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What are the gender stereotypes used in Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl
Gender critics on the "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid
Gender critics on the "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid
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The Suffocating Good-Old Days Revealed in Girl
Jamaica Kincaid’s story "Girl" allows readers a glimpse into the strict, demanding manner in which parents reared their children almost twenty years ago. Through Kincaid’s careful structuring of "Girl," readers capture the commanding tone of the story. The relationship between the mother and the girl also reeks of empowerment and distance, as best seen through the girl’s short-lived speech in the story. Most important, "Girl" shows readers how particular the lessons taught to the children two decades ago were.
The mother in "Girl" expects a great deal of her daughter, and she does not hesitate to let the girl know it. The fact that the two-page-story is entirely one sentence – and almost all of that emanating from the mother – gives off a powerful message: the mother demands a lot of her daughter. From the very beginning, the mother commands her daughter to perform tasks. Kincaid writes that the mother dictates "Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap" (1190). The mother’s reluctance to speak gently or even use the word "please" strongly suggests that the mother is in full and overwhelming control of her daughter.
With strict instructions such as the mother’s to her daughter, it is easy to see that the daughter is intimidated by her mother. Kincaid’s sentence structure again demonstrates the meekness of the girl whose thoughts and questions are represented a mere two times in the story. The first phrase the girl mutters represents the distance in the relationship between the girl and the mother, as the girl interrupts her mother with "but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school" (1190). The mother, however, continu...
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...s a dire need for a revival of the old-fashioned concern.
Works Cited
Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1991-1190.
Austin, Jacqueline. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz. Vol. 43. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1987. 250.
Dutton, Wendy. Black Literature Criticism. Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1989. 1173.
Works Consulted
Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 68. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1991. 204.
Green, Carol Hurd, and Mason, Mary Grimley, eds. American Women Writers. New York: Continuum, 1994.
Magill, Frank N., ed. Masterpieces of African-American Literature. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1992.
Showalter, Elaine, ed. Modern American Women Writers. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1991.
In “Girl,” Jamaica Kincaid’s use of repetitive syntax and intense diction help to underscore the harsh confines within which women are expected to exist. The entire essay is told from the point of view of a mother lecturing her daughter about how to be a proper lady. The speaker shifts seamlessly between domestic chores—”This is how you sweep a house”—and larger lessons: “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…” (Kincaid 1). The way in which the speaker bombards the girl overwhelms the reader, too. Every aspect of her life is managed, to the point where all of the lessons she receives throughout her girlhood blur together as one run-on sentence.
in Contemporary Literary Criticism Select. Detroit: Gale, 2008.Literature Resources from Gale.
In the short story, "Girl," by Jamaica Kincaid, the character of the mother can be seen as tyrannical. This oppressive trait of hers is reiterated several times throughout this story. It is first displayed in her initial remarks, rather than asking her daughter to do things, she lists things in a robotic manner, "Wash the white clothes on Monday, wash the colored clothes on Tuesday." Not only is she robotic, but she appears to believe that she has been sent to save her daughter from promiscuity. Her narcissistic viewpoint of being a savior is one that is consistent with that of a tyrant. This perspective is evident through commands such as "try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming." She abuses her parental power
Kort, Carol. A to Z of American Women Writers. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. Print.
Celibacy is an art, something you have to continuously practice. A husband or wife does not learn how to be a good spouse on the day of his or her wedding. Likewise, a priest does not learn what it means to be a good priest on the day of his ordination. Being successful comes with growth. Each of us thrives in a hermeneutic experience; the priest can greater accomplish this through celibacy. A priest vows to chastity to give himself up to God and to make him available to love and help as many other people as possible, just as Jesus did. Jesus was only around for 33 years. Priests need to be the ones who continue his teachings and share His gift. The gift of celibacy that priests receive can truly bring them near God and further help the people of the community learn how to be closer to God.
Bryfonski, Dedria, and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Volume 8. Detroit: Gale Research, 1978. 474-7
It is said that a girl can often develop some of her mother's characteristics. Although, in their works, Kincaid, Hong Kingston and Davenport depict their protagonists searching for their own identities, yet being influenced in different ways by their mothers. Jamaica Kincaid's poem Girl, is about a young woman coming-of-age receiving helpful advice from her mother. In this poem, Kincaid addresses several issues where a mother's influence is beneficial to a young woman's character. The mother, or speaker, in Girl, offers advice to her daughter- advice that she otherwise would not learn without being told or shown. The mother advises the daughter about everyday tasks, and how to go about them properly (in her opinion).
Bakerman, Jane S. “Toni Morrison.” American Women Writers. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgrat. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 2000.172-174.
...ughter to realize that she is “not a boy” (171) and that she needs to act like a lady. Doing so will win the daughter the respect from the community that her mother wants for her.
Advocates of celibacy worry that if priests marry, the congregation will be majorly neglected. However, that point is easily refuted because of the available examples of the leaders of uncelibate churches.
In the short story, “Girl,” the narrator describes certain tasks a woman should be responsible for based on the narrator’s culture, time period, and social standing. This story also reflects the coming of age of this girl, her transition into a lady, and shows the age gap between the mother and the daughter. The mother has certain beliefs that she is trying to pass to her daughter for her well-being, but the daughter is confused by this regimented life style. The author, Jamaica Kincaid, uses various tones to show a second person point of view and repetition to demonstrate what these responsibilities felt like, how she had to behave based on her social standing, and how to follow traditional customs.
Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jay Parini. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale Research, 1987. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.
Elbert, Sarah. “Reading Little Women.” Temple University Press (1984): 151-65. Rpt in Novels for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol. 12. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 144. Print.
The short story, Girl, by Jamaica Kincaid, can very easily be related directly to the author’s own life. Kincaid had a close relationship with her mother until her three younger brothers were born. After the birth of her brothers, three major values of her mother became apparent to Kincaid. In turn, Kincaid used the three values of her mother to write the short story, Girl. Specifically, these values led to three themes being formed throughout the story. It appears in the short story that the mother was simply looking out for her daughter; however, in all reality, the mother is worried about so much more. Kincaid uses the themes of negativity towards female sexuality, social norms and stereotypes, and the significant
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” shows in society how a woman should be placed and what it means to be a woman. A women doesn’t question her partner, instead she is subservient to him. A woman’s duties include staying at home taking care of the children and cooking; while the man works and brings home the money. A feministic approach to Kincaid’s “Girl” points to the idea of the stereotypes that women can only be what they do in the home, they should only be pure and virtuous, and their main focus should be satisfying their husband.