Short Story Girl: An Analysis Of Jamaica Kincaid's Girl

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Jamaica Kincaid's story "Girl" allows readers a short look into the strict, demanding manner in which parents raised their children. Through Kincaid's careful structuring of "Girl," readers experience the commanding tone of the story. The relationship between the mother and the girl also stinks of empowerment and distance, as best seen through the girl's short speech in the story. Most important, "Girl" shows readers how particular the lessons taught to the children were.

Jamaica Kincaid shows us many things in the very short story named "Girl." One is simply the change from one thing to another or the act of coming of age. Another is the bad mistreatment of women in Kincaid's world and the lack of options for women. Jamaica Kincaid uses …show more content…
For instance, the story is barley a page and half and there is absolutely no dialogue, no plot development, or obvious characters. The story begins as what appears to be a list of chores being called out one after another. The girl has no name and the speaker is never directly referred to as the girl's mother so there is no evident characterization. Also, the sentence structure and diction are very unique. The speaker speaks only in orders and rhetorical questions to the girl in the story who never has the chance to reply and barely the opportunity to think before the next command spews out. For example, the begins with. "Wash the while clothes on Monday and put them in the stone heap; was the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry"(Kincaid). Considering the setting of Antigua, in a village environment, more than one speaker could be present in the story. according to the culture it was not uncommon for more than one woman to have influence over a child's life. It is apparent that someone or some people are speaking to the girl, but who is it only implied throughout the
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