Women are often treated unfairly around the globe compared to men. In the short story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, the author describes the instructions for those women in certain societies. Women are expected to always follow certain societal rules in order to avoid being disrespected by men. In the story, the mom of the girl goes over all the rules in order to meet that criteria. She states quite harsh rules that the girl needs to follow. Constantly doing chores, how to make medicine, and how to behave around men are a few to mention. Kincaid reveals the harsh reality of the unfortunate situations that some women have to go through. In the short story, the mother intends to be seen as a positive influence due to the societal norms she is teaching …show more content…
The mother was explaining to the girl, “this is how you set a table for lunch; this is how you set a table for breakfast; this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know who very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (Kincaid 321). This should be seen as a positive influence due to the importance of these rules in society. Men view women who don’t do work for them poorly due to the slur used in this quote. The mother is trying to prevent this from happening to her daughter in the future by telling her to always set up the table for meals. Men are viewed as more dominant in this society because they have more power to do whatever they want. Kincaid continues by adding on more about how to act as a woman. The mother stated, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not the slut you are so bent on becoming” (Kincaid 320). The use of that slur is thrown around a lot in the story. That slur is primarily used by men, describing women who don’t listen to men. The mom is giving important advice on how to walk because of how men view …show more content…
The positive influence of the mother is shown because she is teaching the daughter how to do chores in order to be accepted. The mother first starts off by saying, “this is how you iron your father’s khaki shirt so that it doesn’t have a crease; this is how you iron your father’s khaki pants so they don’t have a crease” (Kincaid 320). The mother is teaching the daughter skills in order to get approval from her father. The societal norms make it so that women have to do chores for men in order to be respected. This is unfortunate, but the daughter cannot do much about it. So the mother has to teach different skills such as ironing clothes so her daughter can live a normal life. The mother states, “this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house; this is how you sweep a yard” (Kincaid 320). The mother is teaching that the daughter needs to sweep around the house in order to make a good woman in this society. The daughter is being taught valuable lessons in order to “succeed” according to the society they are in. Society will always have its own rules. Some may like it, some may