Chapter 5 Summary

Having collected a stock of rhymes, Vinnie turns to observing their cultural setting, manner of delivery and social function as primary school girls jump rope. Finding the ten to eleven-year olds to be the best informants, as they are knowledgeable but not yet jaded, Vinnie's working hypothesis is that British game rhymes are more ancient and literary than American versions. Vinnie, who has never thought of children as sweet or gentle, posits violence as a common theme. Watching the girls' concentration, skill and joy, Vinnie is envious, longing to recover the best part of her life, when she was self-confident, thrilled by explorations, books, movies, radio programs and Christmas and New Years celebrations. This agreeable life ended when Vinnie's parents moved to the city and she found herself a disadvantaged adolescent, undersized, pimply, flat-chested and plain. Not originally, but consistently, Vinnie emphasizes in...