Throughout our lives, as girls, we have been taught how to act, how to dress, how to act as a “young lady”. In the short story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, we have seen how the narrator has strong values of how young women should be like and intensely advocates her daughter’s life to be traditional and most importantly gives her advice and warning her from becoming a “slut”. The narrator makes it very clear of how her daughter should act, giving her an endless list in order for her to be looked as a “good girl”. The narrator wants her daughter to be looked as a “good girl” because she wants to protect her by preventing the bad outcomes if she ever turns into a “slut”. The setting in Girl takes place in the West Indies; which has a significant influence of the narrator’s worldviews and values. Traditionally, women belong at home and should act respectfully which is why we see the narrator trying to force that culture into her daughter. Girl represents one of the examples that as society we follow; we determine the respect a woman deserves by how she is expected to behave. …show more content…
Social status has an influence in her way of thinking because she wants her daughter to be seen as the ideal girl, daughter, and woman. “This is how you smile to someone you don't like too much; this is how you smile to someone you don't like at all; this is how you smile to someone you like completely” (Kincaid). Even at an early age, Girl is taught to act a certain way in order for people around her to like her. Girl is taught to not talk to “wharf-rat boys”, how to set a table when guests are around, how to behave around men, how to eat in front of people, and even how to sweep her yard. These are all examples that represent the importance of how the narrator wants her life to be perceived at, because she cares about what the people in her community think.
Self and Others Connected (Carol Gilligan) Book definition/examples: “When girls get disconnected, they rely on others to tell them what they feel, think, and know. Their shock and resistance to disconnection reveals the strength of their connection to childhood. This relational voice is needed in a time of self-help individualism, revealing the importance of Gilligan’s historical contribution to dialogic civility” (Arnett & Arneson, 1999, p. 161). “When a girl comes into a relationship with herself, and recognizes her responsibilities for taking care of herself, the way she is connected with others changes. These changes set boundaries of the moral of conflict girls describe when responsibility for oneself conflicts with her responsibility to others” (Arnett & Arneson, 1999, p. 161).
The young girl in the story has very naive and vain characteristics. This story explores the dangers of naive vanity and rebellious behaviors of adolescent women. The young girl's behaviors are punished with a harsh consequence resulting from her naive vanity and
In Louisa May Alcotts novel “An Old Fashioned Girl” the main character, Polly Milton, finds herself struggling against a man versus society conflict, as she confronts the rich first class society that surrounds her. The fourteen year old country girl who ventures into the city to visit her good friend, is constantly being told she is old fashioned, poor, and too simple for the city. The basis of the conflict is that all the people Polly encounters during her time in the city, expect her to look and behave like the rest. When Polly cannot do this, people begin to tease and mock her all because she has no wealth.
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.
The poem Barbie doll by Marge Piercy is about a little girl who grows up only to kill herself for not living up to society’s standards. The speaker shows how she had a normal childhood and was happy playing with here baby dolls and toy stove. However, during puberty, her body changed and everyone noticed. She was criticized for her “fat nose and thick legs”. She tried to change by dieting and exercising, but soon tired of doing so.
Jamaica Kincaid depicts an instructional survival guiding theme in “Girl,” about a mother giving essential advice to the daughter about very critical life issues. The advice consists of how to do many domestic acts such as Antiguan dishes, being a respectable young lady and many small suggestions to not have a ruined reputation amongst the society the young girl is living in. Throughout the short story uses symbolism to emphasize the theme entirely so the girl learns to behave and be pure in front of others who watch her every move. Moreover, the mother in this short story advises her daughter by telling her how to make certain foods. In many instances the mother does not hesitate to tell the daughter how and where to grow the vegetables needed for the dishes in which the daughter must learn to make.
Molding of the Perfect Woman: An Analysis of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” “…on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming…” (Kincaid, 320). This phrase accurately represents the point that is being made in this passage. In Jamaica Kincaid’s piece, “Girl”, her mother is giving her advice on how to be and act like a proper woman. Her mother describes everything from how to properly do laundry to how to set a table for all occasions (Kincaid, 3-4).
She has to be this way because she does not want her daughter to become a slut. Jamaica Kincaid understands writing a story in second person would put the reader in the girl figures shoes. When you are in the readers' shoes you experience the tone. I believe the story has no set beginning, middle, or end but I do believe there is a dynamic character change that is really significant.
The topic of self confidence is a subject that is heavily discussed when it comes to girls of all ages. Journalist, Stephanie Hanes, examines the current trend of sexualization amongst young girls. In the article “Little Girls or Little Women: The Disney Princess Effect”, Hanes examines the current trend of sexualization amongst girls. She addresses the issue of desiring to become a women too soon. Hanes develops her article by using the literary techniques of pathos and logos to describe the emotions young girls feel when they see images of women with unattainable features.
Culture and Women In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “ How to date a Brown girl, Black girl, White girl or Halfie “ by Junot Diaz, both authors elaborate on culture and how it shapes outlook on women. In Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” a mother enforces her culture’s strong beliefs on her daughter. As the result, she displays her parental authority with a sequence of short commands influenced by her culture. A sense of judgment can be seen in the young girl, after questioning her mothers’ request.
In a society that is heavily influenced by mass media, women are repeatedly compartmentalized into unrealistic, and often degrading standards of appearance and sexuality. Doris Bazzini’s research on magazines and Caroline Heldman’s blog explores themes related to a woman’s appearance, while Jessica Valenti elaborates on the concept of virginity in her essay titled, “The Purity Myth”. Despite the diversity in scope when it comes to womanhood, there is a numerous set of expectations that a female must fit in order to be “ideal”. However, this checklist is so specific and debasing that it renders the criteria useless. The three main pre-requisites in being the ideal woman include physical attractiveness, sexual accessibility, and purity.
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a very interesting story. In short it is about an unspecified guardian giving life advice to a young girl; the range of this advice varies from dress and grooming to medicinal recipes. The older woman, also referred to as the “guardian”, is not censored about this advice either. While people may think that “Girl” is a minor tale of verbal abuse, I prefer to think of it as story of tough love as well as hope that the girl will do better in life then the adult.
It can be contended that varying contemporary texts which have been created for both children and young adults endorse post-feministic values and the importance of adhering to a consumer culture. The text Pink by Lili Wilkinson (2009) can be viewed as promoting post-feminist ideals through the inferences of dialog between characters; specifically, through the protagonist Ava. Additionally, the film Mean Girls (2004) mirrors similar ideologies as Pink which portrays a post-feminist society, revealing issues which individuals face once gender equality has largely been achieved. Both of these texts have been created for a young audience and utilise various narrative strategies to convey their ideological position. Accordingly, this essay will
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.
As one can see, many mothers in today 's society would not be nearly as picky and constructive as the mother within "Girl" written by Jamaica Kincaid. Young girls almost always look up first to their mother for guidance and instruction on how to be a woman. Although the advice used in this story was used to help the young girl, it was also used to scold her as well. The mother 's strong belief in a woman having domestic knowledge is what drives her to preach the life lessons of a good woman to her daughter. It is through these lessons that she hopes for her daughter to be respected within her own home and by her community as well.