GIRL by Jamacia Kincaid essay by Eric Richard and Kaden Chen 1: The short story GIRL by Jamacia Kincaid expresses the tone in its title by representing how any woman can be overwhelmed and commanded by others around her. 2: This is mirrored in the tone of the mother figure, which is also very demeaning and heartless to her daughter. 3: Throughout the story, the main character is lectured about how to be a perfect girl in society, including setting tables, dressing right, interacting with men, and other mannerisms. 4: The mother tells the girl all the information about being a woman in one sentence while not allowing her to respond, and when the girl does, the mother just brushes her off. 5: The mother’s tone is also expressed through her use of harsh words while referring to her daughter, implying a …show more content…
7: One way this tone is present is through the harsh words that the mother calls her daughter, mainly the constant repetition of “slut” such as the line”...try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming…” 8: This expresses that the mother is displeased about her daughter’s life and thinks that she should listen to her to ratify it, however, she does so in a disrespectful manner by calling her a slut without regard to her daughter’s emotions, which highlights an aggressive/belligerent tone. 9: The mother is also commanding due to her constant downplay of her daughter's responses, for example “...but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school; this is how to sew on a button…” 10: In this segment, the daughter tells the mother that she never sings the song “Benna” after being accused of it, still the mother does not take heed of her daughter’s correction and instead just keeps ruling her