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Literary elements in girl jamaica kincaid
Gender roles in literature examples
Literary elements in girl jamaica kincaid
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Women are forced to reach for unrealistic standards that have been pushed onto them by society. Society, however does not wait for young girls to grow up to face these struggles. The illusion of a carefree childhood is shattered by this push into adulthood at a young age. In “Barbie-Q” by Sandra Cisneros and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the main characters touch this theme in different ways that both give a firsthand experience and serve an example of what most women must face.
Disillusion is the feeling that occurs when something is discovered to not be as it was once thought to be. In many stories about children, disillusion is the theme used to describe the lessons learned about growing up. In the short story “Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, this
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theme takes the form of the young girl’s experience of being forced into labels and expectations by her own community. Barbie-Q, by Sandra Cisneros, takes a different route with this theme by breaking the illusion of what a woman should be for the reader instead of the main character. Both stories focus on characters who share gender and stages in life. The two young girls, each give a lesson on society from two different viewpoints. “Girl” has a different narrative than “Barbie-Q.” In the story written my Kincaid, the story is written in the point of view of a mother who fears her daughters social standing in the community. Her daughter plays with marbles and other boys, which seems innocent enough but not to her mother. The woman then spends the time correcting her to prevent the girl from being labeled a slut. “Always squeeze 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 woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?(Kincaid)”, This quote appears at the end of the story and is spoken by the mother who is giving her daughter advice. The advice sounds like it is about bread, but the way she finishes it, the reader can read between the spaces and understand that she is speaking about her daughters social standing. The mother has accepted that her daughter will be slut who is out-casted and looked down by the community. The girl has already been labeled before given a chance. The narrative, another young girl, faces a different struggle in “Barbie-Q”.
The conflict is not obvious at first. The narrator speaks more to herself than anyone else about the dolls she owns. It is from the line, “We have to make do with your mean-eyed Barbie and my bubblehead Barbie… (Cisneros)”, that the reader can conclude that the girl is not from a wealthy family. She must share her doll with her sister and make due with her own imagination until the Mattel factory in her town burns down. The burning of the factory leads to the narrator to find the damaged barbies that are sold for much cheaper than their original price. They are so affordable because of their flaws mentioned by the narrator, “So what if our Barbies smell like smoke…And if the prettiest doll, Barbie’s MOD’ern cousin Francie with real eyelashes…has a left foot that’s melted a little—so? (Cisneros)” The narrators acceptance of the dolls flaws, however only extend so far as seen in the next line, “If you dress her in her new ‘Prom Pink’ outfit, satin splendor with matching coat, gold belt, clutch, and hair bow included, so long as you don’t lift her dress right?-who’s to know.” The line shows that if the flaw can be covered up, then the doll can regain some of its
worth. “Barbie-Q” is more than a story about a girl finding herself some new toys. It has an underlying message about societies view on women. In nearly most societies, women are held to unattainable standards. The, Mattel, Barbie shows young girls what they should strive for; perfect hair, clothes, and bodies. Like the dolls, women may lose their worth when they cannot uphold this illusion of perfection. When the narrator discusses the burnt foot of her newest barbie she covers up the flaw with her nice dress. This is a symbol of womanhood, having to disguise one’s own imperfections to be worth something to others. Disillusion is not the only theme in both stories. “Girl” and “Barbie-Q” both use disillusion to discuss a larger theme which is the analysis on society. “Girl”, follows the theme of sexuality. In Kincaid’s writing, the girl is growing up in a society that judges her. Her mother prioritizes her daughters image above all else. It is because women’s sexuality is looked down on, the mother must dance around the topic while trying to educate the girl on what is expected. Sex is feared because of societies influence. The topic is never truly discussed and a girl who has never known sex, is labeled a slut against her will. By the end of the “Girl”, the mother is faced with the epiphany that her daughter’s fate has already been sealed despite her best efforts. It did not take much for their community to find flaws in her daughter and label her as an outcast. The young girl does not understand what has happened or what awaits her when she gets older. Her childhood has ended before she could mature, and she will soon be disillusioned by adulthood. The epiphany in “Barbie-Q”, follows a similar tone to the one in “Girl”. The girl who now owns the broken dolls is already aware that their flaws are what made them cheap. She purposely tries to hide their burnt bits because she understands that they are no meant to be this way. The narrator has accepted her dolls, flaws and all, but still attempts to hide the truth. There is an illusion of beauty conveyed in this story that is shattered by the narrative who points out the truth to the barbies. Literature often analyzes things like politics, morals, and society. In the short stories, “Barbie-Q” by Sandra Cisneros and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, society is analyzed from a gendered perspective. Women hide behind an illusion that is put on them by communities that do not accept anything less than perfection. These two stories were written to bring the truth to light. Women are not perfect and suffer because of it. The illusion is shattered for the reader and gives them more questions for society.
As people grow up and experience life more and more, their personalities are revealed more. In the story “Barbie-Q”, Sandra Cisneros describes what it feels like to still be searching for one's identity. “Barbie-Q” is about a little girl and her sister that have dolls that don’t compare to others. There Barbies don’t have new dresses, and fancy red stilettos, but instead they have homemade sock dresses, and bubbleheads. This changes when these two girls go to a flea market, and find new dolls that were damaged in a fire. They may have been damaged with water and had melted limbs but it still meant a lot to these little girls. Sandra Cisneros expresses how these girls have struggled with self identity and how they have finally came to be there
“If Barbie was designed by a man, suddenly a lot of things made sense to me,” says Emily Prager in her essay “Our Barbies, Ourselves” (Prager 354). Prager’s purpose for writing this essay is to explain the history of Barbie and how the doll itself has influenced and continue to influence our society today. Prager is appealing to the average girl, to those who can relate to the way she felt growing up with Barbie seen as the ideal woman. Emily Prager uses a constant shift between a formal and informal tone to effectively communicate her ideas that we view women today based upon the unrealistic expectations set forth by Barbie. By adopting this strategy she avoids making readers feel attacked and therefore
The main point of the story, in my opinion, is to be happy with what you have just like the girls were. The story says, “But that’s all we can afford, besides one extra outfit a piece.” (576) It is clear throughout the story that the girls were not very well off. In one instance, the narrator talks about not having a Ken doll for the Barbies to fight over because they would rather spend their money on a new outfit next Christmas for their Barbies. (576) Another instance shows that the girls knew they were less fortunate than other people, the story states, “We have to make do with your mean-eyed Barbie and my bubble-head Barbie and our one outfit a piece not including the sock dress.” (576) The narrator refers to the Barbies as “mean-eyed” and “bubble head” in this sentence, which shows the narrator realized that she did not have the best of things but she was still satisfied.
Cisneros' Barbie-Q really stood out as a great piece of literature. Barbie-Q is a quick glimpse into the life of a poverty-stricken child and her way of life. Though my life as of yet has been rather short, my earliest childhood memories are overwhelmingly my fondest and her account really struck a chord. Sandra Cisneros' accurate reflection of a young mind and intricate writing methods expressed great emotion. Her portrayal of a child's mentality evoked my childhood recollections while her realistic tale of childhood bliss in the midst of poverty caused great empathy on my part making this my preferred work we studied.
Diaries hold the most precious secrets that a young girl can have. This includes secrets about boys, embarrassing stories, arguments with parents, and also the true confessions of the transition into womanhood. In Joan Jacobs Brumberg’s book, The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls, she examines the struggle with confidence and body image in adolescent girls not only in today's generation but in past generations as well. Brumberg states that “the process of sexual maturation is more difficult for girls today than it was a century ago because of a set of historical changes that have resulted in a particular mismatch between girls’ biology and today’s culture” explaining that the expectations of today’s culture are too demanding
Mary Pipher goes on to say that the problem faced by girls is a ‘problem without a name’ and that the girls of today deserve a different kind of society in which all their gifts can be developed and appreciated. (Pipher,M). It’s clear that cultures and individual personalities intersect through the period of adolescence. Adolescence is a time in a young girl’s life that shapes them into the woman they become. I think it begins earlier than teen years because even the clothing that is being sold for younger girls says sexuality. Bras for girls just beginning in every store are now padded with matching bikini underwear, Barbie dolls are glamour up in such away that these girls believ...
The narrator is a young girl from a lower class neighborhood, who has difficulty affording new toys and accessories that are a necessity for her reputation around her friend group. In the story, she explains, “So what if our Barbie’s smell like smoke when you hold them up to your nose even after you wash them and wash them and wash them.” (Barbie Q). This quote infers that the narrator is upset with the circumstances she has around getting new dolls, and that she doesn’t care that her toys come reused from a neighborhood market. Throughout the story, the author uses figurative language to describe the way poverty can affect the childhood innocence of the narrator. Even though we can infer that the girl is from a lower class neighborhood, the narrator still explains that she is able to be creative in solving problems from economic difficulty. As the girl is playing with her dolls, she says, “This and a dress invented from an old sock when we cut holes here, here, and here, the cuff rolled over for a glamorous, fancy free, off the shoulder look.” (Barbie Q). From this quote, we can infer that the narrator is from a lower class neighborhood, and is unable to afford new toys, so she improvises by creating her own Barbie fashion. This short story uses figurative language to describe the way childhood innocence is affected through socioeconomic
In the short story, “Barbie-Q” by Sandra Cisneros, you can see how ones social class can affect their lifestyle and outlook on the world. The theme of this short story composed by Sandra Cisneros is destitution. Cisneros starts the story with incidental symbolism, a portrayal of the Barbie dolls "Yours is the one with mean eyes and a ponytail” (14) and "Mine is the one with bubble hair” (14), then precedes to explain the dolls attire. Which clearly they made themselves "This and a dress invented from an old sock when we cut holes here and here and here…” (14). We can see Cisneros' aim was to furnish the onlooker with the kind of circumstance the characters are in and how they manage being poor to the point that they can't have decent looking Barbie dolls, nice outfits, or a good quantity of toy accessories.
The treatment of females from the 18th century through the 21st century have only gotten worse due to society’s ignorant judgment of the gender. Of which, is the change from the previous housewife like actions to the modern day body figure. This repulsive transaction is perceived throughout literature. From the 19th century’s short story, “The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin in 1894 and the 20th century’s poem, “Barbie Doll” composed by Marge Piercy in 1971.
In Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll,” we see the effect that society has on the expectations of women. A woman, like the girl described in ‘Barbie Doll’, should be perfect. She should know how to cook and clean, but most importantly be attractive according to the impossible stereotypes of womanly beauty. Many women in today’s society are compared to the unrealistic life and form of the doll. The doll, throughout many years, has transformed itself from a popular toy to a role model for actual women. The extremes to which women take this role model are implicated in this short, yet truthful poem.
In the story, “Barbie-Q” by Sandra Cisneros, two girls compare and talk about their barbies, paying close attention to the materialist details. The girls only have one Barbie and one outfit each. They struggle with their financial situation and pretend to have other barbies that are invisible, until a warehouse burns down and they are able to buy a few imperfect barbies. The central idea of this story is how easy it is to conform to social pressure in society of by pretending that life is perfect, hiding emotions, and hiding one's true self .
Adolescent girls growing up in today’s society endure many more hardships than in previous years. Adolescence is no longer a time of endless sunny days spent on the back porch with a glass of country time lemonade and a smile extending ear to ear. Adolescence for girls is now generalized as a dark and depressing period of life that often seems hopeless and never ending. Mary Pipher PH.D tries to illustrate just how drastically life has changed over the years for teenage girls through her best selling book “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls”. Although Mary Pipher was once a clinical psychologist, she articulates very well for everyone to clearly understand her ideas and perspectives. One way she is able to transfer her ideas to her readers without losing any of the emotion and feeling is by using actual quotes by her adolescent girl clients. I feel this is a very effective way to keep the readers attention and to convey the reality of the problems many teenagers are trapped in. I agree with Pipher that our society has changed for the worse even though we are persuaded to think that we are moving in the right direction. Yes, equal right movements have been placed in the law, but the respect that people once had for women has been eliminated. Comparing girls’ true selves to the Bermuda Triangle, Mary Pipher goes to great depth to explain what a mysterious trend this has become. No one can reason why these girls can no longer appreciate anything in life when just a few years before a spittle bug could have kept them mesmerized for an hour. Pipher recalls early in the book the image of Shakespeare’s Ophelia drowning herself due to failed attempts to please both her father and hamlet. She states that adolescent girls are similarly drowning in confusion as they try to sort out details in their life, and decide whom they really want to please. I really liked how Pipher points out that during the most stressful time during girls lives, our society stresses the importance of cutting the emotional ties with moms and dads although this is the time when parental guidance and support would most likely be needed, but maybe not appreciated at the time. However, some parents can actually impact the girl’s choices negatively by insisting that they grow up too fast or to confine to the norm.
In Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl, a mother simultaneously berates her daughter with instructions and teaches her what is expected from her as a woman. Kincaid uses repetitive details frequently throughout the story. For example, the mother tells her daughter “how to hem a dress” and “behave in the presence of men” so that the daughter can avoid “looking” and being “recognize[d]” as the “slut” she is “bent on becoming” (437-8). Her mother’s message of avoiding acting ‘slutty’ exposes modern gender stereotypes. The repetitive details suggest that a girl must dress and behave a certain way to avoid being branded a slut. Although these stereotypes are horrific, they are the harrowing reality women face every day. Kincaid uses repetitive details to critique women’s role in society. These
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
“On Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming” (Kincaid 120). Jamaica Kincaid, the author of the short story “Girl”, grows up in poverty. At age seventeen she is sent to America to make a living. Her story is written in the second person without being told who the narrator is. The narrator only wants the best for the girl, but her worldview is different from that of the girl and the life she is going to lead.