`` Girl `` : Kincaid 's Mirror On Gender Inequities

Elaine Potter Richardson, more famously known as Jamaica Kincaid, is recognized for her writings that suggest depictions of relationships between families, mainly between a mother and daughter, and her birth place, Antigua, an island located in the West Indies. She is also familiarized with Afrocentrism and feminist point of views. Kincaid’s work is filled heavily with visual imagery that produces a mental picture in readers that helps them connect stronger to the reading. An example of this really shines through in her short story piece, “Girl.” This short story describes the life of a lower class woman living in the West Indies, and also incorporates thick detailing between the relationship between her and her mother. Jamaica Kincaid structures the story as if her mother is speaking to her. She writes broad, but straight to the point, allowing readers to imagine to picture her experience. Kincaid uses visual imagery and repetition consistently throughout “Girl” to reveal the theme and tone of the story; conflictual affair between a mother and daughter.

In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, it is tough for the girl to express herself to her mother without having both their values clash against each other. The girl’s mother values the opinion of what society

Kincaid, Jamaica.“Girl”. In The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 541-542. Print.

Jamaica Kincaid seems to be the passive narrator, receiving the instructions from her mother on how to live in their present social setting. The mother figure focuses on two main categories in her guidance, social manners and domesticity. First, guidance is given for a

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.

In Jamaica Kincaid essay “On Seeing England for the First Time” conveys the contradiction of a young Antiguan women’s bitterness in her perspectives of learning about England versus exactly experiencing England. Furthermore, Kincaid presents the speaker’s voice as consistently bitter from the beginning by using subjective and sarcastic diction and convincing syntax.

Throughout time mother/daughter relationships have been tattered as woman’s liberation has taken place. Many mothers have the “old fashioned” opinion about what a woman should be. The short story “Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, is a prime example of this relationship. The theme in “Girl” strongly suggests that a woman should be domestic and there is a certain way that she

Kincaid was never prepared for England as it is; all she had to go on was the idea of England that was presented to her as a child. She never had a single real tie to England: "No one I knew had ever been and returned to tell me about it. All the people I knew who had gone to England had stayed there" (356). In England she is conscious of the fact that she is an outsider. She is made to feel this way by the difference she perceives between the English and herself: "Their skins were so pale, it made them look so fragile, so weak, so ugly . . . they didn't like me, and it occurred to me that their dislike for me was one of the few things they agreed upon" (357). The racial difference breeds a mutual distrust. She is made to feel she can never truly be English because of her race, ancestry, and the history of

At first, Kincaid’s story seems to be an arbitrary list of actions a strict mother tells her daughter,

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

Clearly, Jamaica Kincaid’s story "Girl" represents a piece of history steeped in formalities and strictness. Yet, Kincaid’s tale of a mother-daughter everyday conversation suggests two things. Firstly, it would seem that

Throughout the reading “Upon Seeing England for the First Time”, Jamaica Kincaid describes how she first learned about England and described England as a “very special jewel” (Kincaid 3). She also describes how England influences her entire life from a child. As she describes events about her that occurred throughout her life, her view starts to shift and the liking of England starts turning toward hatred. Kincaid describes England as the everything in her life. Wherever she goes, what she wears, how she eats is all taught to her, based off the English culture. Thus, Kincaid’s view starts to shift in the reading from liking England to despising England. Therefore, to explain her hatred about England, Kincaid utilizes literary devices such as

The idea of being sexually pure is a repetitive comment in Kincaid’s piece, and plays into importance of not giving into your sexual desires for society to respect one woman. The piece continues to portray that her sexual drive has to be in control and there is a certain way to address it while in a romantic relationship with a man. In fact, the piece also narrates how a woman should address all different types of people, in different ways. The daughter, whether she is having an internal conversation with her mother, is only heard twice in the piece. The first time, she is trying to stand up for her rights and her own feelings, however, that is turned around on her through an acquisition. She attempts again towards the end of the poem, trying to clarify the advice but instead is answered through a rhetorical question, depicting that the girl has learned nothing from the advice given if she has to ask that question. The whole plot of the piece is explained through this last rhetorical question, “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 1).

If one wants an interesting but controversial read that is intellectually stimulating, A Small Place is perfect. Critics both praise and condemn her text. To better understand Kincaid and her essay, one should analyze the massive effects of British rule on Antigua, her intended audience, and the childhood she experienced; specifically, the Postcolonial, Reader Response, and Biographical lenses.

Women began as the first victims of gender inequality. Gender issues began when women were expected to clean and take care of their families. Chores were also gender oriented; children that were girls were expected to help wash dishes and learn to cook. Women also did not work at all. The very few women who did work were often school teachers, but they did nothing more than that. A woman’s main priority was to care for her family and take care of her home. This expectation of women changed over time once women began to work. In today’s society it is more common for a woman to work, but she is still expected to take on the motherly role of the house. This role