The Talk-Funny Girl by Roland Merullo has many critical approaches within it, but the gender approach was one consistent approach with its three concepts of gender roles, masculinity and femininity, and patriarchy and matriarchy. From the beginning of this reading, the gender roles concept was frequently used to compare characters and their roles in the story. As a punishment, Marjorie would be forced to act like a boy by her parents, who referred to it as “boying” days. “On boying days there would always be a job to do, a house repair project usually…it was almost as if he really did want a son there to help him” (Merullo 74). As a female, it was as uncommon for one to participate in house repairs and outdoor work, so the roles of gender were altered in this setting.
This illustrates how gender stereotypes shape societal expectations, leading to Minnie living in the confines of submissive roles for women, ultimately constraining their autonomy. Similarly, in Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, Girl is subjected to many societal norms, set up by her gender. For example, “This is how you smile to someone you don’t like very much; this is how you smile to someone you don’t like at all” (Kincaid 43). This further proves the gender stereotype that women are almost always pleasant and nice, leading to the social expectation that girls should behave accordingly and put politeness first, even if it is not implied. Suppressing her feelings and true self-expression,
Short stories are a piece of literature that holds a lesson in a small story, it has meaning behind it and with a large amount of imagery shows a picture of what the writer is trying to say. Short stories have been a very important piece of modern and past literature and always will, each story over the generations shows an evolution of not only english but also life in general. The story girl is an amazing short story by Jamaica Kincaid which has a deeper undertone of freedom while the mother explains how to be a lady. In the short story girl the mother explains how to be a lady, however with a deeper meaning of freedom behind it using a few key lines such as calling her daughter a slut.
Week Journal #7 At the start of our class, I was deeply inspired with the TED video that we watched in week1. I was thinking about how do we often just assume something with our own perspective and own experiences. Also, me and my psychology professor were discussing about this problem or should I say, this tendency. This was very interesting project for me to study. I’m glad that I have encounter to this similar topic.
Jamaica Kincaid writes “girl” A story or poem that is something like a lecture from a mother figure to a daughter figure. There is an enormous amount of ways to present the tone. The tone of “Girl” is loving, caring, but strict. Jamaica uses literary devices to achieve the tone. She uses characters, setting, plot, point of view and style to establish a tone.
Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson was born in the Caribbean under British colonial life. She would later change her name to Jamaica Kincaid and pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. A common theme in Kincaid’s works is the struggle of women not only in the Caribbean but in the whole world. Her short story “Girl” utilizes the repetition of “slut” and long catalog of advice from the mother in order highlighting how women struggle even at the coming of age.
In the story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaide shows that the authority figure’s advice is having a negative impact because she’s forcing the girl to conform to social norms. Throughout the entire story the speaker is reading off a list of things the girl has to do. The only time the speaker brings up a fun topic she turns it into something negative when she says “don’t squat to play marbles- you are not a boy, you know;” This is telling the girl that she cannot have any fun because she is a girl. Telling girls to act in a certain manner can affect their self esteem in a negative way. When someone is forced to conform it is a rejection of individuality which leads to a lack of respect and appreciation for that person.
There are countries in the world where men and woman both are equal in all phases of life, however, the third world countries still have woman who are fighting and rebellion against the injustice towards them. Kincaid writes this story very efficiently in only one sentence thus two page long; the story lists what to do and what not to. An advice from the adult mother to her adolescent girl to live unto the expectations of the community; the mother warns her daughter about the “slut” she thinks her daughter is bent upon becoming. What would a world look like if the genders were more equal and, in social terms, women were given the same freedoms men take for granted? Equality and freedom to choose how to behave is the right of every individual without any discrimination against the gender, the race or the caste; the message very well displayed in Jamaica Kincaid’s
Culture and Women In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “ How to date a Brown girl, Black girl, White girl or Halfie “ by Junot Diaz, both authors elaborate on culture and how it shapes outlook on women. In Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” a mother enforces her culture’s strong beliefs on her daughter. As the result, she displays her parental authority with a sequence of short commands influenced by her culture. A sense of judgment can be seen in the young girl, after questioning her mothers’ request.
In the short story “Blackness” by Jamaica Kincaid, the narrator’s consciousness develops through a process of realization that she does not have to choose between the culture imposed on her and her authentic heritage. First, the narrator explains the metaphor “blackness” for the colonization her country that fills her own being and eventually becomes one with it. Unaware of her own nature, in isolation she is “all purpose and industry… as if [she] were the single survivor of a species” (472). Describing the annihilation of her culture, the narrator shows how “blackness” replaced her own culture with the ideology of the colonizers.
In the story “Girl”, Jamaica Kincaid illustrates the talk given to a young Antiguan girl about what is expected of her in order to make a point about the cultural pressures and unfair social boundaries that come with being a girl in the Caribbean. The author plays with word choice and sentence structure in a way that makes this unconventional writing style enjoyable and metaphorically resonant. Though it is possible to read this prose as a mother talking directly to her daughter and the daughter interjecting, it is actually indicative of a larger conversation between a Caribbean society and its young women; this can be most clearly seen in the discussion of Benna, of plant, animal, and human life, of promiscuity, and of manners. Benna is a musical genre similar to calypso; its lyrics often discussed British political scandals and had lewd double meanings. The daughter is instructed not to sing it in church, because the songs are about sexuality, politics and open rebellion - however, this instruction has a much larger societal meaning.
Female African American writers tend to focus more on the experience of black women (which we will consider for this novel). Black women are often introduced as the minority in the race, especially seen in writings during the 1970’s. Most of these writings have female characters who have domestic duties, which can reveal the passing of traditions and cultures from one generation to the next and the role of a woman in an inconvenienced household. They also deal with the image and perception of the Black woman, whether through looks, skin color, or her voice. The woman’s narrative is often formed gradually, often times alongside a woman who has already discovered herself, but we must consider that “it may take the form of exploring one’s own abilities, needs, and desires” (Tyson, 391).
It is also through Kincaid 's use of her setting, constructive atmosphere, and one sentence structure that some readers can better understand the mother 's belief of how productivity will lead to a respected life. After reading "Girl" readers are now made more aware of the direct relation between domestic knowledge and strict gender roles being forced onto
The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid was published in 1978. The entire story has to do with mother talking to the daughter. The daughter does not say much. The subject matter of “Girl” has to do with being a female and how one should act. The theme of female sexuality is used throughout “Girl” to show the danger of female sexuality, power of domesticity, and sexual reputation.
The role of women in literature crosses many broad spectrums in works of the past and present. Women are often portrayed as weak and feeble individuals that submit to the situations around them, but in many cases women are shown to be strong, independent individuals. This is a common theme that has appeared many times in literature. Across all literature, there is a common element that causes the suffering and pain of women. This catalyst, the thing that initiates the suffering of women, is essentially always in the form of a man.
