Typescript Form for Miscue Analysis

Book Title: Going North Author: Janice N. Harrington

1. At Big Mama’s house everyone sits around the supper table talking 1.______about life up North.

2. Everyone talks and talks about how much better the North is, how 2.______Daddy can find a good job there, and how I can go to a better school.

3. But isn’t it good here? 3.______

4. Can’t we just stay? 4.______

5. I don’t want to go. 5.______

6. I want to stay in Big Mama’s kitchen, helping her churn the butter up-down, up-down, taw-whomp, taw-whomp, swapping stories, and 6.______watching Big Mama knife-scrape a sweet potato, dragging its blade across orange pulp and sharing a sweet treat.

7. “I don’t want to go,” I tell Big Mama. 7.______

8. But Going-North day hurries to our door like it’s tired of our 8.______slowpokey ways. 9. Everybody comes to say goodbye: uncles, aunts, cousins, too, 9.______Brother, Baby Sister, and me picked up, put down, passed around, and tickle-twirled all over the place.

10. Everyone says, “Goodbye, we’ll miss you.” 10.______

11. I slip off my shoes and push my feet into the rusty sand. 11.______

12. I wish my toes were roots. 12.______

13. I’d grow into a pin oak and never go away. 13.______

14. Would they let me stay if I were a tree? 14.______

15. Car loaded, everything packed, goodbyes said. 15.______

16. We’re almost ready. 16.______

17. I run to Big Mama one last time. 17.______

18. She hugs me tights. 18.______

19. “Take care of your mama,” she says. 19.______20. “Be a good girl, Jessie. 20.______

21. Y’all take care.” 21.______

22. “Bye-bye, Big Mama!” 22.______

23. “Bye-bye!” 23.______

24. Our station wagon pulls away, banana bright, rolling, rolling 24.______down a red dirt hill.

25. We’re going North. 25.______

26. “Goodbye, Big Mama.” 26.______

27. “Goodbye Popalop.” 27.______

28. We’re going North, leaving Alabama far behind. 28.______

29. We’re going North in a yellow station wagon, Mama, Daddy, 29.______Brother, Baby Sister, and me looking out, looking at the world going by, red sand and cotton fields, pines marking the sky like black crayons, listening to the tires make a road-drum, a road beat: good luck, good luck, good luck. 30. Kudzu vines covering everything, kudzu leaves like big green 30.______hands clapping, clapping and waving to us.

31. Brother pointing at all he sees, Baby Sister bouncing on my lap, lap, lap, and Mama helping Daddy, checking the map. 31.______

32. Daddy’s eye steady on the road, then studying the gas gauge, measuring the miles. 32.______

33. Going by an old man selling peaches, going by tin roofs, front porches, going by brown girls jumping rope, rope, rope, brown legs 33.______flying high.

34. Maybe later they’ll play Little Sally Walker. 34.______

35. Do they play Little Sally Walker in the North? 35.______

36. Do they play ring games? 36.______

37. Oh, wipe your weepin’ eye, Oh, wipe your weepin’ eye. 37.______

38. Cotton fields stretch out, brown shoulders dragging croaker sacks, brown fingers picking cotton under a red pepper sun. 38.______

39. We’re going on. 39______40. Cotton fields getting smaller, going by. 40.______

41. Even the people getting smaller, going by. 41.______

42. Mississippi on and on. 42.______

43. Mississippi, Mississippi going by. 43.______

44. “Lunchtime, are you hungry?” 44.______

45. Picnic basket and paper plates, Big Mama’s tea cakes, potato salad and lemonade, cold chicken and corn bread. 45.______

46. The car smells like chicken. 46.______

47. Our fingers taste salty sweet. 47.______

48. We’re riding in a lemonade car, a yellow station wagon, heading North. 48.______

49. Sitting in the back, I see a big world. 49.______

50. I hear the tires bumping, beating out good bye, good bye, good bye. 50.______51. Down the road and the baby’s crying. 51.______

52. Mama’s singing, hush, hush. 52.______

53. Brother’s fussing, hush, hush. 53.______

54. Daddy’s watching the gas gauge. 54.______

55. “It’s running out, child, running out.” 55.______

56. “Where will we go, Daddy? 56.______

57. Where will we go?” 57.______

58. “Hush now, quiet now, Daddy’s got to drive.” 58.______

50. Gas gauge getting low, getting low. 59.______

51. Can’t stop just anywhere. 60.______

52. Only the Negro stations, only the Negro stores. 61.______62. Mama’s praying, sees another town up ahead. 62.______

63. Daddy’s searching, looking out, holding the wheel knuckle-tight. 63.______

64. Even Brother seems to know. 64.______

65. Baby’s quiet, won’t even cry. 65.______

66. Will we make it? 66.______

67. Will this place serve Negroes? 67.______

68. Gas gauge says almost gone, almost gone. 68.______

69. Joe’s Gas up ahead, plenty of Negro faces, plenty of Negro smiles. 69.______

70. Daddy breathes a heavy sigh. 70.______

71. Mama hugs Baby Sister tight, tight, tight. 71.______

72. Brother wants candy. 72.______73. Me too! 73.______

74. Me too! 74.______

75. Joe comes smelling like gasoline and fills our tank. 75.______

76. “Y’all cutting it close,” he says. 76.______

77. Daddy signs and shakes his head. 77.______

78. We’re on the road again, moving fast, car filled with gasoline, Brother wearing a chocolate bar. 78.______

79. Mama’s hand on Daddy’s shoulder. 79.______

80. Long road, but we’re moving fast, moving fast. 80.______

81. I think about Daddy’s hands all knuckle-tight. 81.______

82. I think about Mama’s prayer and the gas gauge running out. 82.______

83. Maybe the North will be better – maybe, maybe, maybe. 83.______84. Arkansas, now, and it’s getting late. 84.______

85. Still a long way to go. 85.______

86. Sister’s asleep on Mama’s lap, Brother’s curled up puppy-tight, 86.______but I’m looking out.

87. Ink-black, soot-black, skillet-black night. 87.______

88. The road hurtling by. 88.______

89. Mama and Daddy talking in low voices. 89.______

90. Outside I see stars and the Big Dipper. 90.______

91. We’re following the Big Dipper going North. 91.______

92. More stars than I can count, blue and white like dashboard lights. 92.______

93. They’re gleaming in and I’m looking out. 93.______

94. Sleepy now. 94.______95. Nighttime rolling by. 95.______

96. The road whispers, the tires mumble good night, good night, good 96.______night.

97. Daybreak, and Daddy beside the road, tired, stretching, seeing the 97.______way ahead, all of us waking up.

98. Missouri stone, Missouri hills, are we there yet? 98.______

99. Almost there. 99.______

100. We’re leaving Dixie, almost there. 100.______

101. “Will I like the North?” 101.______

102. “Honey, I don’t know.” 102.______

103. The road-drums, the road-beats don’t know, don’t know, don’t 103.______know.

104. Are we there yet? 104.______

105. Almost there. 105.______106. Will we be there soon? 106.______

107. Almost there. 107.______

108. And then – 108.______

109. Welcome to Nebraska, the sign says. 109.______

110. This is it? 110.______

111. No more cotton fields, no more red sand, no more June bugs on 111.______a cotton string.

112. Instead, I see black dirt everywhere, black magic, North magic. 112.______

113. Nebraska rolling by on a grassy rug. 113.______

114. Brother presses his nose against the window. 114.______

115. Baby Sister sniffle-sighs, sniffle-sighs. 115.______

116. Mama soothes us with her smile. 116.______117. But I just keep staring out, looking and looking. 117.______

118. Until finally I see… 118.______

119. Lin-coln, Lin-coln, Lincoln, Nebraska! 119.______

120. “We’re here now,” Daddy says. 120.______

121. “Going to start a brand-new life. 121.______

122. We’re going to be pioneers.” 122.______

123; Daddy, Mama, Brother, Baby Sister, and me, all pioneers, all looking out, hearing a heart-drum be brave, be brave. 123.______

124. Be brave. 124.______

125. We’re together. 125.______

126. Pioneers. 126.______