Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Summary

Girl” written by Jamaica Kincaid is essentially a set of instructions given by an adult, who is assumed to be the mother of the girl, who is laying out the rules of womanhood, in Caribbean society, as expected by the daughter’s gender. These instructions set out by the mother are related to topics including household chores, manners, cooking, social conduct, and relationships. The reader may see these instructions as demanding, but these are a mother’s attempt, out of care for the daughter, to help the daughter to grow up properly. The daughter does not appear to have yet reached adolescence, however, her mother believes that her current behavior will lead her to a life of promiscuity. The mother postulates that her daughter can be saved from a life of promiscuity and ruin by having domestic knowledge that would, in turn also, empower her as a productive member in their community and the head of her future household. This is because the mother assumes that a woman’s reputation and respectability predisposes the quality of a woman’s life in the community. …show more content…
The daughter resembles good behavior this is shown by her first input in the story, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school” (171). That is a response to her mother’s question, “is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?” (171). Which was followed by the mother’s instruction that her daughter not sing benna in Sunday