...In Jamaica Kincaid’s story “Girl” we can see it is about a mother, or possibly grandmother, telling a girl how she should behave and carry herself in the Caribbean society she lives in. The speaker lists what the girl should and should not do in different areas of her day to day life. We get the impression the speaker believes that the girl will inevitably become a slut. She hints at many things that will lead to the listener becoming a slut and tells her what to do to avoid being a slut or being viewed as one. The very first thing mentioned in the speakers’ long list is clothes. This word is particularly interesting to me because it is the fourth word mentioned, the first thing the speaker brings up in telling the listener how to do things,...
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...Raising a Young Woman Through the story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the narrator who happens to be the mother of the girl is giving her daughter advice on duties a woman must do. As the mother is telling her child what she must do and act she is also advising her to not become a slut. The story may come off as if the mother is demanding but it is a lecture she is getting across to the child as she becomes a young lady. The way the mother comes across is harsh and demanding but she is only preparing her daughter to become a well-mannered young woman. In the Kelly Falla essay it also mentions the “frustration within the mothers tone and demeanor.” As the lecture begins the mother is rambling on about how a woman needs to up keep, cook, clean, do certain number of things, and behave around others. The young girl appears to not speak through-out the story, it may be because of how the mother is coming on to her or she is retaining the information that is being given to her. When the mother mentions the father in the story she is referring to all men in...
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...Faye Jones ENC 1102 Professor Kenefick 9:30 – 10:45 “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (Post-Modernism) Based on our lecture in class, I view “Girl” as a Post-Modern work. If “Girl” is viewed as ‘Modern’, the work is seen as nurturing, however if viewed as ‘Post-Modern’, the work is seen as abusive. The structure and language convey a tone of repressiveness and obedience. The mother is preaching at the girl to tell her how to act. The daughter meekly accepts what the mother says and only twice does she speak against her mother. Even then, she spoke in a passive manner. The mother-daughter relationship lacks real intimacy. The use of the word “slut” tells us the mother does not have a high opinion of the daughter even before the mother’s orders can be carried out. The mother is extremely dictatorial, which in itself is not a nurturing quality. Post-Modernism is work that denotes negativity and hopelessness and is meant to shake up the audience. Kincaid does an excellent job of this. Her use of sentence structure (the long sentences); the excess use of semi-colons; and the open ending of the story are demonstrative of Post-Modern writings. An important element is ‘deconstruction’ for example, how the story is really more of a speech and not a formalized story with definite structure. Another example is the writing style, which is the narrative. We do not know exactly who is speaking, and absolute clarity is absent because in Post-Modern writing it does...
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...In the passage Girl by Jamaica Kincaid consist with writing that comes with a list of rhythm but also giving instructions on what this girl should be doing or even acting. The mother who is giving her daughter advice and commands in order for her not to become a “slut”. The tone is straight forward but also a little rough so her daughter could be afraid of committing inappropriate acts. But also this passage gives advice mostly in a way of a list, things the girl need to accomplish. As a reader you can also sense how between the mother and daughter there is tension. The girl might not be disagreeing with the mother but because she's not saying anything and the conversation is stiff just her mother talking seem there is conflicting feelings....
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...A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid is an effective non fiction text because of the use of blunt words and phrases. Kincaid was able to give me one side of a story that I may have wanted to look past. As a result of this, Kincaid left me with the feeling of guilt. Throughout the text, I questioned many things about myself. Whether it was the way I act on vacations or if I was actually “an ugly person”. These effective tools that Kincaid used, such as having me question myself and think in a different perspective really enhanced the message she was tried to get across. Tourists, such as many of my relatives, who travel to the Dominican Republic each year, might not see themselves the way the natives of that particular place do. While on...
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...Creative Paragraph for “Girl” We lived in a small New England town, one of those towns where everybody knows everybody, but not in a good way. She was a good friend of mine; we became friends at church, although we also went to the same high school. She was a nice girl, a sweet girl. But as our friendship grew stronger and the more time we would spend together, the more time I would spend at her house, with her and her family, her mother rather of had us there then anywhere else. It quickly became quite evident that my friend was leading two different lives. At school and around friends she was very outgoing, very talkative, and even a bit flirty with the boys in our school. She was always singing and dancing as well. At her home she was much, much different. She had a mother who believes whole heartedly that women hold a certain place in this world, and there for should act accordingly. She had her own extensive and very peculiar set of policies and procedures when it came to being a woman. Do this, don’t do that. Personally I would find it very hard to live that way, but it soon became clear to me, that she did as well. She often questioned the things her mother had told her, it’s not that she didn’t want to learn from her mother, she did, very much so, she just didn’t want to be forced into it; she was a girl who liked having choices. I often wondered why her mother was like this, why was she so set in her ways when it came to who she wanted her daughter to...
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...In Jamaica Kincaid's story 'Girl' we see that the mother is very disciplined in what to do and what no to do in order to be a proper lady. What kind of personality would one expect in this woman? Perhaps one that is harsh? Or perhaps one that is caring? If we take a close look at 'Girl' we will be able to answer this question with more clarity. Immediately we see that the mother is instructing her daughter on how to be a proper woman. The tone used in this story can help paint a picture in the reader's mind. The reader can imagine the mother sitting before her daughter, speaking in a firm, yet gentle voice. The language and instructions that the mother are giving can make the character appear flat and stale. When reading the story the same tone of voice can be heard coming from the mother. Throughout the story there is no change in the mother's language....
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...Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Reading Response Question: What does this story suggest about the ideas of womanhood and femininity? The short story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid has many suggestions on how exactly womanhood be. The mother is very convinced that her daughter is going down a road of promiscuity and if she doesn’t change her ways, a slut she shall be. The instructions the mother gives are specific and they come quickly. Throughout the entire story, the daughter only responds once. Both responses prove that the daughter is naïve. She says, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all, and never in Sunday school,’’ and she says at the end, “but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?” The exact responses prove that the daughter is trying to take the information in at her best ability but she is too young to get that full message that her mother is sending her. Her mother continuously says, “the slut you are bent on being,” because of how she acts which seem to be just childish acts that all children go through at a young age. Her mother’s obsession with femininity comes into play when she says, “ don’t squat down when you play marbles,” and “this is how you love a man.” She wants her daughter to find her womanly identity and master the art of womanhood without have to depend on a male. Not once did he r mother mention the help of a man when catching food or fixing things around the house. The mother believes strongly in independence and she feels that her daughter...
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...“A Small Place” In “A Small Place”, by Jamaica Kincaid, Kincaid reveals the native’s side on tourism. The essay is written in a second point of view and the reader is addressed directly in the essay. Kincaid places the reader in the shoes of the tourist, and tells the tourist what she would see through her travels on the island. In fact, the reader is a tourist in Antigua. Kincaid makes a connection in her essay that leaves the audience with an understanding of the corruption that goes on in the island of Antigua and how that relates to the negative view Kincaid has of tourists. Kincaid begins the essay by telling the beautiful sights and scenes Antigua has to offer. However, as the essay progresses the reader finds out how atrocious of a place Antigua is. For example, the schools are even unrecognizable: “You pass a building in a sea of dust and you think, It’s some latrines for people just passing by, but when you look again you see the building has written on it PIGLOTT’S SCHOOL”(Kincaid 1225). This is an example Kincaid uses to show how poor of a place Antigua is. This essay is written with many purposes in mind but the most important one is to change the tourists’ treatment and view of the locals. In order to make her point, Kincaid creates a feeling of compassion for the natives and instills a feeling of guilt in the tourists. Although, I think she is successful in creating sympathy for the natives, I do not think that she is successful in changing the behaviors of...
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...cultural traits. * “You” in life and debt was referring to white americans. But false representation. Well incomplete anyway. * In the film: there is a world in this somewhere but I cant getinto this right now. * Listen to the you vs we in the place of consumption. The identity shifts. * Roots the movie: look it up. * Genealogical study boomed in the wake of this tv series. Xpecially in the black comm. * Tourism was centered as a developmental strategy (especially in Jamaica, Senegal, third world and developing countries) * Tourism becomes linked to this roots phenomenon. * Slave forts were”disneyfied” or arguably so, that brought in a lot of tourist dollars. * People that write about tourism: faily uniform in critiquing the commodification of the tourist. * Neocolonialism. Fueled by the west’s search with “having an authentic experience”.in by doing so, it creates a larger distance with the sensorial and the real. * “A Small Place” – Jamaica Kincaid....
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...A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid Viewing the world as a tourist and saying you actually experienced the place you traveled to would be naive. Actually getting to know the place is a bit different. You see the poverty and corruption, the struggle and then the beauties and differences. But getting to that point is also quite difficult. Jamaica Kincaid writes about tourists and traveling, and takes us on a tour of an island called Antigua. This is an excerpt taken from A Small Place. The author writes in second person addressing the tourist (who can be us the readers or any tourist around the globe). Kincaid writes in a tone where even I despised myself for traveling. She has the ironic and provocative voice that might offend the reader. I myself have witnessed tourists at a young age and I did envy them. I thought I was going to get stuck in this polluted city my whole entire life. I saw them frolicking the beaches and drinking white wine while eating gyros as I sat behind my uncle's bar wanting to have fun too. But I have also been a tourist laying on a beautiful beach as a young man served me sushi and a pina colada. Jamaica writes “But some natives-most natives in the world-cannot go anywhere. They are too poor... They are too poor to escape the reality of their lives; and they are too poor to live properly in the place where they live, which is the very place you, the tourist, want to go”(119 Kincaid). This quote made me think and realize that being a tourist is “ugly”...
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...colonization is what led to the corruption of Antigua and society through the eyes of Jamaica Kincaid. The book shows the significance of the arrival of outside countries and people and the effect it had on Caribbean islands. Through Kincaid’s various views throughout the book, perspectives range from viewpoints of tourists traveling to the Caribbean to viewing society through the eyes of Antiguan natives; even through the eyes of Jamaica Kincaid herself as a young child during the colonization periods. Kincaid’s sour tone throughout the text shows her passion for her home country and its history as she feels Antigua has been and is corrupted by the outside presence of other nations. A majority of A Small Place is expressed through Kincaid’s personal point of view and, consequently, is written in the first-person. However, she tends to write in the second-person point of view when she’s referring to tourists and even early English colonists. Her constant use of “you” in her writing makes her claims more personal and strong in distinguishing the dislike for what the tourists represent. Her tone even gets more aggressive at times. “Do you ever try to understand why people like me cannot get over the past, cannot forgive and cannot forget? There is the Barclay’s Bank. The Barclay brothers are dead. The human beings they traded, the human beings who to them were only commodities, are dead.” (Kincaid 27) Her claims towards the tourists are to show the reality of the natives as...
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...Comparison and Contrast of “Girl” and “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” Over a lifetime a person is forced to make many decisions. The way a person lives their life is that individual’s decision. Often times, one choice is better than another, yet society doesn’t always support what is best. In the poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich, and the short story "Girl" written by Jamaica Kincaid, illustrates the ways women reacts to a society dominated by men, and how their lives are molded by different decisions they make. A woman can simply ignore the restraints they face and suffer the consequences, or she can take a stand, challenge her authority, and enjoy the life she deserves. In Adrienne Rich’s poem, "Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger,” one could assume that the poem is about a woman, who is saddened by her husband’s death. So, the woman knits a magnificent panel that has tigers on it to remind her of her husband because she misses him. But actually, Aunt Jennifer is creating this panel because she desires to be brave, just like a tiger surviving in the wild. Tigers have energy. They are fearless creatures that are free to roam and do not fear men. Aunt Jennifer’s is a woman whose soul burns with creative fire and passion; but she has been defined by the rules of others for some time that she is unable to express herself. Her role in society is decided by a patriarchy; which means society is male dominated and women should occupy the margins (Webster). Aunt Jennifer feels like she is...
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...Compare/Contrast Essay Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” and Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” talks about how hard it was towards being a female for their times. Sojourner Truth gave a speech during the Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, saying that women should deserve the same equality as men. On the other hand Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl” talked about how to make a girl into a respectful woman and not a slut. Both dialogues have similarities and differences. The stories are talking about how hard working a woman can be, men being in control, and in religion. Both Truth and Kincaid will talk about how hard working a woman could be. Sojourner Truth speaks about how she’s a hard working lady, someone who doesn’t needs the help of a man. “Look at me! Look at my arms! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well!”(Ain’t I a woman?). “ Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them to the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothes line to dry”(GIRL).Of these both quotes talk about how Truth and the “Girl” character managed to be a hard working woman without a man’s help and managed to get through these rough times. Secondly, both Ain’t I a Woman and Girl talk about how feminist took over during their time period. A man during Truth’s speech said, “Women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and...
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...10/28/12 English In the story “Girl” there is a variety of things being said and it is easy to tell this is a mother, daughter relationship going on. I say that because most of things being said by the mother are things that usually only a mother would tell her daughter. The speaker in the story is the mother and the listener in the story is the daughter. In the story the mother is giving plenty of advice and telling the daughter what is appropriate and what is not. I can tell that all the information the mother was giving was too much for the daughter to take in because the daughter did not really say much at all while the mother was lecturing her. The life being described in the story “Girl” is really loose and care free which is why the mother is being strict on the daughter. The location is important because that is where most of the things that the mother is warning the daughter about are happening. I somewhat sensed that about the location in the story when the mother said “On Sunday try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming”. This quote showed me that there is something that the mother does not want the daughter to experience in that location. The advice the mother is giving in the story “Girl” is strict and controlling. The mother is not suggesting that the daughter take the advice, she is actually demanding that the daughter listen to her and take the advice than suggesting that she do so. An example would be when the mother says “Wash...
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