Interpretation of Data
4.3 Analysis of Interviews
4.3.1 Interview 1 (Appendix 6)
Jackie and Carol have a lot in common, but are constructed differently by virtue of their responses to the way in which the various discourses have positioned them.
Jackie is positioned as a confused young woman who rejects the norms of the primary discourse, looking for fun and an escape from her domestic problems in the discourse of friendship. This compounds the distance that she acknowledges is between herself and her mother, since she participates in activities that her mother disapproves of The struggle for power plays a major role in her identity construction: her mother's attempts to maintain control over her daughter are characterised by a sense of helplessness, occasionally beating her "with a peachie stick" which is viewed with derision by both girls. Thus, she is positioned in a powerful way by her rejection of the discipline that her mother tries to use to control her activities. This impacts on her attitude to powerful figures at school as well. Although not overtly rude to teachers, she resists the discursive practices such as doing homework or concentrating in class, despite her opinion that school will help her to succeed in life.
I: You have the potential to do better at school, but something's stopping you. What are these things?
J: I dunno ... it's just my behaviour, miss.
I: How do you behave?
J: Bad.
I: What do you mean?
J: I sleep om, and I don't come home.
I: Can you stop yourself from doing that?
J: Yes.
I: Do you want to stop yourself?
J: Yes
I: Then why do you keep doing that?
J: It's tempting.
I: When you weigh up school and that kind of life, which one takes priority?
J: School.
I: School's first?
J: Yes.
I: But your actions show that it is not.
J: Er ... er ... er ... er.
I: So you can stop it, why do you do it?
J: I dunno ... for fun.
I: Have you thought about what might happen if you keep doing that kind of thing?
J: No miss.
(Appendix 6: iv)
Her friends play a more vital role than her mother in advising Jackie about her behaviour. Carol has participated in similar activities, but is constrained in her actions by the harsh discipline of her father, who clearly will not stand for any of this kind of behaviour.
Miss, the only time I do something wrong is when I've had something to drink, but I have to control it because I know the home I'm living in is-not where you can just do your own thing. There are rules that you have to obey.
(Appendix 6: iv)
He has a reputation for being violent when drunk, and Carol's fear of him helps to constrain her activities: "Miss, I cut down ...just after my father clouted me". Yet she clearly displays conflicting ideas about her parents. Although she lives with her father, he is not her role model. Both girls position fathers as "players"(have affairs),
" fathers just drink, and smoke drugs and perform, and mothers are always there to guide the children". However, this recognition does not guarantee that Jackie obeys her mother. The only time she states that this will happen is if her brother "hits me
like a man", a punishment that she admits she has not yet experienced. Yet when asked how she prefers to be dealt with, she clearly wants to be spoken to rather than violently chastised. However, when confronted with her lack of acquiescence at school when she is spoken to , she appears unable to answer.
I: So you'd rather have somebody . . . how would you be obedient to somebody's rules, requests and demands?
Silence
J: Er ... they must talk nicely to me.
I: Okay, I've spoken nicely to you, yet ...
1: 1 dunno, miss.
(Appendix 6: v)
Jackie is representative of subjects who do not submit to the discursive practices of the home, and the ways in which these position them. She rejects parental control, and in the absence of a strong father figure, turns to friendship to experience fun and pleasure. She is clearly in conflict as a result of her inability to think through the consequences of her actions. She is not fully socialised into the discourse of the school, since she cannot spend the time on necessary practices that will facilitate success. She wants instant gratification, despite the negative consequences attached to her decisions. She appears to me to be constructed as an adolescent who does not have the capacity to think through the consequences of her actions. Despite her desire to have a better relationship with her mother, and to do better at school, she cannot put into place any firm resolutions which will facilitate the accomplishment of her desires - her repeated response of "I dunno, miss" is indicative of this inability to help herself, or possibly to engage with the values of the researcher. She appears helpless and lost, and her final request is a plaintive cry for help from anyone who can help her to be a stronger, more resolute person.
J: Once I put my foot out that gate, miss, then I go to the shop, then I go smoke, then I come ... my mind just jiggers.
I: You become a different person?
J: Yes miss
I: Is there anything that people can do, do you want people to help you to move away from that kind of lifestyle?
J: I wouldn't mind, miss.
I: How would you imagine someone would help you?
J: To watch me.
I: Your mum's tried.
J: Someone to help me and stop me from doing these bad things.
C: But you also have to help yourself ... you can't depend on people doing it for you, you have to help yourself.
(Appendix 6: xi)
As her friend, Carol, has pointed out, Jackie herself has to be more involved and independent in her attempts to construct a more positive self-image instead of constantly seeking a short-lived affirmation from her friends.