Role Of Fatherhood In Herland

From a young age, our interactions with our parents play an instrumental role in how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid exhibits the relationship between an Antiguan mother and her daughter in a patriarchal society where the list of rules and regulations for women is exhaustive and almost never-ending. By analyzing the unique and often tense dynamic between the mother and daughter, “Girl” showcases the direct influence mothers have on their children, and how traditional and patriarchal customs can influence that relationship. The main themes are represented by the subjects the mother spends the most time on as well as the overall tone of the piece and how it relates to the mother-daughter

Throughout time mother/daughter relationships have been tattered as woman’s liberation has taken place. Many mothers have the “old fashioned” opinion about what a woman should be. The short story “Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, is a prime example of this relationship. The theme in “Girl” strongly suggests that a woman should be domestic and there is a certain way that she

replacement of stereotyped images of black womanhood with those that are self defined, 4) black women’s activism, and 5) sensitivity to black sexual politics. The first three themes correlate to black motherhood and living in a binary environment, one in which black people are the oppressed and white

Throughout literary history, authors have categorized mothers as nurturing, critical, and caring; works of literature characterize fathers, however, as providers who must examples for their children and embrace their protective, “fatherly” instincts. However, many works’ fathers fall short when it comes to acting the role of the ideal dad. Instead of being there for their children, they are away and play very miniscule roles in their children’s lives; instead of protecting he actually ends up hurting their kids. Thus, the paternal literary lens tries to determine whether or not the work’s father figure fits the “perfect father” archetype. This lens questions whether or not the father figure is his children’s active example, provider, and

Family is the first contact an infant experiences and the environment child is raised determines their behaviors and social development. Father figures just like mother figures are important in raising and socializing children in becoming responsible people as they grow. Numerous researches to determine importance of fathers in early child development have been carried out and majority of them found out that just like mothers, the role fathers play in early childhood development including mental, psychological and physical development are crucial. The studies show that, children raised by single mothers are likely to have problems such as drug abuse, engagement in early sexual behaviors and other unsocial behaviors as compared to those raised by both parents. The paper will explore the role of fathers in child rearing, discussing strategies in raising children and exploring pros and cons of such strategies.

   Historically, the job of women in society is to care for the husband, the home, and the children. As a homemaker, it has been up to the woman to support the husband and care for the house; as a mother, the role was to care for the children and pass along cultural traditions and values to the children. These roles are no different in the African-American community, except for the fact that they are magnified to even larger proportions. The image of the mother in African-American culture is one of guidance, love, and wisdom; quite often the mother is the shaping and driving force of African-American children. This is reflected in the literature of the

Marie Louis Anderson writes black matriarchy to critically analysis the African American household, in which she examines the household culture and the matriarch in which the house operates under, many points are raised during this book. The most important of these points being , The Black matriarch regards the Black male as undependable and is frequently responsible for his emasculation, is often very religious, regards mothering as one of the most important in her life, attempts to shield her children from and to prepare them to accept the prejudices of the white world.

For centuries, women have had the role of being the perfect and typical house wife; needs to stay home and watch the children, cook for husbands, tend to the laundry and chores around the house. In her short story “Girl”, Jamaica Kincaid provides a long one sentence short story about a mother giving specific instructions to her daughter but with one question towards the end, with the daughter’s mother telling her daughter if she had done all the instructions to become a so called “perfect” woman, every man would want her. Kincaid’s structuring in “Girl,” captures a demanding and commanding tone. This short story relates to feminist perspectives. The mother expects a great deal from her daughter to have a certain potential and she does not hesitate to let her daughter understand that. As a matter of fact, the story is about two pages long, made into one long sentence - almost the whole time the mother is giving her daughter directions to follow - conveys a message to the reader that the mother demands and expects great potential in her daughter. The daughter is forced to listen and learn from what her mother is telling her to do to become the perfect housewife. Throughout the story, Kincaid uses the symbols of the house and clothing, benna and food to represent the meanings of becoming a young girl to a woman and being treated like one in society. Women are portrayed to appeal to a man to become the ideal woman in society, while men can do anything they please.

The women of Herland do not only facilitate motherhood through a religious frame, it also shapes the social organisation within their society. Every woman is allowed to have one child but it’s expected to raise the child herself. The reason each woman is only allowed to pro-create once is a method of population control, as they found that without sanctions on childbirth they were outgrowing the country. In addition to that method, in rare exceptions, a woman isn’t allowed to procreate due to the evidence of what the Herlandians perceive to be bad traits. The child is taken care of by their biological mother for the first two years of their life for purposes of nursing etc., whilst being submerged in the love and affection of the whole community.

“The Sky is Grey” by Ernest J. Gaines and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker are both stories that share a view point of black motherhood. The black mothers share a connection with each other by demonstrating how they both don’t show no affection toward there sons and daughters. Both mothers in the stories share another connection by being an uncaring parent toward their children. A mother should not show unloving affection toward a child, instead they should be energetic with their children. If a mother doesn’t show love onto a child well-being than their bond with the mothers can be destroy. Black mothers in society today illustrates the power to help their children to gain an urge to express their emotion with their mothers. Both stories illustrate the power that a mother must help or hinder a child in developing a sense of character.

We live in a society where the similarities between female and males are seen at birth. It begins innocently with the toddlers; girls get pink while boys get blue. The gap between boys and girls develops with time and becomes increasingly apparent. There are still gender stereotypes today, but it is not as bad as it was in the past. Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl” perfectly portrays gender stereotypes. It represents gender concepts as cultural constructs in the period it was written. These conceptions are comparable to current stereotypes about gender. The book gives us a list of commands from a mother to a daughter. Men in the society are dominant to the women, and the set of rules is a product of patriarchy whereby the mother and daughter appear as subordinates to the men in their lives. The article makes one aware of the prevailing masculine hierarchy that exists in a family, and how it creates firm gender roles for females in the society.

    The maternal bond between mother and kin is valued and important in all cultures.  Mothers and children are linked together and joined: physically, by womb and breast; and emotionally, by a sense of self and possession.  Once that bond is established, a mother will do anything for her child.  In the novel Beloved, the author, Toni Morrison, describes a woman, Sethe, who's bond is so strong she goes to great lengths to keep her children safe and protected from the evil that she knows.  She gave them the gift of life, then, adding to that, the joy of freedom.  Determined to shield them from the hell of slavery, she took drastic measures to keep them from that life.  But, in doing so, the

Parents play a crucial role in the development of children, varying from culture to culture. Although imperative, the mother and daughter relationship can be trivial. Many women writers have exercised their knowledge and shared their feelings in their works to depict the importance and influence of mothers upon daughters. Jamaica Kincaid, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Kiana Davenport are only three of the many women writers who have included mother and daughter themes in their texts. These writers explore the journeys of women in search of spiritual, mental and individual knowledge. As explained by these authors, their mothers’ words and actions often influence women both negatively and positively. These writers also show the

The books I’ve chosen to review are set on two different continents. This makes the comparison of the lives of women across the world more efficient and broader. What makes the comparison more practical, realistic and interesting is the fact that the characters in the two books 'The Woman Warrior ' and 'Wild ', lived in the same century. The authors specifically bring out the duties and the expectation that mothers were held to in the upbringing of their daughters as at that time and place. The authors, however, present the picture of motherhood in a fairly narrow view. They ignore the role of mothers in the upbringing of their sons and instead dwell on their duties and responsibilities in the bringing up of their daughters (Kingston & Gordon 2005). Therefore, I chose to compare how the theme of motherhood has been portrayed in the two ethnically diverse texts.

Strength, sacrifice and love is an embodiment of mother. She should always know how much she is worth and shouldn’t let anyone define who she is. A mother’s feminine power is very powerful and at the same time supportive. Till their last breath, they will love their child unconditionally.