Authoritarian Parenting In Junot Diaz's Girl

Nicholas Hill

Prof. Alex Boateng

ENG 102

20 April, 2023

Parents are important to a child’s development. The way that an authority figure will parent their child affects how the child will develop. In “Wildwood” by Junot Diaz, and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid we read about characters who experience an authoritarian parenting style from their mothers. Authoritarian parents typically have a colder attitude toward their children. The parent(s) will not listen to their children when they express concerns or they will dismiss issues the child may have. There are other factors that show signs of authoritarian parenting, but these are the most common. On a page from Web.MD authoritarian parenting is described as an extremely strict parenting style. It

For context, Jamaica’s mother was a traditional housewife so many of her duties involved cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the house and children. The mother expects the daughter to be the same but we see from Jamaica’s life that she pursued a different path that her family didn’t approve of. Continuing with the mother’s advice she says, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming;” (Kincaid, 1978) this line tells the reader that the mother already believes her child is becoming a slut by her actions. The mother mentions how the girl is not allowed to bend over when playing marbles and that she should learn now how to abort a child. All of these teachings are metaphorical interpretations of what women are taught. The story isn’t a literal discussion between a mother and child, but all of the expectations that come with being a proper woman. The story is one run-on sentence and is full of back-to-back teachings from the mother that doesn’t give the reader a chance to breathe. The way the story is written reflects how the girl feels in the story suffocated. In the final line of “Girl” Jamaica’s mother states, “you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?” (Kincaid, 1978) This line represents how the mother views her daughter now and what she fears for

Lola in “Wildwood” tried to disgust her mother with her actions. At fourteen years old she was dressing promiscuously and going to clubs. She lost her virginity at a very young age to a man she did not care for. All of the teachings her mother gave her were reasonable but because of how they were delivered it caused rebellion. At the beginning of the story, we read how the mother views her daughter in a very similar way that the mother in “Girl” views her child. Lola looks back at her childhood and writes the following, “Your mom’s convinced that if you only eat more plátanos you will suddenly acquire her extraordinary train-wrecking secondary sex characteristics. Even at that age, you are nothing if not your mother’s daughter.” (Diaz, 2007) Lola’s mother is described as a beautiful woman with very appealing sexual features. Her mother relishes these features evidenced by at the beginning of the story her staring into the mirror and admiring herself. When she is diagnosed with breast cancer and she loses her attractive looks and presence she starts to become more feeble. Lola treats her mother terribly and her mother treats her terribly. It was a cycle of anger and misunderstanding that led to Lola stealing money and running away. The story continues as we read about Lola’s journey through adulthood in a setting that she grows uncomfortable