The relationship emerges in this piece not from a traditional idea of “story” but from a framework of sentence structure, punctuation, and cadence. Diane Simmons believes that “Girl” is “a kind of primer in the manipulative art of rhythm and repetition” (Simmons). These rhetorical devices push the narrative forward. By the end, character traits are clear as is the dynamic of this particular relationship.
Simmons, Diane. "The Rhythm of Reality in the Works of Jamaica Kincaid." World Literature Today 68.3 (Summer 1994): 466-472. Rpt. in Literature of Developing Nations for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Literature of Developing Nations. Ed. Elizabeth Bellalouna, Michael L. LaBlanc, and Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.
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Please click on Comments and give your ideas on this story’s theme and possible social commentary. Discuss the narration style, and make connections to pop culture. Sign your comments with your first name and last initial.
I think the story's theme Is maturing and growing up. All the things the mother is telling the daughter are things that you should know as you get older in life.
ReplyDeleteAshley H.
I think the story's theme is fitting in. It also has a hidden meaning of sexism and how women were supposed to behave. This is shown by the continuing use of warning against being a "slut." What I found strange is this story was created in 1978, well after the time of the women's rights movement in the 1920's.
ReplyDeleteJake G.
This story’s theme was mostly on how a girl should have respect for herself and knowing how to become a lady. The narration style was a bit confusing in the beginning because the person who is reading this is unaware of the speaker. It had a bit of a unique twist to it, but as the reader reads further you realize that there are two speakers. In the story it seems to take place in the West Indies “don’t walk barehead in the hot sun” (Kincaid). Pop culture today is similar to the short story “Girl” because we do still have mothers or mother like figures who talk to their daughters on how to become a lady. They are teaching them from what’s wrong to what’s right. “Don’t squat down to play marbles— you are not a boy, you know” (Kincaid). It’s not polite to squat its either sit down and play or just stand there and watch because if you’re squatting it means you are not respecting one’s body. -Vanessa G
ReplyDeleteThis story seems to take place in another society where women are respected when they are good at cleaning and doing house chores. The mother in the story is training her daughter to be a woman of value. She only knows how to be a good house wife and a strong woman and wants to teach her daughter how to be a respectable woman in society. In the story when the daughter questions if the baker will let her touch the bread the mother seems like it is a disgrace that the baker would not let her touch it because the baker only lets respected women touch the bread.
ReplyDeleteDana N
In my opinion, this story's theme was about tradition and what was expected of a woman of the "Girl's" religious background and culture. The narration style was confusing at first and had sort of a dialogue to it without being clear as to who was saying what. Throughout the story the reader's should figure out there are two people speaking. The story relates to pop culture because it is the mother telling the daughter how to act and how to conform to their religion. People are constantly told what to do and follow their traditions passed on by there parents.
ReplyDelete- Marisa Rooney
The theme i would say for "Girl" is teaching, learning and wisdom. The mother is telling her daughter how to act and go about life in a certain way. she is giving her daughter wisdom on life. how to avoid isusses in life such as washing clothes, meeting young men and farming to name a few. As children we learn from our parents and i feel she was learning from a motherly figure.
ReplyDelete-Greg D
I think the theme to this story is teaching a younger generation. The mother was probably raised that way so she passed down what she learned to her daughter, but it seems like the daughter wasn't really paying attention to a lot of what the mother had to say. The narration style to this story was a bit confusing to figure out mainly because it was hard to tell who was talking.
ReplyDeleteDarwin U.
I think this story's theme is not what the main narrator, the mother, says, but it shows us a generation gap and how women lived when this story was published. Probably, women were limited to do something because of some socially accepted ideas at that time. Pop culture that children are usually interested in is always what parents can't easily understand, so it sometimes causes a generation gap. The narration style is like a real conversation. -Donghwan K
ReplyDeleteThe theme of Jamaica Kinkaid's "Girl" would be female domesticity and sexuality. Throughout the entire story there is constant prodding of how to run a household. "Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; don't walk barehead in
ReplyDeletethe hot sun; cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil" (Kinkaid) this is only a brief example. The sexuality becomes apparent when the narrator mentions the inedibility of the girl becoming a slut. She even goes to the length of mentioning a form of abortion.
This could all be stemming from society itself and the fear it instills in parents. Examples of teenage pregnancy and the troubles that follow suit can be detrimental to a family. Which the narrator in the story is trying to avoid. While the girl seems to be overwhelmed based on the sentence structure, she is being taught to be a "good woman" in relation to the narrator. The "teacher" is simply trying to create a woman to avoid the label of "slut" and for her to find a good spouse. Of course this is more complex then the story suggests but overwhelming the girl seems to be the strategy.
-Doug C
The theme of "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid is like growing up and respecting yourself as a female. Coming from a mothers perspective who is considered as the narrator in this short story.The mothers teaching is more traditional which seemed overwhelming to the daughter but as a parent the mother was just looking out for her best interest. To me it was kind of sexist as far as the idea of how women are supposed to behave but i do like the fact that the mother is molding her daughter to be a strong woman.
ReplyDelete-Omari G
The tone of narration coming from one voice reveals the perspective of a mother teachings to a daughter of what she feels is a good woman. A domesticated woman is what society expects and this is what her daughter should be nothing short of. The semicolons are just a way of listing a plethora of rules a woman should live by. This seems to be the thoughts of a girl with a lot to live up to recalling everything she was taught yet questioning herself at the same time. The author's reference to not becoming a slut by virtue of having housewife qualities makes me think this story is centered around keeping a husband.
ReplyDelete-Ashleigh N.
It was interesting that the narrations is dialogue, the voice never said what was physically happening. I also was intrigued by the fact they used the term "slut" to describe what she shouldn't be it. It was such a strong word to use to describe a girl that doesn't do what is expected of her. I enjoyed he slightly humorous end to the story.
ReplyDelete- Julianna C
Jamaica, Kincaid. "Girl." This story's theme is about how female plays a role in the culture and society. The entire story has no period at all. Author uses semicolons instead of preiods which give readers sence of feelings that there are a lot of demanding for that girl. Readers can imagine the image that the girl is busy to do a pile of house works. In addition to, the way mother talks to her daughter, it feels like that she orders the girl to do all these works not asking, such as "Wash the white clothes... ; cook pumpki... ; this is how you iron your father's khaki shirt..." (Kincaid). This particular culture and society has thier own standars to judge whether the girl is good or is a "slut". This social standar and gender role may be surprised people in today's pop culture, but female in the Mideast and India are most likely live the same way.
ReplyDeletePeng Q
The theme of the story "Girl" by Jamaica Kinkaid is how a lady should respect herself and how a lady should grow up. In the story we see how a mother gives instructions to her daughter on how to become a grown and respectable women, " ...this is how to sew on a button; this is how to make a button–hole for the button you have just sewed on; this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming; this is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it doesn't have a crease; this is how you iron your father's khaki pants so that they don't have a crease..." (Kinkaid). The narration style is a bit odd because there is so many run on sentences. The narrator doesn't seem to use capital letters except for the first word in the first sentence. I guess the narrator choose to write like this so it can relate to how everyone else commonly writes in todays society so that most people can understand it.
ReplyDelete- Christian G.
The narration style of “Girl” is a 3rd person narrative style. The way the narrator speaks makes it seem that way because of the way the daughter shows up. In pop culture, there is a way to describe some of the women in it today. The way the daughter was spoken to by the mom made it seem as if she was comparing her daughter to a pop sensation today. “This is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming” (Jamaica Kincaid). She would repeatedly say how she does not want her daughter to become a slut and based on how women in the industry are today, a vast majority of them are or can be considered sluts.
ReplyDelete-Anthony C.
I think the theme for "Girl" is sexuality or tradition. What's being said in the story show specific things that the girl must do because she is supposed to. Some parents are very strict with teaching their children proper manners and etiquette and this has a lot to deal with what their background is and how themselves were raised. Judging by this story and how I feel that this is Jamaica Kincaid's mother speaking to her it shows that her mother was probably raised in a strict home.
ReplyDelete- Christina H
"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid sounded like a laundry list of things that the mother does to be a perfect house wife to her husband. The mother is trying to mold her daughter into the perfect house wife. The short story is very stereotypical of what a women should be doing. There is probably generations of traditions that this comes from that would make the mother feel forced to teach her daughter.The parents are probably very strict on religion in the house which would make this a major part of growing up and proving that the daughter is old enough to be a wife.To some religions taking on these tasks are a sign of age and maturity.
ReplyDelete-Amanda F
"Girl" written by Jamacia Kincaid explains a long list of thins to learn and do in order to be the perfect women in society. She focuses a lot on steering her daughter away from from being "the slut [she is] so bent on becoming"(Kincaid). The main theme of the story is mainly traditional women their roles in society. The narration of the text is second person because of the use of the pronouns you and yours. The narrator is addressing her daughter making it second person.
ReplyDeleteThe story seems sexist as well. The mother gives a detailed list on only the feminine tasks she needs to do in order to become a perfect young lady by explaining that "this is how you set a table for tea; this is how you set a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest; this is how you set a table for lunch; this is how you set a table for breakfast; this is how to behave in the pres
ence of men who don't know you very well, and this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming" (Kincaid). Times have changed and these tasks and chores today can be split up between husband and wife compared to back then were the women was the house keeper and the husband was the dominant, money make. -Jordan C.
In "Girl" by Jamacia Kinkaid, a mother is telling her daughter what she should aspire to be and how to act. Every mother-daughter relationship is different, but so are the beliefs of each woman. The mother voice in this story is telling her daughter that she should learn how to iron/do laundry, how not to dress slutty, how to sew, do not talk to "warf-boys," clean the house and set the table; ect. Times change from when the mothers are teenagers to when they have their own teenager to take care of. The social aspect is that women should be taking care of everything while being "nice" and "well-behaved" and taking on a typical "house-wife or stay at home mom" type of a role. And when they do something that doesn't fit that description, they are called a slut and a lot of other names. At the end of the day the daughter has the freedom to make her own choices and decide who she does or doesn't want to be. This supports the theme of growing up and sexuality.
ReplyDeleteNicole R.
Jamaica Kincaid's short story, the simply titled “Girl” is a story whose theme is very apparent throughout. That is, the theme of Womanhood, or the transformation of a Girl into a Woman, and the life lessons that go along with it. The narrator of the story is unclear, but from the text it is not far-fetched to assume that the narrator of the story is an Adult, and this adult is passing along his or her wisdom to a young girl, who may be this adult's daughter or may have some type of close relationship with this adult. Not exactly general in nature, the lessons this adult passes on range from instructions on how to prepare food and clothing, to warnings regarding the girl character's possible future promiscuity.
ReplyDeleteMany of these lessons are still applicable today, though the majority seem to be meant for a woman bent on becoming a common housewife, which is an ideal that the many strong and independent working women of today may find fault with. -Kyle B.
In the short story “The Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the author writes about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. The mother teaches the daughter about how to deal with many endeavors of life, some simple and some complicated. The story is written in rhetoric that very redundant and this gives light to a tone that is parallel to the back and forth of everyday life. The theme of this story could be the struggle of growing up as a young girl in a society that is shown to favor a woman that can do the chores and act the way shown in the story.
ReplyDelete-Tyler P
The short story "Girl" is a story about a young girls coming of age and the things she should and should not do. throughout the story the mother is just telling the girl the thing she needs to do so she can grow up only to be a good wife and house keeper. But in our culture today women are becoming more and more involded in society and being independent, the mother wasnt wasnt influencing her in this way or even giving her the option.
ReplyDelete-Christian C
Kincaid's the "Girl" is about being taught how to become a respectable woman such as the mother was taught before. The story the narrator is nervous and is resentful which means that it could be told by the mother. The mother would have this type of resentment since she was spoken to the same way and hear fear of the daughter growing up to be in an outcast of society. Since to her those are the only two options, you are either a respectable women or a slut. This is all summarized at the end of the story when the mother asked if she would be the the of women that wouldn"t be able to feel the bread. While the statement is filled with passive sexual comments, it is more about her being an outcast that the baker wouldnt allow to feel his bread.
ReplyDelete-Louis D
The theme of this story is maturity. It also represents the stereotypes women are put with. The mother wants her to be a respectful and proper young lady so she's not looked at as a slut. Being looked at as a slut in today's society is common. She just wants the best for her daughter - Victoria G
ReplyDeleteIn Kincaids short story "Girl" she uses a harsh tone for the dialect. The mother is teaching her daughter the same way she was taught. She is showing some of the extreme customs they have, and how woman are expected to act in their society.
ReplyDelete-Laura R
In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the short story’s theme is growing up; in a women’s perspective. Women have certain things that they have to do and consider for them to know they’re roles in society and to also know how to present themselves in the world. The P.O.V of the story is second person. In the selection the author didn’t use any periods, she just used semicolons probably to show the readers that orders are being relentlessly given. The narrator was probably given these orders to the girl because of the way females were presenting themselves back then. In pop culture women present themselves horribly, dressing in a vulgar manor dancing and gyrating profanely. The narrator probably doesn’t want the girl to end up the same way. “This is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming”(Jamaica Kincaid) , basically instructing the girl on how to prevent herself from making herself look like a “slut”. George P.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of the story is based on how one is expected to behave in society.There is social commentary that can be involved. As of today's society in America for example, women do not have to obey the rules or life lessons that were said in the story by what sounded like a mother talking to her daughter.
ReplyDeleteThe narration style is a demanding one from a second person point of view. Saying "this is how you smile to someone you don't like at all; this is how you smile to someone you like completely"(kinkaid). As the narrator says this. one may say that it is a demand that she expects out of someone to behave as such. But the thing is that in pop culture a line like this is actully something alot of people go by. With this story the main goal of the narrator was to show the girl how to present her self in a well respected manner.
-Ricasso b.
The theme of this story is growing up/maturing and the narration style is puzzling at first but as you keep reading on you begin to see that its between to voices. The way that the daughter is being taught everything is the way that the mother too, was taught and so on and so on. The daughter is told everything in a very blunt way; the mother doesn't beat around the bush. Maybe in this society, what the daughter is learning and the way she is benig taught how to become is how everyone in that society views a perfect woman; the way she washes clothes or the way she cleans a hosue, etc. Back then, men and women had very different roles and to keep this way of life, you had to follow in the footsteps of those who were older than you; there was no choosing your own way of life. Brett B.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of the story is responsibility and how girls "should" behave as they grow older. The narration is being told by the mother. The mother is telling her daughter how to do everything the way she was taught to do it. The mother wants her daughter to be respected and not treated like a slut so that she can be proud of her.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the narration is between two women, a mother and her daughter. This fits into the theme of gender differences and gender inequality between men and women. The story is basically a list of things of what women should and should not do. The culture of these women is highly influential to the mannerisms of which the mother tells her daughter to perform. To raise her daughter in the society they live in, the mother needs to prepare her daughter of the lifestyle she will soon take. It is apparent that the social life of this culture is much different than the popular culture of America. For instance, the mother explains how to set the table throughout the day and how to iron her husband’s khaki’s. Obviously, this type of culture subjects women to the house duties and how they are “supposed” to act as a woman. In our culture, there are still many women who tend to the house for the majority of the time, but women aren’t obligated to do so. We have more freedom to act the way we want, when we want to. Another point to bring up is the fact that in our society, men do chores and cook too, although less common. Sexism is another reoccurring theme in the story because the mother repetitively says how to act like a lady, “and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming” (Kincaid). She is stereotyping women as sluts and that all women are bound to become one. - Esther P.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid is about maturing, and how girls are expected to act in society. The social life of this culture is not based in America from what i have read, the mother tells the daughter to grow a okra tree, in America children do not get taught how to grow okra trees.The tone of this story is harsh. The mother is talking to her daughter in a very harsh tone by teeing her to do this and do that. She also wants to make sure that her daughter doesn't become "the slut that she is so bent on becoming"
ReplyDeleteKhadijah .
Khadijah D
DeleteThe theme of the story is growing up and having self respect. The mother talks to the daughter bluntly because she is trying to get through to her and wants her to grow up to be a responsible woman. The narration of this story is second person. This story connects to pop culture because I think it is a lesson that most mothers try to teach their daughters today.
ReplyDeleteMatt D
The theme of "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid is about growing from a child to an adult. It shows the relationship of a mother and a daughter as the daughter is becoming a woman. The mother expresses her past experiences with men through metaphors about being clean and doing the right, lady-like things. At one point in the story the mother calls the daughter a slut to point out the wrong path the daughter is finding herself on. -Emily Z.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story, "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, the girl talks about the things her mother has taught her. All her mother wants is to make her a respectable woman. The mother speaks out of experience and simply does not want her daughter to make the same mistakes that she had made. She talks about chores (cooking, cleaning, laundry), behavior (how to walk, what to wear) and relationships with men (do not be a slut).
ReplyDelete- Megan H.
In this story, the girl's mother is basically teaching her daughter how to grow up and become a woman. The mother talks about the different types of chores that women take on, and also the way that a female is supposed to behave and act. The mother also explains to the girl about relationships with men, and to not also be a "slut". - James L.
ReplyDeleteThe story "Girl" by Jamaica is a story most likely set in 1970s South. There is repetition in this story (parallelism.) The mother is trying to teach the girl how to be a respectable woman by showing her the correct way to do chores such as laundry, cooking, cleaning, how to behave in public, what to wear, and about relationships with men. The theme in this story is womanhood or women's relationship.-Matt.H
ReplyDelete