Jamaica Kincaid composed a short story called “Girl” and the brief narrative is about a stern mother teaching her young daughter life lessons as she is becoming a mature adolescent. The story is a laundry list of “women’s responsibilities”, such as doing household duties, dealing with men, knowing how to be nice to people you do and do not like and learning how to be a respectable individual in the Caribbean community. Concerned that her daughter is on the urge of being promiscuous, the mother’s next option is to warn her daughter not to take the road of converting into a wild child. The mother is already scolding her daughter about the dangers of femininity and it can affect how she lives for the rest of her life. In the Caribbean culture,
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She wants her daughter to understand that domestic chores are obligatory, when she becomes a mother and/or wife. Some of the tasks that are targeted is cooking different types of dishes and doing laundry. In the beginning of the story, the mother states, “Wash the white clothes on Monday…wash the color clothes on Tuesday”. When it comes to cooking Caribbean dishes, there are different rules to certain foods. For instance, the mother suggests that the daughter should “soak salt fish overnight” or “cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil” (1339-40) Other dishes such as, doukona or pepper pot are traditional recipes in the Caribbean and can be passed on for generations. Therefore, it is the daughter’s job to pass it on to her family, in the future. In addition, when it comes to doing laundry, it is also expected to not look unkempt in her clothes. The mother wants her daughter to wear clothes that does not define her poverty status. In order for the daughter to not have that problem, she needs to learn how to iron, sew and hand-wash her clothes. According to the WIEGO, there are over 19 million domestic workers in the Caribbean and Latin America, and the total employment percentage is 7.6% (“Domestic Workers”). Generally, the daughter absorbs the idea that household duties gives her respect as head in charge and a helpful associate in her …show more content…
To protect her femininity, the daughter has to carry herself like a young lady; and not having licentious or boy-like qualities. The mother does not want her daughter to give boys the wrong impression of her personality. To combat that problem, the mother tells her daughter “On Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming” (1340). To elaborate, the daughter should have a lady-like stroll, instead of being promiscuous during church on Sundays. The mother also reminds her to not “squat down to play marbles” (1340). These examples are one of the universal lessons that older women try to teach the younger generation. Mothers train their daughters to have certain manners, like wearing appropriate clothes, closing our legs when we wear skirts, or to “be seen and not heard”. Furthermore, mothers want their daughter to act womanly, so that men can give them respect that they
She wants her daughter to understand that domestic chores are obligatory, when she becomes a mother and/or wife. Some of the tasks that are targeted is cooking different types of dishes and doing laundry. In the beginning of the story, the mother states, “Wash the white clothes on Monday…wash the color clothes on Tuesday”. When it comes to cooking Caribbean dishes, there are different rules to certain foods. For instance, the mother suggests that the daughter should “soak salt fish overnight” or “cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil” (1339-40) Other dishes such as, doukona or pepper pot are traditional recipes in the Caribbean and can be passed on for generations. Therefore, it is the daughter’s job to pass it on to her family, in the future. In addition, when it comes to doing laundry, it is also expected to not look unkempt in her clothes. The mother wants her daughter to wear clothes that does not define her poverty status. In order for the daughter to not have that problem, she needs to learn how to iron, sew and hand-wash her clothes. According to the WIEGO, there are over 19 million domestic workers in the Caribbean and Latin America, and the total employment percentage is 7.6% (“Domestic Workers”). Generally, the daughter absorbs the idea that household duties gives her respect as head in charge and a helpful associate in her …show more content…
To protect her femininity, the daughter has to carry herself like a young lady; and not having licentious or boy-like qualities. The mother does not want her daughter to give boys the wrong impression of her personality. To combat that problem, the mother tells her daughter “On Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming” (1340). To elaborate, the daughter should have a lady-like stroll, instead of being promiscuous during church on Sundays. The mother also reminds her to not “squat down to play marbles” (1340). These examples are one of the universal lessons that older women try to teach the younger generation. Mothers train their daughters to have certain manners, like wearing appropriate clothes, closing our legs when we wear skirts, or to “be seen and not heard”. Furthermore, mothers want their daughter to act womanly, so that men can give them respect that they