Allie’s Basketball Dream Essay -- Literary Analysis, Barbara Barber

Allie’s Basketball Dream Just by looking at the cover of the story â€Å"Allie’s Basketball Dream† by Barbara Barber I could already tell that the story itself seems to be an ideology. The ideology is not hard to figure out; even the name of the story gives it away. Most girls dream of being a ballerina, a princess, or even a vet but with Allie’s case she wants to be professional basketball player. When I first picked up this book, the name of the book intrigued me to want to read it because I never would have guessed a girls dream would be to be a professional basketball player. As I started to read this book I noticed that the book is based on adults and children of African-American race in urban and inner-city areas. In urban and inner-city areas, playground basketball is a popular form of recreation. Many children and adults in these areas play neighborhood games in parks, alleys, driveways, backyards, and playgrounds. In the neighborhood I was brought up in, I never saw basketball played anywhere besides at school or if you had a basketball hoop in your driveway. The story starts out with Allies father giving her a gift of a basketball that she really wanted. Allies father brought her a gift and said â€Å"Because I love you (Baber 2)† and kissed Allie on her nose. This shows that Allies father is already portrayed as strong and caring which makes this book adult-centered already. When I look at the picture of Allie and her father at the beginning of the book I can see the loving relationship they have with each other (1). The colors of the background of the picture are yellow and soft which makes the picture safe. Allie and her father are in the center of the page along with the basket ball. This shows that Allie, her fat... ...he first time her father brought her to a basketball game she said "No way i'm getting rid of this ball! It's a gift from my dad. Someday I'm going to be the best basketball player ever (Barber 20)." Even though Allie doesn’t say something like "I don't want to be girly" she is still resisting the ideology that â€Å"only guys play basketball† or â€Å"girls don’t play basketball.† In this book gender role interpellation is shown. Up to now, it has been assumed that boys are more dominant and powerful then girls. For example, boys â€Å"are stronger† and can protect better then woman because they are men and they are built differently. However, females have been seen are the care takers, compassionate, and taking on the role of being feminine which means acting and doing all the things girls are supposed to do. Also, females are portrayed as being more â€Å"emotional† then males.