The book I chose for my critical reading analysis is The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills. The story is mostly about a young girl, from a coalmining town, who wants to be part of something bigger, the social institution of school. Minna longs to attend school, but her strong desire is to have a coat first. When Minna finally gets to attend school she is faced with non-acceptance and prejudice, because of the coat she wanted so desperately.
Stephanie Jones argues that, “From a critical literacy stance we ask about perspectives of the speaker, text, and audience, positioning of people within and outside the text, and how power mediates the text itself and our thinking about it.” (Jones, 2006) These three lenses will be used to analyze and reflect on this text from a critical literacy standpoint. Lauren Mills is definitely someone who grew up less privileged than the norm of the society, or was someone who was very close to those who had. This is evident in the way she writes her story strongly from the perspective of the young girl Minna who is poor, but not aware of the differences in social class, or the stereotypes that surround her. The author’s perspective is one of deep empathy for the hardships this class has to go through.
After Minna is teased and ridiculed for her ‘rag coat,’ and runs off devastated, Miller tries to get the reader to empathize with the character, and get others to see the damage that can be caused by stereotyping someone and treating them differently.
“Oh Papa, I wish you were here,” I said, and then I couldn’t help but cry. I cried for Papa, and I cried for the Quilting Mothers, who had wasted their time…The feed bag inside my coat made me feel like Papa’s arms were around me again.”
This also shows that Miller has a purpose for her writing. She is trying to reach an audience that might be positioned as the ones who do the ‘stereotyping,’ whether consciously or not.
I believe the author thinks her intended audience is one that doesn’t necessarily realize they are treating another class of people differently, but it’s an audience that needs to be aware of the perspectives of the supposed ‘second class’ citizen. The detail that Miller provides of Minna and her family’s background is meant to give the reader a strong inside view. Miller does not waste time villainizing the characters that did the teasing. She quickly gets them to see the error of their ways, by showing them no matter what our differences are, all people are connected in many ways. Papa’s words in Minna’s head, “Minna, people only need people, and nothing else. Don’t you forget that,” attempt to drive this point home for the reader as well.
The author seems to make herself out to be someone who might have lived these experiences, because the way in which she writes the book seems almost autobiographical like the works of Patricia Polacco, or When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant. The feelings and detail presented are strong and appear to be all too familiar to the author, such as when Minna wants nothing more than to start attending school, but is willing to throw it all away because she doesn’t feel right about leaving her mother at home to do all the work.
It’s quite obvious that the author values the lives and determination of this hard working class. We learn in the story that Minna has been old enough to attend school, but has been kept home because her family needed her to work. The author does not critique this detail. Since she just passes over it as fact, it would appear it might be something that she values, and wants the reader to value as well. The more privileged class is a bit marginalized in this reading because the spotlight is put only on Minna. The reader is not fully exposed to the lives of Clyde and Souci, so besides their critique of Minna’s coat we are not exposed to much of their perspective. Miller does an exceptional job of pointing out stereotypes without preaching and putting down either class. She handles it in a way so as not to make the readers, who are probably of the opposite class as Minna, too much of outsiders. I have fortunately not been in many situations like Minna. Although growing up I was far from wealthy, I read this from the position of an outsider who thought about possible students, or others who might often suffer similar stereotypes. Perhaps Minna and her classmates would benefit from activities that Gerald Compano offers in his book Immigrant Students and Literacy where a child’s own community and culture are used as strengths rather than an Achilles' heel. “…take her neighborhood seriously, to see it as a type of alternative space having an integrity and value of its own.” (Compano, 2007)
The author definitely presents power struggles within the book. When Minna is made to feel small and runs off because of being teased for her ‘rag coat,’ one might assume that the students who ridiculed Minna have the power. We might assume this because these students seemed to affect Minna, on a deep level, with their words. After Minna returns and stands up for herself, by stating the importance of her coat, we begin to see a shift in power. The author gives Minna further power by having Minna explain her thoughts and feelings, rather than attack those that used her differences against her. Miller seems to use the power of education rather than retaliation in the story.
The main source of power that Miller seems to get across in this book is the power within us to fit in; no matter what class you appear to be positioned from. I believe that all participants benefit from the power Miller infuses in her text because it provides those who feel under-privileged with a sense of self worth and empowerment, while at the same time providing those who feel privileged with an education and awareness to think of others.
This book, even though presented from a time period different than our own, provides readers with opportunities to practice and engage in critical literacy, while prepping them with a social justice standpoint against stereotyping. As Stephanie Jones says, “Critical literacy helps to break this silence as it opens up spaces for mainstreamed and marginalized perspectives to be considered in the name of social justice.” (Jones, 2006)
Works Cited
Compano, G. (2007). Immigrant students and literacy: Reading, writing, and
remembering. New York, NY: Teachers College Press
Jones, S. (2006). Girls, social class, and literacy: What teachers can do to make
a difference. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Mills, L. (1991). The rag coat. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.
