Jamaica Kincaid Girl Analysis

Words: 785
Pages: 4
Open Document
Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, is a story about a mother who tells her daughter what to do and

how to act . I will be arguing the characterization of the girl and the mother in the story

and what the mother expects out of the girl.

The girl in the story wants to be a normal teenager, hang out with her friends, and do

fun things. Her mother on the other hand, wants her to start preparing meals, wash the

clothes, and not to talk to boys, along with many other things. Numerous times within the

story the mother believes that her daughter wants to become a slut so the mother is

continuously trying to show her how to do things so she doesn't become a slut.

It seems as if the girl doesn’t really have a choice …show more content…
Instead, she chooses to do what she is told to do.

The reasoning for her mother to ask so much of her, might be because of where they live.

They have to do more because they are not as fortunate as others, therefore the girl

has to step up and take on more responsibilities then other girls her age.

In the story the mother is the only one speaking the majority of the time so we have no

idea what the girl’s behaviour is, or how she is reacting to what she is being told to do. On

the other hand the mother’s character seems to be very strict and old fashion, not letting

her daughter do anything but chores. This may be the way that the mother was brought up

or the mother wants a better life for her daughter therefore she is telling her daughter to do

all of these chores that she did as a kid, because she thinks that’s what children are

supposed to do, and so they know how to run a household and become a proper lady.

Chores are ok every once in awhile, but everyday washing the clothes, preparing

meals, and doing other things prevent you from going out in society and having a life,

experiencing new things, and meeting new people. After being stuck at home for a …show more content…
Different cultures have different religions on how to run a household, and when

to run it. The same thing goes with marriages in some cultures you have to be married by

fifteen and it’s usually an arranged marriage. Some might say that the mother is rude or

nasty for calling her daughter a slut because she believes that her daughter is going to end

up going down the wrong path and not being able to run a household.

The last sentence in the story is a conversation between the mother and

daughter and it says “ Always squeeze the bread to make sure it’s fresh; but what if the

baker won’t let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be

the kind of women who the baker won’t let near the bread?” (Kincaid 1983 page 271)

This suggest that the daughter is worried that she will not be able to live up to her mother’s

expectations.

Overall the mother’s character is the type of personality that it’s her way or no

way and the daughter just does what she is told to do because she doesn’t want her mom to

get mad at her and call her a slut. Personally, they should of wrote more of the story so
Show More

Related Documents: Jamaica Kincaid Girl Analysis

Analysis Of Girl By Jamaica Kincaid

Summary: In the short story of” Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, she portrays the life of how little girls are supposed to act in their community. Throughout the entire story it is her mom giving her orders on what she is supposed to and not supposed to do. Analysis: In the short story of “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, she uses her structure to show the importance of how things are done in their day and time. The whole story is multiple statements of her mother, one huge sentence with the repetition of “don’t…

Words 128 - Pages 1

Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Analysis

One-Way Communication Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” consists of pieces of advice and admonishments a mother gives to her daughter. The fragments are compiled into one long sentence, separated only by semi-colons, which allows the piece to be governed by the mother’s overwhelming sense of duty. It is this duty that makes communication between the mother and daughter virtually impossible in this piece, which is shown through the format of the story itself as well as through the mother’s fear-mongering…

Words 949 - Pages 4

Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Analysis

Dianelis Almonte Essay #2 Draft “Girl” By Jamaica Kincaid uses a unique narrative structure which conveys a long list of commands to show that the mother’s domestic actions to highlight her understanding and authority. The mother who is the main speaker worries that if her daughter continues with her current behavior, will turn out to become a “slut”. The mother wants the daughter to be able to run a household and live a respectably life. The way the structure of this poem is presented…

Words 644 - Pages 3

Girl Jamaica Kincaid Analysis

and ideologies of Western norms, values and culture. I will be explaining a few of them through “Girl”and “Annie John” by Jamaica Kincaid. I feel the mother wasn’t right for trying to conform her daughter to Western culture just so she could be “normal”. Social values held to be important in human society are effectively portrayed in literature. Through literary works, individuals/writers are…

Words 841 - Pages 4

Short Story Analysis of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid Essay

Short story analysis of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid Have you ever wished that someone had given you a guide on how live the right way? Jamaica Kincaid does just that in her short story, Girl. The narrative is presented as a set of life instructions to a girl by her mother to live properly in Antigua in the 1980’s. While the setting of the story is not expressly stated by the author in the narrative, the reader is able to understand the culture for which Girl was written. Jamaica Kincaid seems to be…

Words 866 - Pages 4

Girl essay

Professor Boyer English 112 10th February 2015 Analysis of the short story Girl Jamaica Kincaid’s short story, “Girl,” (1978) describes a mother that is simultaneously berating her daughter and teaching her what’s expected to be and do as an Antiguan woman. There's no traditional plot, no action, no character descriptions, and no setting. Only two voices, and it takes us a while to figure out that they are mother and daughter. The girl only responds twice to the mom and thats to ask,…

Words 1161 - Pages 5

Girl By Jamaica Kincaid And Happy Endings By Margaret Atwood

Bryan Connelly Professor Julie Iromuanya English 203 17 September 2014 Contrasts in the Postmodern Short Story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood, while not challenging in and of themselves, did have me questioning whether the postmodern short story can indeed be called story at all. Upon reading “Girl”, I hurriedly dismissed it as a non-story. A poem at best. A list at worst. Yet when I read “Happy Endings”, I was enthralled. And though I was enthralled…

Words 870 - Pages 4

Examples Of Non Western Literature

abundance are the norms of daily existence; however, history and literature offers us a more complicated story. Students will begin the semester by establishing a foundational knowledge of colonial and postcolonial frameworks as well as literary analysis techniques. Then, we will proceed to tackle the challenging issues of identity, gender, social and economic status, language, and religion through work of native born, expatriate, and Caribbean-American authors. This class will encourage students…

Words 2694 - Pages 11