Analysis of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid - Essay Example

Girl Plot analysis “Girl’ consists of a single run-on sentence short story cum poem, written in a consistent to-do list and counter not-to-do list, flowing in an interrupted advice and scolds to a daughter by the mother. The things to be done are followed by brief instructions of how to do them, though not precisely instructive. Further, there is a specified time of when to do the things that should be done, as well as a list of how not do the things that should not be done. However, most conspicuously, there is a repetition of instructions against singing Benna, which the mother repeatedly warns her daughter not to do on Sunday school (Kincaid, n.p.). Most conspicuous also is the repeated admonition of the girl by the mother, who refers to her as a slut, and consistently adds the fact that she knows that the girl is so bent to become a slut, but advises her against presenting herself as such at least on Sunday. The mother also warns the girl against speaking to boys, not even when giving them direction (Kincaid, n.p.). The mother also shows her girl how to smile to different set of people, where smiling for the people that she likes should be different from the smile for the ones she does not like completely, which should also be different from the way she smiles to people she does not like at all (Kincaid, n.p.). Interestingly, the mother also shows her daughter how to behave in front of men who does not know her well, so they do not recognize that she is a slut, something that she has been repeatedly warned against becoming. The advise also goes on to show the girl how to cook different meals, how to arrange the table for different meals, what games not to play, how to make medicines, and even amusingly, showing her how to make good medicine for throwing away a child “before it even becomes a child” (Kincaid, n.p.). Towards the end, the mother shows the girl how to love and how to be loved by a man, and how to react when love goes soar, as well as how to make ends meet. Only in the periodical occasions, like the last sentence, do we find an exchange between the girl and the mother in protest of her innocence. But sympathetically, the girl is on her way to joining the bad world, where men and women bully each other, but after all, it shows that the girl is probably growing to become a woman that the baker will not allow to touch the bread, which is the real fear of her mother (Kincaid, n.p.). Themes Risks of female sexuality The girl is yet to reach adolescence, but there is already fear in her mother, that she is already on her way to becoming a slut (Kincaid, n.p.). The mother also depicts fear that the girl’s current behavior will not give her a happy relationship after all, thus anticipates her bullying men or being bullied by them, while also anticipating that some break-ups will be inevitable. The major idea is to advance the theme of female sexuality preservation, which determines the level of respect that a woman earns in the society, and especially amongst men. Therefore, a girl should always walk like a lady, avoid playing games that would expose her sexuality, and also avoid playing around or even talking anyhow to boys (Kincaid, n.p.). Respectability of the female sex is all that the mother wants to advance, and therefore she shows her daughter how to go about doing the normal female chores, such as cooking, sowing, and sewing. Domesticity, Love and relationships The trouble of failed relationships is also advanced as a theme in the piece of literature, pressing on the theme, that love must not always be expected to result to happiness, and thus there is a time for one to let go, throw pit in the air and move away to ensure it does not fall on her (Kincaid, n.p.). Bullying of each other in relationship is also inevitable, and thus there is a need to be tolerant to bullying from men, as well as learning how to bully them. However, the theme of domesticity is the most conspicuous, with every piece of advice that the mother gives being centered on the excellent performance of the domestic chores that a woman is expected to undertake. It is through excellence in domestic matters, that a woman can manage to live in the world full of relationship uncertainties and threats of heartbreak. Structure and form The “Girl” represents a structure and form of literature that befits prose poem, where the sentences are separated by semicolons, thus lacking the narrative form, while also lacking in rhyme, lines and conventional conversation. The extended long conversation stresses on the concern of the speaker to the audience, underlining the fact that, the speaker is speaking to a subject that is dear and of great importance to the life of the audience. This explains the lack of stylistic devices such as the ones contained in a normal poetry form. But most importantly, the run-on sentence structure of the poem/story serves to emphasize a list of the things considered important in the life of a woman, expressed in a form of accomplishment and wisdom of the speaker. Symbols Symbolism has been extensively applied in the piece of literature, with symbols such a Benna representing the female sexuality, which the mother is consistently warning her daughter against exposing in public, through talk and gossiping, not even in the church (Kincaid, n.p.). Bread is also used as a symbol of purity, which the mother also warns the daughter against allowing it to be squeezed before it is bought, intended to warn the girl against allowing men to tamper with her sexuality before she finds and gets engaged in true love (Kincaid, n.p.). Clothing This is applied as a symbol of respect, against which the mother warns her daughter to ensure keeping clean, neat and ironed (Kincaid, n.p.). Here, the mother wants to indicate that it is through clothing, that the society perceives an individual for who she is. Therefore, good clothing is a symbol of respectability. Works Cited Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." An Introduction to Fiction. 'Comp'. X. J. Kennedy & Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/Girl/story.asp Read More