Gender Construction In Jamaica Kincaid's Girl

The two short stories share a similarity in theme in contrast of gender and how it is viewed in each story. In “Girl”, the mom teaches her daughter the way a woman should be living her life in the Antiguan society that results in the girl facing how the rest of the world perceives her as an individual. “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming;”

"These writers explore both the social roles that confine them and the bodies that represent the confinement". In light of this quotation, compare how the writers explore gender.

The story immediately starts off with the mother telling her daughter what she is expected to do. All of these things that are explained are said to send out the message that the mother is creating a lady, developing a house wife, and a strong, independent woman. Kincaid’s thesis in the story “Girl” is very clear because the intentions she has are expressed through the dialogue between the mother and daughter. The theme of the story does not change much throughout the story.

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a story where it is portrayed from a feminist point of view, which is an important. This brings an importance to the reader because they should fully understand what a feminist perspective entails. The “Girls” consists of advice from a mother to her daughter. It is the mother’s plan to develop a bright path for her daughter and rebuke her at the same time. She had used the words of wisdom, but sort of repeated herself, especially to warn her daughter about not becoming a “slut”. The author wrote, “On Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like a slut you are so bent on becoming” (Kincaid, 320). Besides these repetitions, the story does not move forward in a chronological fashion. There is not a beginning, middle,

The object of examining gender roles is to answer the question why should women and men be equal and "Are there populations in which men and women are absolutely equal? Are there societies in which women dominate men?" (Gender 238) By understanding the culture in which this piece of literature is written, the gender roles and the rules of behavior for a woman, then the relationships between genders can be realized. The general myth about women and their gender role in the American society is that the mother works in the home and supports her man in every way. For each relationship, the people in that relationship must decide the particular roles that they will play. In the literary work "Girl", Kincaid shows clearly that the woman's role in this work was to serve the family and to work mainly in the house. The mother writing this story tells her daughter that "this is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it doesn't have a crease" (Kincaid 489). In this marriage, it is understood that the wife is to do the laundry for the husband. Today's society does not always provide these clear roles since many women work a full time job and the house chores are a responsibility for both to handle. Though the woman is still mainly held responsible for the home. There should be a constant search for equality in gender roles. Kincaid explains how the man is working to bring home the money and the wife supports

A mother’s words are the ones that ring loudest in a child’s ear, are passed down from generation to generation, and the one’s that hold a special place in a child’s memory and heart forever. Expectations and guidelines are set at a young age. Morals and values are learned throughout the years, and life lessons are taught through the wisdom passed down from a mother to a daughter. Every mother has a wish for their daughter to be the best they can be. But at what point does instruction and wisdom become simply words that have been said one too many times? The short story “Girl,” written by Jamaica Kincaid is presented to the reader as a list of instructions from a mother to a daughter on how to live life to the

The poem Girl, by Jamaica Kincaid, uses words that represent a society and repetition to achieve the theme which is to teach her daughter how to be a respected woman. The mother wanted to teach her daughter how to be a proper lady so that she could be respected. For example when the mother told her daughter “you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions”. That would not look right at that time for a woman to be speaking to a man who is not family or mans she does not now. I feel that is not right I feel women should be able to speak to anyone they want to.

The “Girl” is a poem that was written by Jamaica Kincaid. The poem depicts a mother instructing her daughter of what to do, and how to do it. As stated in the poem the child was being instructed on how to buy cotton which shows that the person receiving the instruction is a girl, “buying cotton to make a nice blouse,” shows females attributes and qualities. As quoted, “iron your father’s khaki shirt so that it doesn’t have a crease,” shows that it is a mother speaking. The tone of the poem is one of denial, because of the instruction in which the mother was giving to the daughter. As stated, “always eat your food… turn someone else’s stomach;” and tone is throughout the poem.

In the short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the story reflects a Caribbean mother who teaches a girl who maybe her daughter, her own experience of the past on how a woman should act in her time and tradition. The mother conducts guidance to the girl in a world that has changed, to abase the girl modernized ways and existent views on society and their cultivation. She attempts to teach the adolescent girl in a “how to” format so that she can sculpt her into womanhood. This is where she explains how to have appropriate cultural customs, the rules of how a woman must behave in society, and the proper sexual conduct when around and caring for a man. However, after all the mother has explained to the daughter to become a woman, the daughter act as she didn’t listen to anything the mother has told her. The author’s theme is not to demean her readers but to impel them to understand the stereotypical and patriarchal societal norm of the way a mother or woman must pass on the feminine traits or cultural belief, in which a girl should follow.

In “Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, the mother is warning her daughter about what to expect, and how to act, in society. The story represents a time when the daughter knew that her mother loved her enough to spend the time to give her the advice, but is also emotionally distant. I believe this to be representative of Kincaid’s life, and how after her brother’s were born she felt that her mother did not have enough time for her.

In contemporary literary studies there is an abundant amount of literary theories and criticism that can be evaluated when analyzing any type of literary work. In Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl the literary theory regarding feminism and other feminist evaluations can be utilized to understand the themes, motives, imagery and other noteworthy elements included in Girl. The feminist theory contains a major breakdown on the feminist perspective and the development of gender in literature throughout the nineteenth century and so forth. Using works from Judith Butler and Helene Cixous, Girl exemplifies the feminist theory through the characteristics discovered through these criticisms and provides readers with a better understanding of the short story.

In Jamaica Kincaid’s story, Girl, a mother is talking to her daughter about all the proper things she must do to be considered a good girl to her family and to the public, and when she grows up, a proper lady. She must follow the rules that are given to her by her own mother and by society. The mother also teaches the daughter how to act when things don’t go her way. She is told that along with being a proper lady, she must also be able to get what she wants and be independent. This story was written in the late 1970’s and gender roles, for women, back then were not being “followed” because women wanted equal opportunities (Women In the Workforce). “Gender stereotypes are beliefs regarding the traits and behavioral characteristics given to individuals on the basis of their gender” (Deuhr). This essay will discuss the gender roles that were given to women in the story, during the late 70’s, and in today’s society.

Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl explores these controversies and writes a long form poem that includes a list of rules for young girls to follow as advice that will help them be more likeable and become a reputable “woman”. These rules are delivered in a direct emphasis with strict undertone. The guidelines given to the young girl can be inferred as a mother teaching her daughter who is at the age of adolescence. Jamaica Kincaid’s long form poem Girl highlights the stereotypical social responsibilities of young girls which is heavily defined by language, culture, and mothers. In the poem the mother figure covers everything from how to

Throughout the history, in all cultures the roles of males and females are different. Relating to the piece of literature “Girl” written by Jamaica Kincaid for the time, when women’s roles were to work in the home. By examining

Written in 1983, Kincaid narrates the thoughts and moral beliefs of the time by her mother. In Girl, Kincaid uses repetition of the term “slut” to emphasize that her mother did not want her to develop a bad moral reputation (Kincaid 118-119). Later in the narration though are her mother’s thoughts on abortion, “this is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child” (Kincaid 119). It shows that while the mother instructed her in moral principles, she also understood that things happen to a young woman. The practical nature of this instruction seems to indicate more modern thought while still living in a society of traditions. Another hint of the time period is the mention of divorce and how to live after it, “this is how you love a man…and if they don’t work out, don’t feel bad about giving up” (Kincaid 119). This could indicate that divorce is an accepted practice in the more modern society that Jamaica Kincaid wrote Girl in.