In this particularly short story, Jamaica Kincaid shows through the structure of her writing the growing tensions that girls feel as they grow up. The readers can feel empathy to the girl receiving this impossible list of demands, because even reading the list can make one feel overwhelmed. Kincaid, therefore, creates this effect of a drowning sensation in her writing as the girl’s responses to the list are washed out and buried within. The girl’s responses to her mother’s rules act harmoniously to the reader’s responses, as the readers too feel like they cannot find a way to speak their thoughts in this avalanche of ideals. Consequently, this tension allows the readers to empathetically connect with the girl; they too can understand the emotional
