In chapter one of The Girl the language of baseball is introduced in reference to the actions of the men in the German Village. Specifically, the words "field," "passes," "home run," and "strike out" are used. It appears that as far back as the 1920's and '30's, sports terms have been used in the vernacular to refer to sexual advances. The baseball language is used by the men amongst themselves as a way to exclude women (especially naïve women like the Girl) from their conversations. Naturally, Clara and Belle are going to pick up very quickly on these euphemisms, but for the most part the subject of sports and any terms associated with sports would seem foreign to women, especially during this era.
In today's society, we have mainstreamed sports language into our everyday conversation. If a student does well on a test, he may proclaim, "I aced my exam!" A shrewd purchase on a home may cause the buyer to confide, "I got it for a steal." A man might try to convey the appearance of a woman to a friend by proclaiming her a real "knockout." A nervous individual might "fumble" with her car keys… the list goes on and on. Of course, I would be remiss not to add the age -old motive of every teenage boy on a date: "SCORE!"
Booya-
I believe if Booya is a symbol, it would have to symbolize a couple of different things. First of all, the booya represents the nature of people who lived during the Great Depression. All accounts that I have read and those I know who lived through this era or have loved ones who did all share a common thread. They were innovative, frugal individuals who learned to make the most of what they had, to do creative things with what little food or resources they were afforded, and were notorious pack-rats and recyclers. The booya was, as we know, a stew that was a confluence of many types of meats, vegetables, etc; as though Belle, the founder of the booya, was probably looking for some variety in a usually mundane supper of perhaps only veal, for example. I suppose this particular analogy came to me due to the fact that when times are particularly lean I myself have had to come up with imaginative ways to fix hamburger four or five nights in a row, and convince my children it's something completely wonderful.
Secondly, booya could of course represent the melting pot that had become America during this time period. This is probably the most popular belief and by far the easiest to discern while reading the novel. Each woman takes her turn stirring the stuff so it doesn't stick, thereby allowing each woman's unique qualities to be added to the mix. Perhaps the author wanted us to realize that while one of the ingredients alone might be palatable enough, when mixed with another ingredient, something spicy, something colorful, something salty, for example, the stew takes on a completely different taste and smell. Just as our country welcomes different cultures, different "ingredients" if you will from other countries, we simply added to our basic flavor, adapted it, made it more interesting. America is booya.
Comment 3: Meanings of the word "cat"
During Chapter one, we are introduced to Butch and his brother Bill, described as being long and lean, like foxes, smooth and sleepy as if about to spring like a cat.(4). 'Cat' in this particular sense is referring to the men as possessing the nature and appearance of the animal itself: lean and muscular, almost constantly alert and aware of its surroundings, a cat, both domestic and wild, will stalk its prey and toy with whatever victim for the sheer self amusement of it. Butch in particular has a swagger that comes with most men in their early 20's, a man who likes to go "catting around" as it were, a man out at night prowling around looking for some unknowing prey himself. Just as with the language of sports, animal terms have long been used to describe human behavior. Who hasn't been called (or called someone) a "dog", whether it be in reference to a person's appearance, or a man's distrustful behavior (I never quite got this one, since dogs are generally quite loyal…). I frequently tell my daughter she's "chicken" if she won't go into a dark room by herself. It's amusing when one sits and thinks about it how many double meanings words can actually have. In this first chapter, for example, the word 'cat' is also used in regard to an actual cat named Susybelly who is the object of a major betting pool having to do with how many kittens she might 'pop'. The author also discusses the cats who prowl around the window when the booya gets to smelling really good and the aroma drifts outside to the street. The cats she is referring to in this passage are probably cats of both varieties: the feline variety and the human variety, both species probably hungry or nosy or a combination of the two.
Comment 4: Clues about the setting and time period.
Quite obviously the setting of the story begins in a bar in Minnesota, a bootleg bar or "speakeasy" at that. Specific clues to the previous statements might be the Girl's statement that "Clara and I were the only waitresses and had to be going up and down from the bar to the bootleg rooms upstairs" (1).
That statement is a pretty good indication to me that they were in a bar and it was serving bootleg liquor. As far as time frame is concerned, it is my opinion, that this novel is set during the Great Depression. Clues to this statement comes from the first line of the novel: "I was lucky to get a job in those bad times…" (1).
Then later on the same page, this further highlights the time period: "They will pick you up, Clara told me, and give you tests and sterilize you or send you to the woman's prison" (1) .
This was a common action and idea during the Depression that young, promiscuous women should be incarcerated and/or sterilized, even put in sanitariums as punishment for their behavior. Naturally, as mentioned above, talk of the bootleg business, of how police would come run everyone home at a certain hour, then a few moments later the patrons came around to the back and were readmitted to the bar goes to show that something wasn't right. Ganz running "protection" for the place (1) gives the impression that there were activities going on that were probably not what one would deem forthright or morally correct.
Melissa White
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