Sexuality In Jamaica Kincaid's Girl

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Recommended: Literary analysis on girl by jamaica kincaid

Sefra Belay
Professor Barnes
English 190 HC
April 18, 2018
How to Become a Decent Woman In “Girl,” a mother gives advice to her daughter, the “girl.” Realizing that her daughter has reached sexual maturity, the mother gives her daughter a series of instructions, which are meant to help the girl become a respectable woman. The mother tries to teach her daughter about life, cooking, cleaning, men and about how to keep up her reputation, which is very important. The mother particularly warns her not to become “a kind of woman the baker won’t let near the bread,” because she fears that her daughter will bring her shame by becoming a loose woman. The gender theory helps us to analyze the elements of the story that could be perceived as being feminine and how the characters in the “Girl” support the traditional roles of women. In “Girl,” sexuality has a …show more content…

The society, which was organized in a way that could endorse the power of men, puts pressure on women to a great extent, emphasizing how significant it is for women to adhere to the cultural customs and beliefs of the community. That is, femininity comes with defined roles and expectations such as doing household chores and behaving in a reserved manner. A woman has to fulfill these expectations if she wishes to earn a respect and have a place in the society. However, what happens if she protests or fails to meet them? Basically, she will face social suicide, in which she will be out casted from the society and be regarded as a woman with low standards of cleanliness. And this is what the mother in the “Girl” is trying to protect her daughter from even though the daughter objects to her mother beliefs. In the story, we can see how the list of things that a woman has to do in order to keep her lady card or femininity gets passed from one generation to another generation in the form of motherly

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