First-person Narrative and Story Essay

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Kelsey Gray Gray 1
English 1302-188 Spring 2014
Paper 2
Final Draft
Rules of Becoming a Proper Lady In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid a mother gives a list of expectations of how her daughter should act. The passage is a long sentence of what her daughter should do in different situations. The advice is meant to keep her daughter from becoming a slut, varies randomly with no real pattern and with very few behaviors that lead to becoming a slut. The girl’s chief concern is that she will become a slut if she does not listen to her mother. This story suggests that it is a mother’s responsibility to train the daughter on how to be a proper lady with several rules that seem to be outrageous to avoid being negatively labeled by society. The first person narrative in “Girl” is important to the story because it allows the girl to replay the rules of life her mother lays out for her throughout the story. Kincaid’s “Girl” exemplifies first person when she writes, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school.” (673); and, also, when the girl says “but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?” (674). Some readers may argue that the story is second person, but the story does not imply the mother is stating all these rules directly to the girl and seems to suggest the girl is replaying and reviewing the rules the mother has made, which shows the significance of the impact the mother has on her daughter. The first person narrative is important because it lets
Gray 2 readers know how the main character feels and if it were in another perspective it would be harder to understand the girl’s story and feelings. In addition to that, this narrative also helps readers understand the central idea because it states all the rules the mother lays

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