Jamaica Kincaid

Social manners portray how an individual or person carry themselves or act in an appropriate manner. In the poem “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, Kincaid demonstrates a monologue relationship between a mother and her young daughter, coaching her to practice good manners through some traditional suavities. “this is how you set a table for tea, this is how you set a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for an important guest” (Kincaid). Here the mother is guiding her on the different steps of setting a table for different occasions and making certain she focused on establishing a pleasant environment for everyone at the table. Thus, enlightening her which sides on the table each utensil goes, gives her the opportunity to avoid persnickety

In the poem the mother outlines specific details to her daughter how to perform certain household chores “wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put on the clothes line to dry.” (Kincaid). This goes to show women was never empowered to get educated or given the privilege to build a successful career. Instead they stay home carry out duties of taking care of home while their husbands went out and work. Therefore, passing on traditional values to her daughter will help prepare her for the future and how to care for own family (“this is how you iron your father khaki shirt so that it doesn’t have a crease; this is how you iron your father pants, so they don’t have a crease” (Kincaid). Women were domestic helpers in their own home, washing, cooking and cleaning was their activities of daily living. In todays society many young women started to rebel against their parent or ground if they were told to do such chores. Hence, in the poem the young woman didn’t understand the concept of the message her mother was bringing across and tried to rebel against it “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays and at all and never in Sunday school” (Kincaid).hence, the mother seems somewhat disappointed, because she realized that after all the instruction she had given

The mother is believed that the way a woman conducted herself determine her sexual history. The value of women is scrutinized with respect of a good character and reputation. Therefore, the mother in “Girl” want her daughter to grow in a respectable fashioned that other would see her as pure and not promiscuous. Yet, the ways in which some a woman demean themselves depicts a lot about their character and meekness “this is how you behave in the presence of men who don’t you very well and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (Kincaid). The mother is explaining to her daughter how to act in the presence of men, this way they would find her of good value and respect and won’t see her as cheap and as a sexual disfigure. Ultimately, the repetition of the term “slut” the mother constantly used pinpoint a bad moral