The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid was published in 1978. The entire story has to do with mother talking to the daughter. The daughter does not say much. The subject matter of “Girl” has to do with being a female and how one should act. The theme of female sexuality is used throughout “Girl” to show the danger of female sexuality, power of domesticity, and sexual reputation. First, the theme demonstrates the dangers of female sexuality. In the story, the other is worried about the way her daughter is acting even though she has not hit adolescence yet. She says that if her current behavior continues it will lead to a life of promiscuity. Kincaid wrote, “this is how to behave in the presence 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” (180). She talks about how to have …show more content…
She calls her daughter a “slut” and wants her to see she is not a boy. She tells her, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in Sunday school; you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys...” (180). She must keep her reputation up. She thinks her daughter already knows too much about sexuality and that she is being disobedient by singing the benna in Sunday school. She wants her daughter to walk and act a certain way. She even teaches her how to talk to men so, they won’t assume that she is promiscuous. In “Girl,” there is different themes throughout the novel but the main one has to do with female sexuality. How a women should act and be seen as respectable. She talks about the dangers of female sexuality because it could ruin her life. She tells how to get the power of domesticity. She also tells her how her daughters sexual reputation should be instead of what it is. Even though female sexuality can be a diverse topic, Kincaid was able to stick to one view of female
In the short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the stories narrators tries to control, who we assume is her daughter, though directions of house hold chores and the use of a harsh but fearful tones about her sexuality, so she can make sure her daughter understands what responsibilities she has in a domestic life style, and that her sexuality control will help her be a respected woman in the community. Or how to control her sexual behavior, both which will help her be a respected woman in her community. The author, Jamaica Kincaid is from a small island in the Caribbean called Antigua, and since there is no indication of a setting in the story, we can assume that Antigua is where the story takes place. Understanding the history of Antigua and what was happening at the time, tremendously helps understand why the mother is trying to control her daughter.
On page 27 it states “Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to change her life.” This reveals that she is unhappy with how her life currently is. This also reveals that she is waiting a man to fall in love with and save her from how her life is. In the short book the girls are sad with how they choose to live their lives.
She explains that it was important to part her life. Next, in “Confetti Girl” the tension comes from the point of view of school. Her and her father have a very different outlook on school. For example, in paragraph 13 it states that things are good until her
Later when Janie marries Jody Starks, we see another example of a member of the “in-group” enforcing the negative stereotypes the dominant culture has imposed upon them. Jody remembers the “other men figuratively wallowing in” Janie’s hair (55). He has her cover it up because “she was there in the store for him to look at, not those others” (55). Janie’s hair is a symbol of her sexuality and womanhood. Janie remarks that when Jody forced her to start wearing the scarf, their sexual relationship suffered.
She employs many literary devices that support her specific claim in this passage as well as she provides many clear examples of how stereotypes have shaped young girls’ lives throughout the book. Through these examples she succeeds to use them as evidence so the audience does not conform to
The book, Bad Feminist, written by Roxane Gay, is a collection of essays that argues about many topics of feminism and typical problems in today’s society. “What We Hunger For," is one of her personal essays. Gay reveals to her reader the difficult journey she had to endure as a teen, while also taking her reader through the cultural experiences that many girls endure but never talk about. She later explores The Hunger Games trilogy and its heroine Katniss Everdeen to emphasize the cathartic and sobering stories in young adult literature. Gay claims that through the use of young adult literature and movies that speak of true experiences and accomplishments, the dark past young adult endure can be unlock and resolved.
He romantically compares her to summer’s day to get his point across. The claim in Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is as follows: for a woman to lead a respectable life, she must give into a life full of repression and sexism. Ethos is the most powerful appeal in this work because the mother speaking clearly has experience. She is teaching her daughter what she believes is right from wrong, so her daughter does not grow up to have a poor reputation.
Her daughter, Izzy, on the other hand believes that her mother is selfish and is only thinking of herself. It bother her because her mother is so nonchalant and acts like her daughter doesn’t matter, but in reality he mother is probably doing this for her daughter. Second, the clashing of views of the mother and daughter cause tension because they misinterpreted each other. According to the text, “Opportunity? For me?
She begins stating the problems with sexuality being introduced to the youth. Claiming that everyone is “immersed in a sex-drenched culture that giddily promotes
I think Kincaid’s essay does not have a thesis or claim; the entire story contradicts itself. In the beginning of the essay she talks
Short stories are a piece of literature that holds a lesson in a small story, it has meaning behind it and with a large amount of imagery shows a picture of what the writer is trying to say. Short stories have been a very important piece of modern and past literature and always will, each story over the generations shows an evolution of not only english but also life in general. The story girl is an amazing short story by Jamaica Kincaid which has a deeper undertone of freedom while the mother explains how to be a lady. In the short story girl the mother explains how to be a lady, however with a deeper meaning of freedom behind it using a few key lines such as calling her daughter a slut.
In the story “Girl”, Jamaica Kincaid illustrates the talk given to a young Antiguan girl about what is expected of her in order to make a point about the cultural pressures and unfair social boundaries that come with being a girl in the Caribbean. The author plays with word choice and sentence structure in a way that makes this unconventional writing style enjoyable and metaphorically resonant. Though it is possible to read this prose as a mother talking directly to her daughter and the daughter interjecting, it is actually indicative of a larger conversation between a Caribbean society and its young women; this can be most clearly seen in the discussion of Benna, of plant, animal, and human life, of promiscuity, and of manners. Benna is a musical genre similar to calypso; its lyrics often discussed British political scandals and had lewd double meanings. The daughter is instructed not to sing it in church, because the songs are about sexuality, politics and open rebellion - however, this instruction has a much larger societal meaning.
No matter how people learn lessons, they will stay with the person forever, and help them through life. In the short stories “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, there is lesson that a character will learn about life. Although, in “The Lesson”, the teaching was more profound and had a deeper meaning behind it, while “Girl” was a parent forcing instructions on a child in order for the child to learn how a woman is to live. This being said, the teaching is more profound in “The Lesson” than the one given in “Girl.” “Girl” is a short story that teaches that there are many lessons we learn throughout life from parents, or in this case, a single parent.
She is pushed into society 's expectations of women 's roles and the pressure to satisfy society rather than herself. Becky was rejected
By including young girls in the video, Greenfield successfully develops a feeling of guilt within the audience. Not only does she include multiple adolescent girls, but she also includes teenagers and young adults in order to provide additional perspectives on the effects of “like a girl.” Many humans feel a great amount of tenderness and understanding for girls, especially those who are young and self-conscious; knowing this, Greenfield makes sure to include multiple clips from young girls in order to remind the audience of the effects of their actions and comments. In so doing, Greenfield helps boost the confidence of women by generating feelings of regret and embarrassment in those who use “like a girl” in a negative way in an attempt to acquit their hostility. In other words, Greenfield reaches out to young girls in an attempt to build strength and convince them to continue doing what they love, despite what others say about