Literary Analysis: "Folded Hands" ASL Poem

Literary Analysis Essay:

The best ASL poem ever is “Folded Hands” signed by Mel Carter Jr. found in the videotape “ASL Poetry: Selected Works by Clayton Valli” (1995). The videotape is available from Dawn Sign Press at their website www.dawnsignpress.com. It is an excellent example of ASL Literature and Deaf Literature. I enjoyed this ASL poem so much, that I’m gladly doing a 2 page literary analysis on it!

The narrator is the main character in the story. He is a Deaf person who attended a residential school for the deaf (institution) throughout from kindergarten to Grade 12. The narrator reminisces how at every meal at the institution’s cafeteria, his peers and he had to fold their hands after the meal before being excused to leave the table.

The minor characters in the story are the residential and school supervisors. The supervisors are the ones that serve as foils by telling the students to fold their hands at end of meal before they can be excused. The supervisors have a tremendous habit forming impact on the students. There are other characters that do not serve as foils, they are the narrator’s peers (other deaf students or other deaf people at a meeting) or hearing family members.


There is a definite pattern in the way the plot is constructed. The pattern is circular and repetitive. The story begins with a flashback to when the narrator was a student in the residential school and daily ritual of eating in the cafeteria at breakfast, lunch and supper. The signer plays an important role in the plot as he is the central character and expresses his experiences. There is foreshadowing of the upcoming irony with the repeated act of folding his hands and yet wondering why he does it.

The whole poem is ironic. The narrator appears to be examining himself and his experiences growing up at an institution. He wonders if he can break the habit of folding his hands at end of any meal or when he is at a table with other people. Then at the end of the poem, he folds his hands!

The imagery functions as such: Being able to move one’s hands in expression is pleasant. It is fun to chat around the dining table. It is fun to chat around the meeting table. It is pacifying to fold one’s hands and restricting one’s expression. It’s not fun being told to shut up. The narrator repeatedly

The setting in the story is mainly in the school cafeteria for the duration of the Deaf character’s schooling experience for three meals a day from kindergarten through to the 12th grade. As the narrator progresses in his story, the setting extends beyond the institution and into the restaurants, the family home, and the workplace (meetings). The narrator finds that he folds his hands everywhere.

The narrator is reliable. He is fluent in ASL. He seems to have experienced attending an Deaf institution. His ability to convey the imagery of the experience in institution cafeterias is excellent. Also the creator/author of this poem is Clayton Valli, a renowned ASL linguist, who brought ASL Poetry out into the light to be recognized as literature for his doctorate. Suppose the narrator was hearing and was not fluent in ASL, the point of view would be lost because it would not likely be signed in the first person (narrator perspective) and the hearing signer would not have the necessary schema to convey the rich imagery of the shared experience I have with the Deaf narrator.

The signer’s style hugely affects my response to the work (ASL Poem). Ken Carter Jr. signs beautifully, clear, and is perfectly geared to my viewing pleasure needs. I felt great reminiscing my own personal experiences in connection to the poem. The signer’s face expressions have tones of being wry, ironic, and suggestive. The signer doesn’t go into extremes of being mad or ecstatic, but demonstrates his preferences and not-so-preferred in behavioral norms. The signer’s style is very important in this story in setting a circular rhythm with repetition (the style matches the subject) that is easily received by the viewer and the message gets engrained into the consciousness.

The theme is “Why do I keep folding my hands? I have internalized my institutional experience!” This is related to Deaf identity and the habit is cherished even though it may have originally been oppressive. It makes me feel proud to have attended a deaf institution. This is the best poem ever!