Jamaica Kincaid's story "Girl" consists of a young girl who receives a long list of instructions given in a harsh manner by a motherly figure. These demands connect the girl's gender to the role she must play in order to be viewed as the right kind of woman to both society and men. She must conceal herself enough so people do not think she is a sexual being, but be revealing enough to attract a man. By writing “Girl”, Kincaid makes the argument that “public forms are very important and . . . subtle
“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid addresses many issues. Some of the issues that the piece discusses are gender roles, social class, feminism, and culture. The literary work is one long sentence with semicolons separating the list of things the girl is told to do and not to do by her mother. The short piece came off differently when reading it and when watching Kincaid read the piece. When Kincaid read the piece it was as if the piece is meant to mock the mother. The girl is mocking all of the things that
In Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” there is a mother-daughter narrative in which the mother is instructing the daughter regarding the standards of society and expectations of a woman. The daughter’s objections have very little impact on the long string of dos and don’ts presented by the mother. The advice is not a direct conversation, but a recollection of advice remembered by the daughter. The mother wishes to prevent her daughter from being promiscuous while also teaching her household duties and social
Girl by Jamaica Kincaid is an excellent piece of text that embraces a coming of age theme. The excerpt is really just a gigantic list of things that the average Jamaican girl needs to learn to do in order to be considered a woman in Jamaican culture. This story was easiest for me to read and even relate to because of the fact that I can relate due to my family’s background. The one part within the story that most greatly emphasizes the coming of age theme is when the author states, “This is how to
Introduction In the novel Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid concentrates on the protagonist and how her two identities play a part in this novel. Lucy analysis herself as an immigrant from the Caribbean within the United States. Not only do immigrants have to face a physical displacement, but also have to change their identity to integrate into broader society. The changing environment causes many conflicts between one identity to another. Some of the identities that compose these immigrants are race, class
“Girl,” Jamaica Kincaid illustrates through written word the struggle women go through due to the expectations set for them. While there is female oppression of different forms, Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a resemblance of the oppression she felt during her childhood on the small and remote island-nation of Antigua. In its most basic form, “Girl” vividly paints a literary picture depicting the way an “old-fashioned” wife is supposed to be in the eyes of her male patriarch. The piece by Kincaid seemingly
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Jamaica kincaid: rough draft Jamaica Kincaid successfully convinces her audience that post colonial impact still remains. Through the use of rhetorical appeals such as pathos, logos and imagery she successfully explains her claim. Through this novel she gives an insightful explanation of what antigua is like from a person who comes from that area. Kincaid being born in antigua, she gives us a view from her eyes on what antigua is really like while going through post colonial
The two texts “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “If” by Rudyard Kipling have a similar topic of parents giving advice to their children, and a similar theme of your parents will always be there to give you advice. The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and the short story “If” by Rudyard Kipling have a similar topic of Parents giving advice to their children. For example a quote from “Girl”, “This is how to sew a button, this is how to make a button hole for the button you have
Jamaica kincaid has a new and interesting point of view to bring to us through her poetic writing style. She talks about postcolonialism and how her life was affected by it throughout all of the book she wrote, A Small Place. Often times Jamaica Kincaid talk about a woman's perspective and how postcolonialism is a period where men make the decisions this is a great example of where the readers can take time and analize her writings of Antigua through a feminists point of view and can help us to better
In the poem “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, she uses a lot of literary terms to get her point across. The poem shows a mother teaching her child how to make it in life, what things to do and what not to do. The tone of the poem is commanding and authoritative, and it also uses imagery and allegory. Also in this poem the author includes diction, which gives us an understanding that the story is told from a different kind of living than most people living in America. This poem is an example of free verse