Analysis of the Short Story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

Analysis of the Short Story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

What were your first main thoughts or feelings about Kincaid’s short story? Explain why.

Truthfully, my first reaction to the first lines of the story was contempt and disdain. I felt the story was one boring piece without direction and, perhaps, without much meaning. I also had this feeling that perhaps the author was inexperienced and not proficient in literary writing skills. The main reason is that there was a total disregard for the punctuation marks; there were no full stops and no connectors. The story is just one continuous piece linked with only commas and semi-colons. This made it very challenging for me to follow the story at the beginning. I did not know what the author was trying to convey or the message being conveyed.

Did your opinion change after you thought about the story in more depth?

Yes, my viewpoint definitely changed midway as I started piecing together and digesting the various meanings of the more than thirty sentence fragments. I began, marveling at and appreciating the creativity and the skills of Kincaid, especially her she managed to piece a record-breaking 650-word story in one sentence. I quickly realized that the whole story is a dialogue as the author was directly reporting her conversation with a second party (her mother).

What details did you like best?

I particularly liked the dos and don’ts approach to instructional giving used by the author. For example, she says that “Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap…on Sundays, try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming.” I also loved the way she used similes, metaphors, and other figures of language. In the second example above, it is evident that Kincaid attempts to wittingly use similes to make comparisons and create emphasis.

What details caused you any trouble?

Some vocabularies and comparisons bothered me a lot because I could not comprehend why they were used and the message the author wanted to convey. This is perhaps because they commonly apply to a different culture, in this case, the Jamaican context. For example, I had trouble comprehending the statement, “This is how you grow okra – far from the house because okra trees harbor red ants.”

In your opinion, what is the theme of this short story?

Personally, I think the short story bears the message that parents can sometimes be overbearing to their kids, giving tough instructions without considering their opinions or viewpoints. The entire story is narrated by Kincaid using the second voice, the voice of the mother who gives her directions on what to do and what not to do as a lady. The mother does not show any desire or will to accommodate what her daughter thinks. For example, the mother says, “You mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions” (Kincaid, 1978). This statement is authoritative in nature without room for negotiation. I also think the author wanted to display the stereotypes that exist in society, especially among some parents. The other is critical and condescending of Kincaid throughout the story. For instance, she suggests that perhaps her daughter might end up being a “slut.”

References

Kincaid, J. (1978, June 26). Girl. The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/06/26/girl

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There are many important components of literary works: theme, plot, character, setting, point of view, etc. However, I believe that reading literature is also about our own personal response, even if that first response may include confusion about the work or even dislike it. The point is to dig a little deeper and consider why we feel/think what we do. What is the literary work leads us to such ideas? What possibly in our own experiences makes us react in a certain way? So, in this week’s main post, please reflect on the following:

1. What were your first main thoughts or feelings about Kincaid’s short story? Explain why.

2. Did your opinion change after you thought about the story in more depth?

3. What were the details that you liked best?

4. What were the details that caused you any trouble?

5. In your opinion, what is the theme of this short story?

Just answer these questions. The link to the story is https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/06/26/girl.