Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Analysis

However with a contrast of how her mother succeeded she also repeats a line “ This is how you hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like a slut I know you are so bent on becoming “ this line shows that she is letting her make her own decisions however guiding her towards the right direction. The mother uses these undertones to prove points without saying them for example when she says this is how you smile at a boy you completely like, this undertone makes it clear that she wants her daughter to meet the one before she pushes her independence. The story girl uses many undertones and small hints while also explaining the mother's success to freedom this makes the short story have a deeper meaning of freedom and looking to people for success. The contrast between success and independence is what makes this short story so memorable, it is a give and a take for the mother, the mother gives her the idea of her success while saying she is a slut that she is bent on becoming makes the undertone of freedom. The story overall though can be taken many ways can be seen as a mother reaching out to a teen girl in hopes to make her a great

In Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl, a mother simultaneously berates her daughter with instructions and teaches her what society expects from her. Kincaid uses repetitive details frequently throughout the story. For example, the mother tells her daughter “how to hem a dress” and “behave in the presence of men” so that the daughter can avoid “looking” and being “recognize[d]” as the “slut” she is “bent on becoming” (437-8). Her mother’s message of avoiding acting ‘slutty’ exposes modern gender stereotypes. The repetitive details suggest that a girl must dress and behave a certain way to avoid being branded a slut.

In the story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaide shows that the authority figure’s advice is having a negative impact because she’s forcing the girl to conform to social norms. Throughout the entire story the speaker is reading off a list of things the girl has to do. The only time the speaker brings up a fun topic she turns it into something negative when she says “don’t squat to play marbles- you are not a boy, you know;” This is telling the girl that she cannot have any fun because she is a girl. Telling girls to act in a certain manner can affect their self esteem in a negative way. When someone is forced to conform it is a rejection of individuality which leads to a lack of respect and appreciation for that person.

They are both speaking about the process of knitting, which serves as a metaphor for overcoming fears and reaching dreams. Just as the the zig-zag patterns Abuelita uses while knitting, each zig and each zag represent a hill that you have to get over and conquer, which Esperanza does. Abuelita tells her granddaughter about how she had to restart her life when she moved from Spain to Mexico just like Esperanza is going to have to do

She goes on to say, "it will probably grow back" (6), indicating that even if her sister’s attitude is resolved for a little while, it will come back. These characteristics of a tongue make the reader believe that the sister is sarcastic and does not easily accept opinions or changes. Magarell uses cooking, a much less violent subject, in order to describe the tongue. She uses ingredients in order to make the tongue more sweet and savory, stating that it’s, “best with horseradish” (4). To describe the heart, the speaker says that it is "firm and rather dry” (10).

Little Girl is chastised by Bossy Best Friend because she enjoys reading and taking care of tomato plants. When a disagreement over a certain tomato plant ensues Bossy Best Friend instructs Little Girl to not touch the plant. Little Girl disobeys this command and the Tomato Plant Girl comes into

The role of the Aunts in Gilead is not only to train the Handmaids at the Rachel and Leah Re-education Center, but to sustain the rituals of Gileadean society. The Aunts break the spirits of the Handmaids-in-training in order to guarantee their complacency. According to Lee Briscoe Thompson in Scarlet Letters: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Handmaids are isolated from one another not physically, but mentally by being taught how to betray other women. The Aunts teach that “the only storytelling permitted or rewarded are informing on others or testifying against oneself”. This encouragement for betrayal creates an atmosphere of paranoia and fear amongst Handmaids, thereby, ensuring the Handmaids will obey the rules outlined by the Aunts.

She exclaims “Go and wash your face, Maggie. And for goodness’ sake tie those laces.” and also “Take that surplice off, Christina.” These command words display a forceful tone which shows that Kate controls the family because she treats them not like her equal and she speaks down to them, telling them what to do as though they are children and not her sisters. The sisters respond to Kates commands by saying “Yes, miss.” and exclaiming “This isn’t your classroom, Kate”. These comments indicate that Kate treats them like her pupils regularly, showing she controls her family by taking on a teacher’s attitude and speaking down to them. In the extract, Friel uses repetition and capitalisation to portray Kate as a character who controls the rest of her family.

In the poems ‘The Pomegranate’ and ‘This Moment’, Boland writes about her observations as a mother. In ‘The Pomegranate’, she learns that in order to allow children to grow and develop, we need to allow them to mistakes. She references back to the Greek myth of Ceres and Persephone, at first reminiscing that she as a young girl she related to Persephone, “an exiled child in the crackling dust of the underworld”. Yet, now, as a mother she relates to Ceres “ready to make any bargain to keep her” daughter safe and protected, however she knows that she can’t shelter her daughter if she is to grown up which is why “[she] will say nothing”. Boland celebrates the ordinary every day life in ‘This Moment’, using similes like “one window is as yellow as butter” showing the domestic setting of this poem.

“Have dinner ready, prepare yourself, prepare the children, minimize all noise, be happy to see him, listen to him, make the evening his”, here is what young women learned at school in the 1950’s in America (Vanessa Martins Lamb). Women with the constant social pressure of being well dressed and being taught to have good etiquette is the training that most women have to go through in order to obtain the perfect housewife image till her marriage. The reader of this novel views it a way to harm the role of women and how they are viewed, in a male dominant society. The novel set during the time where women were oppressed by the male dominant society to remain in her position of a housewife inside the “kitchen walls” and condemned to accept fighting all alone with the daily routine (“1950-1970”). However, the following years after the release of the novel the role of women in a male dominant society has changed, where women can voice their opinion, continue with their education and find a job that is tailored for them.