Literary Analysis of “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
In the story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the premise and tone reflect that of a mother, who by her own past experiences and repression of being a woman in her time and tradition, administers guide to her own daughter in a changed world, to chasten her daughters modern ways and current views on society and their culture. In the story, Author Jamaica Kincaid uses symbolism, theme, and theme to convey the life of a girl battling to regain control of her own life again after it has been taken away by her mother.
To begin, one of the stylistic devices used in the short story “girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, is symbolism. The short story depicts various objects that have been given deeper meaning. One is …show more content…
“This is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house.” (Kincaid, 317) All throughout this story this girl is taught by her mother what is needed to be a house wife. She must do what she is told or she will ultimately get called a slut b her mother. Basically her mother is trying to instill in her brain that if she doesn’t become a housewife, she’ll go out into the world and become a whore because she didn’t settle down and find a husband to take care o her. This applies to the theme because in this story, the mother is controlling the identity of the girl. Telling her how to live her life and not giving her any choice of her own. Daily the girl is living the life society wants her to live and not doing anything she actually wants to do for herself. She is trapped and can’t find a way out. The only way out is to get off the island but she won’t go near the exit because “You mustn’t speak to the wharf-rat boys “and the wharf-rat boys are at the exit. But since her identity has been controlled by her mother, she’ll never go to the exit and leave because she doesn’t want to become a
In the story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the premise and tone reflect that of a mother, who by her own past experiences and repression of being a woman in her time and tradition, administers guide to her own daughter in a changed world, to chasten her daughters modern ways and current views on society and their culture. In the story, Author Jamaica Kincaid uses symbolism, theme, and theme to convey the life of a girl battling to regain control of her own life again after it has been taken away by her mother.
To begin, one of the stylistic devices used in the short story “girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, is symbolism. The short story depicts various objects that have been given deeper meaning. One is …show more content…
“This is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house.” (Kincaid, 317) All throughout this story this girl is taught by her mother what is needed to be a house wife. She must do what she is told or she will ultimately get called a slut b her mother. Basically her mother is trying to instill in her brain that if she doesn’t become a housewife, she’ll go out into the world and become a whore because she didn’t settle down and find a husband to take care o her. This applies to the theme because in this story, the mother is controlling the identity of the girl. Telling her how to live her life and not giving her any choice of her own. Daily the girl is living the life society wants her to live and not doing anything she actually wants to do for herself. She is trapped and can’t find a way out. The only way out is to get off the island but she won’t go near the exit because “You mustn’t speak to the wharf-rat boys “and the wharf-rat boys are at the exit. But since her identity has been controlled by her mother, she’ll never go to the exit and leave because she doesn’t want to become a