if I were in her shoes, but I think the way she stood up for herself was very brave and deserves more recognition.
After Monique Morris draws readers in using pathos, she tends to hit them with the cold hard facts. This form of writing proves to be effective when appealing to multiple different audiences. This is because Morris lets the girls share their heartwrenching stories which get the reader interested, and then she hits them with statistics that are astonishing. These facts prove how many young Black girls are actually dealing with the same issues and also prove Morris’s point that there is nothing being done about it. An example of Morris using logos to shock readers occurs when she explains Portia’s experience with education while simultaneously being incarcerated. Morris provokes emotional responses from her audience when she states that Portia is a 16-year-old girl struggling to keep her sanity while she is in juvenile detention (152). Morris then uses logos to prove that this is not an uncommon issue with girls in the detention center: “Nationwide, 81 percent of girls in the juvenile justice system suffer from a mental health disorder.” (152). By using Logos, Monique Morris shows how many girls are just like Portia.
Another Stylistic material utilized by Morris occurs at the beginning of each chapter. She puts in different rhymes or jingles that correspond to the main topics in the chapter. While the rhymes may seem innocent, they are significant to the stereotypes and perspectives of the black community, and the closer you look at the lyrics the more morbid they become. In chapter 3, Jezebel In The Classroom, which mainly talks about the exploitation of Black girls in the school system and the common job of prostitution the rhyme goes like this:
“Tra-la-la boom-di-yay
I met a boy today
He gave me 50 cents
To go behind the fence
He knocked me on the ground
And pulled my panties down
He counted 1-2-3
And stuck it into me
My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise
My father jumped for joy
Because it was a boy (96)
The parody of the 1890s song “Ta rah ra boom de ay”, is just one example of a jingle that has been dragged through generations and that has been used to sexualize young girls. I think that Morris uses these little catchy songs at the beginning of each chapter to show how many of these problems surrounding young Black women are normalized in society. This parody alone is establishing the concept of prostitution and saying that it is a normal occurrence. The poem states that the mother was “surprised”, and that the father “jumped for joy” all because it was a boy. It seems that the parents were more concerned with the gender of the child than how the child came to be. These rhymes at the beginning of each chapter, not only give the readers a hint as to what they are going to read but are also used to show the normalization of the topics in society today.
Over the course of reading Pushout, I have undertaken a feeling of guilt. I feel guilty that girls my age are worried about being sex-trafficked or worried about being abused because of the color of their skin. Whereas my worries mostly concern what I’ll wear to school tomorrow or how much this boy likes me. I feel guilty that there is not much I can do to stop these horrendous acts from happening. And I feel guilty that I have taken for granted all that I have so far in my privileged life. This feeling could not be possible without Monique Morris and her craftsmanship that has gone into the novel. Through pathos logos, she is able to make readers like me feel for these girls, and make readers angry that such occurrences happen. I am very invested in this novel and am interested to learn more and educate myself further.
Work Cited
Dictionary.com. www.dictionary.com/browse. Accessed 21 Mar. 2021.
Morris, Monique W., et al. Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.
Paperback edition. ed., New York, New Press, 2018.
Remember our discussion in class a while back that the purpose of this unit is not to make us feel guilty about what we have or what we don't have to deal with. Instead, use the anger and outrage to see if there's something you can do. Even writing about your reactions and the issues you're reading about is doing something.
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