Jamaica Kincaid Essay

Society is often seen to have different biases or perspectives on topics such as the role and perception of women. The short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, consists primarily of a catalog of commands and instructions, the purpose of which is to make sure that the mother’s daughter is constantly in check and not getting into any trouble. Jamaica Kincaid utilizes a wide range of techniques such as symbolism and diction in order to showcase the theme of how the depiction of women rely mainly on how they present themselves in the public and how they are so easily described as impure or filthy.

In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, we have a mother conveying important life advice to her daughter in order for her to adapt to cultural customs and most important to learn the rules of social behavior. Her mother's advice is not only intentionally told in order for her to become the proper antiguan woman she believes in raising, but is also told to criticize her actions and everyday doings. Her mother makes it very clear, in order to live a proper antiguan life, there are many rules that one must follow. With deeper interpretation of Kincaid’s work we come to the realization that her overall message suggests the idea that women as a whole should be domestic and should behave a certain way in our society in order to avoid being viewed as a promiscuous woman.

In the essay “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid there are references to many social problems that were prevalent earlier in society that still apply to today’s society. In this essay the author is giving advice to her teenage daughter where she teachers her the “proper” etiquette and what was expected of a woman in her view. In this story the author Kincaid seems to be the mother and the teenage daughter is probably her daughter, in a different way of viewing she may be the daughter herself reflecting on the past, but it’s not very relevant to the meaning of the literature. In this essay I will explain how the way women are viewed in today’s society have changed, as well as what remains of the past that has yet to be overcome. I will also try and analyze and give my theory as to why Kincaid decided to write her story the way she did.

Saying you are grown can mean nothing to a mother. If you are her child, you will always be her child no matter if you are 5 or 55. You always will have a special bond with your mother because she was really your first best friend. There will always be arguments and disagreements but at the end of the day, she will always be there if you need her. A touchy subject that you may hear about the most are mother-daughter relationships.

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.

The poem "Girl" by author Jamaica Kincaid shows love and family togetherness by creating microcosmic images of the way mothers raise their children in order to survive. Upon closer examination, the reader sees that the text is a string of images in Westerner Caribbean family practices.

Childhood is the most sensitive period of human development. A well-structured academic enabling environment allows children to flourish, learning 15-20 new words every week all while adapting to and learning specific motor functions of all sorts. The correct environment carries an extremely important role and promotes learning under the proper circumstances, however a poor learning environment with constant conflict and poor role models can actually inhibit or slow the growth of a child. By no means does the perfect learning scenario exist, but psychologist can often identify a scenario where parents and/or guardians foster a variety of developmental issues from a psychological, physical, and mental perspective. The authoritative figure's unique and condescending style of teaching the girl in "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, directly leads to harsh social and developmental consequences short term, with diminished long term social and developmental effects including troubled relationships, attachment issues, and a poor understanding of basic social scenarios.

“Girl” is a poem written by Jamaica Kincaid that was published in 1978 in The New Yorker. It was her first piece of published work. She is from Antigua, and most of her work contains stories of Antiguan life. As an African women, Kincaid always explores in her writing about class, race and gender discrimination. “Girl” is not exceptional from her other  writing. Here she creates the image of Western Caribbean domestic lifestyle. The theme of this story is mother and daughter argument. In this story, the mother teaches her daughter how to be a perfect lady in this society. According to old fashion many mother teaches their daughters about what a women should be. “Girl” is a perfect example of this relationship.

Jamaica Kincaid, was born Elaine Potter Richardson on May 25, 1949, in the capital city of St. John’s Antigua, a small island in the British West Indies, that was colonized by the British in 1632. Kincaid is widely praised for her works of short fiction, novels, and essays in which she often explores the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, her general feelings of alienation, as well as themes of anti-colonialism. In addition to gaining a significant voice in contemporary literature, Kincaid is considered one of the most pivotal female writers from the Caribbean.

Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” share a common theme of the expectations of ones heritage. For instance “Everyday Use” explores cultural norms of cultural practices. Dee and Mama argue over whether the family heirlooms should be preserved or used. While “Girl” focuses on the strict culture norms of what it means to be a respected women in her environment. The girls’ mother has a set of rules that her daughter must obey so she can be viewed positively. “Everyday Use” and “Girl” challenge the norm of their time. “Everyday Use” which was published in 1973 goes against thoughts held during the black power movement regarding cultural preservation. “Girl” which was published in 1978 argues that girls should not have to follow the social norm to be respected. Both stories challenge the commonly held beliefs of their time.

In the passage, Jamaica Kincaid dramatizes the opposing forces of the desire for stability and the desire to grow as a human. The passage encapsulates Kincaid’s move to a new city up North and all the unexpected changes she discovers. By the end of the excerpt, she clearly delineates that she’s homesick and wants to return to her old, rural lifestyle because she “didn’t want to take in anything else.” This surface need of returning home and regaining stability in her life clashes with her subconscious, which begs to continue trying new experiences. Kincaid has outgrown her hometown and knows that the only way to further grow into a dynamic human being is through moving to a city filled with “good ideas.” Kincaid won’t be able to grow and evolve toward self-actualization if she only experiences her past, rural life.

Women roles in society have been to take care of their families, and do what is required of “ a woman”. In Jamaica Kincaid’s poem Girl, a mother is giving her daughter advice on how to be a woman; simultaneously, reminding her if she does not obey these duties, she will be considered a “slut”. The mother is explaining to her, the role women play in society, how to act around a man, take care of your spouse, and how to never act less than a woman. Reading Kincaid’s poem alongside the academic article titled, The Female Breadwinner: Phenomenological Experience and Gendered Identity in Work/ Family Spaces, I have concluded that women’s roles in society are outrageous; however, they are improving. This poem has more to do with gender roles and less to do with the pride, integrity, and self worth a woman feels internally as a result of the things she has been taught.

Despite Jamaica Kincaid achieving cultural independence from colonialism, the lack of ones identity in the post-colonial times of the 19th century is best understood in her Mother-Daughter Relationships in comparing her writings of “Girl” and “Anne Jone”s".

Jamaica Kincaid was born in 1949, in St. Johns, Antigua. Jamaica's mother, Annie Richardson, moved from the Dominica to Antigua, an island in the West Indies. After Annie settled she married Jamaica’s stepfather, David Drew. Jamaica’s family lived in poverty, but she was always smothered with attention from her mother, who taught her to read at a very young age. After the birth of her 3 little brothers, Jamaica lacked attention because of her gender. Jamaica was a very bright student in school excelling in literature, but was forced to drop out at 16 to help support her family. She left to the United States to find work and send her pay back home in Dominica to help support her family. She finally cut relations with her family back home and

Parents play a crucial role in the development of children, varying from culture to culture. Although imperative, the mother and daughter relationship can be trivial. Many women writers have exercised their knowledge and shared their feelings in their works to depict the importance and influence of mothers upon daughters. Jamaica Kincaid, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Kiana Davenport are only three of the many women writers who have included mother and daughter themes in their texts. These writers explore the journeys of women in search of spiritual, mental and individual knowledge. As explained by these authors, their mothers’ words and actions often influence women both negatively and positively. These writers also show the