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Analysis of girl by Jamaica Kincaid
Gender role in literature
Gender role in literature
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“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, is a poem about the relationship between two characters, the mother and daughter, the one that speaks the most is a mother who gives guidance on life to her daughter. The setting appears to be at home where the mother gives direction in things like cooking and washing clothes as living in their Antiguan society. Conflicts between a mother and her daughter, and Western or present day values, are depicted by Kincaid's compelling outline of her association with her mother. The mother is teaching much helpful and practical advice that will enable her daughter to keep her very own place sometime in the future. She reveals to her daughter how to do such household chores as clothing, sewing, cooking, setting the table, ironing, and washing. The mother likewise advises the daughter how to do different things she'll have to think about, including how to make herbal medicines and catch a fish. The mother trains her daughter on the best way to carry on with a satisfying life. These words of wisdom recommend that the women live in a poor, rustic setting, where passing advice is basic for day by day living. …show more content…
She additionally says that there are numerous sorts of relationships and some never work out. The mother advises the daughter how to carry herself on in various circumstances, incorporating how to talk with individuals she doesn't care for. Another imperative to the mother is telling her daughter how to be ladylike. She cautions her few times on the best way to not turn into a slut or act like one. She may feel that her daughter is either excessively promiscuous or headed toward that path. They appear to be living in a poor area, so depending on prostitution may be normal around there as a methods for
The excerpt I chose to read for this assignment was Chapter 1 from Jeanette Walls’ “The Glass Castle: A Memoir” titled “A Woman on the Street” This chapter of the novel depicts the main character and her mother’s relationship. The mother has decided to live her life in poverty for reasons yet to be explained to the reader. It is said that this is how she wishes to live. Her daughter, the main character, is ashamed by her mother and the way she is living and intends to try to help better her life, however her mom insists that she isn't the one who needs help. This readings goal is to establish the core relationship of the novel, and set up the beginning of how the story may begin to change.
...ty that does not encourage that kind of behavior in women. During the novel she is told what to do, how to do it and at one point who to marry. She struggles with her growing unhappiness until she finally meets her true love.
...her and daughter goes deeper than the surface, where mother daughter banter seems normal in this day and age. In actuality, during this oppressive state between Britain and the Caribbean, the mother favored British lifestyle and all that was affiliated with it, yet in opposition, the girl was anti- imperialism, therefore causing conflict among each other. In what seems to be a sort of monologue, “Girl” goes onto contain a theme involving political overtones less apparent and contrary to that of “A&P.”
“Girl” written by Jamaica Kincaid is essentially a set of instructions given by an adult, who is assumed to be the mother of the girl, who is laying out the rules of womanhood, in Caribbean society, as expected by the daughter’s gender. These instructions set out by the mother are related to topics including household chores, manners, cooking, social conduct, and relationships. The reader may see these instructions as demanding, but these are a mother’s attempt, out of care for the daughter, to help the daughter to grow up properly. The daughter does not appear to have yet reached adolescence, however, her mother believes that her current behavior will lead her to a life of promiscuity. The mother postulates that her daughter can be saved from a life of promiscuity and ruin by having domestic knowledge that would, in turn also, empower her as a productive member in their community and the head of her future household. This is because the mother assumes that a woman’s reputation and respectability predisposes the quality of a woman’s life in the community.
It is said that a girl can often develop some of her mother's characteristics. Although, in their works, Kincaid, Hong Kingston and Davenport depict their protagonists searching for their own identities, yet being influenced in different ways by their mothers. Jamaica Kincaid's poem Girl, is about a young woman coming-of-age receiving helpful advice from her mother. In this poem, Kincaid addresses several issues where a mother's influence is beneficial to a young woman's character. The mother, or speaker, in Girl, offers advice to her daughter- advice that she otherwise would not learn without being told or shown. The mother advises the daughter about everyday tasks, and how to go about them properly (in her opinion).
The mother teaches love and the daughter learns it, in return. Kelly Oliver states that Cixous believes that the best solution for the “feminine fatigue” or the female identity crisis is through “motherhood and pregnancy” (3). The mother seeks the intertwinement with her daughter in order to eclipse the figure of the father, the root of her
The story “Girl” takes the form of a series of lessons; the point of the lessons, according to the mother, is to teach her daughter to behave and act properly. Kincaid’s complicated relationship with her mother comes out in the mother-daughter dynamic in the story. The mother mentions practical and helpful advice that will help her daughter keep a house of her own someday and also how to have a life of her own. It can be argued that in Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl” that the mother is loving towards her daughter because the mother is taking time to teaching her daughter how to be a woman, and because she wants to protect her in the future from society’s judgment.
...autiful creatures and deserve everything life has to offer. When gathered together, nothing can destroy the strength of a woman. Guidance from parents, at a very young age, can help mold the minds of the young children in today’s society. This world has become overpopulated with greed and hate. The only way to get past the hatred and violence is to love thy neighbor, and protect our young from the unnecessary violence that can be eliminated with love for one another.
The theme of Everyday Use is not immediately apparent, although Alice Walker begins the story by creating a familiar setting in the comfort of home that lead to the spirit of heritage and its importance in our lives. The protagonist, a single mother of two daughters, sees herself as ."..large...rough... slow-witted" and not fitting into the social strata of her oldest daughter, Dee, who ."..has held life always in the palm of her hand." The story begins with the mother preparing the yard to be ."..more comfortable than most people know....like an extended living room" for Dee's homecoming. This line early in the story also shows the mother placing a high value on comfort.
The short story, Girl, by Jamaica Kincaid, can very easily be related directly to the author’s own life. Kincaid had a close relationship with her mother until her three younger brothers were born. After the birth of her brothers, three major values of her mother became apparent to Kincaid. In turn, Kincaid used the three values of her mother to write the short story, Girl. Specifically, these values led to three themes being formed throughout the story. It appears in the short story that the mother was simply looking out for her daughter; however, in all reality, the mother is worried about so much more. Kincaid uses the themes of negativity towards female sexuality, social norms and stereotypes, and the significant
Finally, the movie says that women, first of all, should rely on themselves and not submit to any kind of domination. They should simply support themselves by their own efforts instead of letting someone else arrange and control their lives. The movie also demonstrates how a girl possessing the virtues of honesty, patience, prudence, industry, and obedience can be rewarded with a husband and the attendant better life and higher social position.
This third person text, is from the respective of a young girl receiving advice or societal guidance form a motherly figure. Readers see that the motherly woman goes through the text by listing all the things the young girl should be doing but she often contradicts herself by saying things that seem opposite of what should be expected. The womanly figure speaks on how to do laundry, cooking and cleaning. She then says “this is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it, and this is how to move quick so that it doesn’t fall on you” (Kincaid 321). It is to note because this type of contradiction because it exemplifies a small message pf not being perfect or just being yourself. The mother is preparing the young lady for the world as she grows, but by say this it shows that the mother does not want the young girl to forget that she is still a child. All the duties that the mother is filling this young child with can seem overwhelming even from the readers prospective. We can also see then when the motherly woman tells her how to hem a dress so that the hem does not show thus preventing her from “looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming” (Kincaid 320). This future models the idea that the mother has an understand that there is a certain way a young woman should grow up and be, yet the young girl must still choose her own
Analysis of “Girl” by Jamaica Kinkaid In the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the mother trying hard to teach her daughter about life through her own past experience and believes. She is telling her about real life situations and how she should behave and handle herself. Others might say that this is a verbally abusive relationship, but the mother is really looking out in the best interest of her daughter. Teaching her daughter how to prepare traditional food, how to please her husband with handling house chores and makes sure his needs are met before anything else.
Women get stuck in a life of toil and responsibilities instead of receiving help to achieving self-actualization. The story shows a representation of motherhood in a harsh and bitter way particularly in the aspect of the bond between a mother and her child. Emily’s mother, like all mothers, will not willingly neglect her child or leave her child to go through unnecessary suffering that will later on become a big scar in the child’s life. Due to the circumstance that surrounds her at the time, she had the urgent need to survive and take care of her child. Unknowing to her that her action would create a distance and an emptiness between her and her daughter, Emily.
Structure Dialogue, Characterization, Setting, “Girl” is a short story with no character descriptions, no plot, no structure and no setting. It is a concise but complex piece that tells what it entails to be a girl. The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is an entirely dialogue between two characters. The dialogue helps tell the audience more about the society and characters. The words sound like a directly transcribed conversation, thereby giving the audience the feeling that the writer is directly speaking to them.