"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid (1949) BBS II Year, Business Communication: Summary and Analysis:
Girl
-Jamaica Kincaid (1949)
"Girl"
is a monologue of a mother to her daughter by Jamaica Kincaid. In the story, we
see the author talking about the things that a young girl should do and learn
so that she can be accepted by society. She starts by saying in the beginning
that washing clothes is only a task for women, starting on Monday: “Wash
the white clothes on Monday”. Then goes on to talk about doing more responsibilities
on Tuesday that should only be done by a woman.
The
story is about a mother talking and teaching her young daughter. In this story,
Kincaid is trying to show how differently young boys are treated by the same-aged
girls and how they are looked at differently for doing the same activities.
The
girl’s mother gives her too many commands, ranging from “Wash the white
clothes on Monday,” to “Don’t eat fruits on the street.”
She should spend time with her mother and respond to her needs.
The
mother doesn’t encourage her daughter to share her ideas and feelings.
Additionally, the mother doesn’t set her daughter up for success in school and
for her future career. She teaches her how to be the perfect woman in society,
ranging from “This is how you iron your father’s khaki shirt,” to
“This is how you set a table for dinner.”
To
conclude, this story tries to express the difficulty of mother-daughter
relationships, the contradictions of femininity, life under patriarchy,
adolescent sexuality, and the legacy of colonialism. In this text, the mother
tries to pass down certain beliefs from her culture to her daughter by
demanding. For example, she says, “On Sundays, try to walk like a lady,”
“This is how you sweep a whole house,” “This is how to
behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well”.
Mother completes her instruction to the girl by showing her “how to make ends meet,” and also by advising her to “always squeeze bread to make sure it’s fresh.” This latter advice prompts the girl to ask what she should do if the baker “won’t let feel the bread.” Mother, disappointed, asks if, “after all,” the girl will become “the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread.”
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