Gender: Girl by Jamacia Kincaid

GENDER
GIRL BY JAMACIA KINCAID.

JAMAICA KINCAID
• About the writer
Born: 25 May 1949 (age 75 years), Saint John’s, Antigua and

Barbuda
Spouse: Allen Shawn (m. 1979–2002)
Children: Annie Shawn, Harold Shawn
Awards: Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, Anisfield-Wolf Book
Award
Siblings: Devon Drew, Joseph Drew, Dalma Drew
1.Jamaica Kincaid
Parents: Anniewas born Elaine
Richardson, PotterPotter
Roderick Richardson on Antigua in 1949.
In 1965 she left Antigua for New York to work as an au pair, then studied photography at the
New York School for Social Research and attended Franconia College in New Hampshire.
Her love of gardening has also led to several books on the subject, including My Garden
(2000) and Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalaya (2005), a memoir about a seed-gathering
trek with three botanist friends. Her novel See Now Then (2013) won the Before Columbus
Foundation America Book Award in 2014.
Jamaica Kincaid teaches in the English, African and African-American Studies Department at
SOME GENERAL QUESTION ABOUT JAMAICA KINCAID
How did Jamaica Kincaid choose What is the writing style of

her name? Jamaica Kincaid?
 Kincaid explained that “Jamaica” is an  Kincaid employs a highly poetic literary
English corruption of what Columbus style, one celebrated for its rhythms and
called Xaymaca, the part of the world that imagery, and shows herself a master of
she comes from, and “Kincaid” appeared characterization and elliptic narration.
to go well with “Jamaica”.
A prose poem reads like prose, but it follows the rules of conventional poetry. The only
characters in ‘Girl’ are a mother and a daughter. ‘Girl’ is a somewhat of a stream-of-
consciousness narrative of a mother giving her young daughter advice on important life issues
and concerns. The poem is one long sentence of various commands separated by semi-colons.
The advice consists of how to do certain domestic behaviours, including making Antiguan dishes,
as well as the more assertive points of being a respectable woman and upholding sexual purity.
There is a lot of discussion from the mother about how the daughter must interact with people as
well as how to behave in a romantic relationship with a man.
The daughter only speaks twice in the story. First she stands up for herself against one of her
mother’s questions that turned into an accusation, and again at the end where she asks her
mother a clarifying question. It concludes abruptly with a rhetorical question from the mother
wondering if her daughter didn’t understand how to behave based on everything she was told.
GIRL POEM
Highlighted parts. Is it
important to
fit in the
society,
DETAILED SUMMARY.
Societal norms, as well as the skewed expectations of women in society, are in large part passed
down from older generations (as well as often being enforced by older generations) to
susceptible young children who are just beginning to form their own moral code. “Girl” is an
unconventional poem, written by Jamaica Kincaid, that illustrates a mother’s detailed instructions
on what her daughter must do in order for her to be accepted and successful in society at that
time. Separated by semicolons, the mother relentlessly lists the rules and duties forced onto
women at that time, never allowing her to intervene or even question what she was being told.
This blind (almost mindless) list of expectations of women emphasizes the oppressed role that
women are faced with, and often expected to comply with without question.
As children, our morals and values are shaped not only by our own experiences, but that of our
family; wisdom, along with hard life lessons that have been learned over years and generations,
are passed down from a mother to child. Although the identity of the narrator is never implicitly
revealed, I believe that it is a mother passing on life lessons (as bleak as they may be) to her
daughter. School?” and then later insists, “don’t sing benna in Sunday school” (128). Chiming in
a bit late, the daughter defensively inserts, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all, and never
in Sunday school” (128). In this instance, the mother does not acknowledge o respond to what
the daughter has said, rather just continues on with her sporadic list of instructions (like a chant
of “this is how you…” and “don’t…”). This illustration of the mother as a clear authoritative figure
Concerning the structure of the poem “Girl”, I believe that Kincaid made the choice to make her
poem into one large paragraph and use semicolons to separate the mother’s advice and
commands (without ending the sentence) in order to convey that all of the items on the mother’s
list are related in the sense that, when they are applied together, the sum of these actions and
behaviours equals what societal and gender norms say it means to be a well-behaved woman.
Having the poem structured this way also creates a sense of power for the mother figure because
the discussion is extremely one-sided, and her unending breath creates the sense of urgency that
she must get through everything she has to say, and she doesn’t even have time to stop and
breath in between her lessons. For me, this urgency projects what I consider to be fear from the
mother of what will happen to her daughter if she doesn’t learn these lessons or behave according
to society. This fear is most likely rooted from her own negative personal experiences, as well as
knowledge passed down from former generations.
The mother does not want her daughter to be rejected from or reprimanded by society. So,
although the mother is delivering her advice in such way that seems cruel and impersonal, I
believe that it emphasizes her seriousness and strong belief for what she is saying. Finally, I
propose that this informal structure is a method meant to contrast the insignificance that the
mother feels about proper grammar (or even proper education) with the importance she feels
towards having her daughter behave as a proper, well-trained woman.
STRUCTURE
 The poem is written as one long sentence, with each piece of advice separatd by
semi-colons.
 The poem explores themes such as the relationship between a mother and
daughter, sexual reputation, and domesticity.
, THEME.
MAIN MOTIVE
Mother’s advice Mother’s concerns

 The mother gives her daughter detailed  The mother is concerned that her
instructions on how to behave and what daughter’s current behaviour will lead to
to do to be successful and accepted in a life of promiscuity. She scolds her
society. She emphasizes the importance daughter for the way she walks, plays
of respectability and how to maintain a marbles, and relates to others.
good reputation, which she believes
determines the quality of a woman’s life.
MOTHER’S POINT OF VIEW.
 From the conversation, it is clear that the mother is worried about her daughter’s sexuality
as she transitions to adulthood. She is afraid that if not taken care of, the daughter will
become promiscuous; hence, the need to rethink her behavior. She needs to respect her
sexuality and conduct herself in a certain manner that does not paint the wrong picture to
men in society.

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GENDER

GIRL BY JAMACIA KINCAID.

Born: 25 May 1949 (age 75 years), Saint John’s, Antigua and

How did Jamaica Kincaid choose What is the writing style of

Mother’s advice Mother’s concerns

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