Jamaica Kincaid's Girl Essay

always over their children’s shoulders and telling their children what to do. Eric Fromm tries to explain these parental instincts in The Art of Loving, and the parental theories described by Fromm can be applied to stories such as “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. Kincaid’s short story, along with portraying Fromm’s maternal love theory, supports the Madonna/whore syndrome, which was theorized by Sigmund Freud. Fromm’s maternal love, and Freud’s Madonna/whore syndrome can be closely

becoming” (Kincaid 1). The imperatives and prohibitions of the mother in “Girl” portray the integral idea of following cultural norms in society, even if it is not your own, to extinguish “Slutiness” and advance in social status. Jamaica Kincaid lived with her mother and a step-father, when she was nine years old her mother conceived three sons, this led to her feeling overshadowed, Kincaid was neglected and treated badly. “Girl” could be a way for Kincaid to speak out about her life and depict the

In both of the stories, “Girl” and “Story of an Hour”, woman's femininity, independence and tradition are shown in many examples. Both tales depict a story of a woman trying to discover their independence and learning the ways of how women are expected to act. They can both be seen as feminists for wanting to be independent but having oppressors such as parents and spouses stopping them from being who they want to be. During the time both short stories were written and where they were written

Contrast of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and John Updike’s “A&P” “A&P” and “Girl” both symbolized the protagonists’ oppression by an older, more experienced generation. However, Kincaid’s “Girl” was artistic with an undercurrent of selfless love and hope while Updike’s “A&P” was uninspiring with selfishness and lust. The protagonist of “Girl” discouraged her daughter’s dreams out of love. The protagonist of “A & P” encouraged the antagonists’ out of a selfish desire for self-promotion. The short story

Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” and Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”, two stories that have very much in common. They both hold very strong life lesson’s that I see in society today that almost no one follows when we should. The differences that these two books have is that one is about a girl and the other is about everyone in general. I appreciate these two stories because it’s similar to what goes on around me today. In the story Girl, the girl’s mother is the protective type of mother and expects good

of the children while the dad goes off to work to make money and provide for the family. Society has come to call these ideals gender roles since they are basic roles and ideas that a certain gender should conform to and accept. In the essay “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, she discusses in one paragraph how the traditional woman is supposed to act. Michael Kimmel writes in the essay “Bros Before Hos” the same ideas, but he discusses how men should behave. Both authors do not like the roles placed upon

of mankind, oppression has been a major obstacle for women to overcome. In “Girl,” Jamaica Kincaid illustrates through written word the struggle women go through due to the expectations set for them. While there is female oppression of different forms, Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a resemblance of the oppression she felt during her childhood on the small and remote island-nation of Antigua. In its most basic form, “Girl” vividly paints a literary picture depicting the way an “old-fashioned” wife

Analysis of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid Girls, young women, and mature mothers. Society has consistently given women strict guidelines, rules and principles on how to be an appropriate member of a man’s society. These rules are set at a young age and enforced thoroughly into adulthood. When not followed accordingly, women often times too many face reprimanding through means of verbal abuse, physical abuse, or social exile. In the midst of all these strict guidelines and social etiquette for girls, a social

Jamaica Kincaid’s Achieving Independence ​Jamaica Kincaid’s achievement of cultural independence is best understood in the Mother-Daughter Relationships reflected in “Girl” and “Annie Jones.” Kincaid did everything in her power to achieve independence from colonialism and too have it infuse in her stories. Even in Kincaid novels, there is a tendency of picking female characters as an example for independence as she wished it for herself as an adult, a feeling of responsibilities to care for herself

Good-Old Days Revealed in Girl         Jamaica Kincaid’s story "Girl" allows readers a glimpse into the strict, demanding manner in which parents reared their children almost twenty years ago. Through Kincaid’s careful structuring of "Girl," readers capture the commanding tone of the story. The relationship between the mother and the girl also reeks of empowerment and distance, as best seen through the girl’s short-lived speech in the story. Most important, "Girl" shows readers how particular