"Girl" is a monologue in two voices. The interlocutor is a young version of the older teacher. Note how the harshness of the gender rules is tempered by the humor of the verbal onslaught.
About the writer Jamaica Kincaid
Jamaica
Kincaid was born in Antigua and emigrated to the United States in 1965.
Initially working as a baby- sitter and receptionist, Kincaid began publishing
in The New Yorker, where "Girl"
first appeared before it was collected in At the Bottom of the River (1983). In
1985, Kincaid's novel Annie John garnered her national attention as a powerful
emergent writer. Her essay "A Small Place' (1988 indicts colonialism in
the West Indies, while My Brother (1997) explores issues of AIDS and
transnational identity and family bonds. Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalaya
(2007) is part memoir and part travel journal and in it the author takes us
deep into the mountains of Nepal with a trio of botanist friends in search of
native Himalayan plants. The landscape and flora and so much else of what
Kincaid finds in the Himalaya are new to her, and she approaches it all with an
acute sense of wonder and a deft eye for detail.
Summary of the essay Girl by Jamaica Kincaid
Jamaica
Kincaid’s “Girl” is about a mother giving instructions to her daughter. Her
instructions are:
➤ on Sundays
try to walk like a lady and not like the slut.
➤ Wash the
white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap;
➤ wash the
colored clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry
➤ do not walk
bare head in the hot sun
➤ cook pumpkin
fritters in very hot sweet oil
➤ Soak your
little clothes right after you take off
➤ soak salt
fish overnight before you cook it
➤ on Sunday
walk like a lady and not like the slut
➤ do not sing
benna in school on Sunday
Frequently asked questions from Girls
1. Who is likely the speaker of Girl?
Ans: The
speaker of this piece is a mother.
2. Whom does the speaker address the
orders?
Ans: The
speaker addresses the orders to her daughter.
3. What is the relation between the
speaker and the addressee? How is the relationship?
Ans: The
relation between the speaker and the addressee is mother and daughter. Their
relationship is not smooth because her daughter is not following the rules of
becoming a perfect lady so the mother sees something in her daughter that she
considers slutty behavior.
4. Why shouldn't the addressee squat
down to play marbles?
Ans:
According to her mother, the addressee shouldn't squat down to play marbles
because she is not male and if she squats down. there is the possibility of
peeping on her secret organs by rough boys.
5. What typical Antiguan behaviors
and dishes are mentioned in this passage?
Ans: The
writer has mentioned a dish Doukona which is the Antiguan dish. The dish is a
pudding made from one of a variety of starch foods, such as cornmeal or
cassava, plantain, or green banana. The starch is wrapped inside of a banana
leaf and boiled.
Similarly,
she has also mentioned a dish, Okra which is a flowering plant known for its
edible seed pods. It's cultivated in warm and tropical climates, such as those
in Africa and South Asia. Sometimes referred to as lady's finger.
She has also
mentioned typical Antiguan behavior to respect blackbird, not to sing benna in
school on Sunday, walk on Sunday like a lady, and so on.
6. What is humorous about the piece?
Why does the writer use humor?
Ans: The
mother's orders and expectations of her daughter are humorous. The writer uses
humor to satirize Caribbean culture, norms, and values that patriarchy wants to
install in females.
7. What is the tone of the passage
Girl? How does the tone affect the flow of the dominant voice?
Ans: The
tone of the passage is instructing, demanding, and humorous. The flow of the
dominant voice gives a sense of order.
8. Review the final admonition.
Describe the tone of the speaker and its effect on reader expectations.
Ans: The
final admonition gives the hint of the relationship between mother and daughter
that depicts a traditional Caribbean dictatorship in which the mother shows her
love in a controlling manner and the daughter's only option is to follow her
mother's instructions. She wants her daughter to follow patriarchal norms and
values. She wants to make her daughter the best cook. She wants her daughter to
squeeze the bread to know whether it is fresh or stale. She does not say read
nice, do homework but just aims to impose the traditional norms and values.
9. Does the piece give any indication
that the mother thinks her daughter going to be a slut?
Ans: Yes, it
does. The mother already notices her daughter's way of becoming a ‘slut.’ She
tells the girl, for example, not to squat while playing marbles, not to sing
any Antiguan folk songs at Sunday school, and always walk like a lady.
10. What rules may be applicable in
the Caribbean, but not in Nepal? Do you think they should be applicable in
Nepal too? Why or why not?
Ans: All the
rules of becoming a gentle lady are not applicable in Nepal because Nepalese
culture and customs are different from the Caribbean. Today in town, Nepali
parents are so generous towards their daughters. The daughters are also
educated and know what to do and what not to.
11. What do you think are a young
girl's experiences of growing up in Nepal? What kind of admonitions are in
order in Nepal?
Ans: They
experience many freedoms two decades ago. They can go to school and in their
choice, they can go abroad for further study. They can celebrate a birthday or
Christmas with their friends. They can do the job. However, there are still
many admonitions. For example, generally, they cannot stay late outside. If
they made boyfriends and walk hugging, they have to bear insult. When they stay
at their father's home, they should cook food and take care of their family
members. Our society does not want them to see taking cigarettes, wine, and
beer.
12. What are your parents’
expectations of you?
Ans: My
parents expect me that I should study well. After my master's degree, they want
me to see in a prestigious job. They do not want me to have cigarettes, wine,
and tobacco. They want me to have respect for seniors. After doing a good job,
they want to see my wedding. They do not want me to spend extravagantly. They
want me to be healthy. They want me to have a bride with my caste. They want me
to have friendly behavior.
13. Will these rules apply in the
case of an Antiguan boy? Why or why not?
Ans: All of
these rules will not apply in the case of an Antiguan boy because the society
of Antiguan is so liberal to the boy. It is a patriarchal society.
14. What does this piece tell us
about the gender roles in Antigua?
Ans: ‘Girl’
written by Jamaica Kincaid is essentially a set of instructions given by a
mother, who is assumed to be the mother of the girl, laying out the rules of
womanhood, in Antiguan society, as expected by the daughter's gender. Her
instructions are based on a male-dominated society.
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
believes that her daughter can be saved from a life of becoming a bad girl if
she follows her ideas. This is because the mother assumes that a woman's
reputation and respectability predispose the quality of a woman's life in the
community.