Get your essays here, 10,000 to choose from!

Limited Time Offer at MyTermPapers!!!

Short Story Overview - Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

4 Pages 1115 Words November 2017

In the story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the foundation and tone reflect that of a mother, who by her own past experiences and tyranny of being a woman in her time and tradition, administers guide to her own daughter in a reformed world, to discipline her daughters current ways and current visions on society and their culture. The author sets the stage as a sort of “how to” format for the way women should act, dress, and their expected tasks; or at least the way she feels the daughter in this story should recollect such custom.
Throughout this story, tradition is stressed, for example, the mother explaining to her daughter how to make, grow and prepare Caribbean food, most of the old ways in which she was taught. “ Cook pumpkin fritter in very hot sweet oil,” “Soak salt fish overnight before you cook it,” This is how you grow okra-far from the house, because okra tree harbors red ant,” “When you grow dasheen ( By the way, dasheen was grown for its tubular roots and leaves and must be cooked and drained to remove the oxalic acid that can irritate and harm the kidneys and gut), make sure it gets plenty of water or else it makes your throat itch when you are eating it.” The tone here tells the reader that the mother believes the cooking should be a woman’s job, most likely a handed-down tradition, though not necessarily something the daughter considers only a woman’s job now as old traditions sometimes change with the times.
Another area important to the mother is letting her daughter know how to be ladylike. She warns her many times on how to not become a slut or act like one. She might feel that her daughter is either too highly sexual or headed in that direction. They seem to be living in a poor area, so resorting to prostitution might be common in that area as a means of survival. But the mother does not want to see her daughter give in to that way of life and wants everyone to understand that through exp...

Page 1 of 4 Next >

Essays related to Short Story Overview - Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

Loading...