Draft

A mother’s words are the ones that ring loudest in a child’s ear, are passed down fromgeneration to generation, and the ones that hold a special place in a child’s memory and heartforever. Expectations and guidelines are set at a young age. Morals and values are learnedthroughout the years, and life lessons are taught through the wisdom passed down from a motherto a daughter. Every mother has a wish for their daughter to be the best they can be. But at whatpoint does instruction and wisdom become simply words that have been said one too manytimes? The short story “Girl,” written by Jamaica Kincaid is presented to the reader as a list ofinstructions from a mother figure talking to her daughter on how to live life in an ideal way. Nomatter what family you come from, there would be morals and expectation that is set for girls toobey. Why should only girls be the one to stay into this social moral set by society?The shortstory focuses on the significance of the relationship in shaping individual behavior. Some of themain points that kincaid mentioned in the text includes: how the mother gives both beneficialand negative information to the daughter and how societies impose stereotypes on children andto a certain extent you parents can be overbearing. There is a unique way how kincaid written this short story. This text is written in a waythat the sentences are divided using semicolons without any periods and the last sentence endedwith a question mark. For instance, “ wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on thestone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and out them on the clothesline to dry… you areSultana 2going to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t lethear the bread?” This indicates that the mother is talking to the daughter in one breath withouttaking a pause. The message behind what the mother wants to say is crucial which she decidednot to stop while she is talking to her daughter. The mother’s advice and commands indicates thatit is a run-on sentence. In general, when your parents talk to their children about an importanttopic, they tend to never stop while they are talking. They keep going on and on. In grammar, weknow that a semicolon is used to connect related independent clauses. From this, we caninterpest that all the instruction that the mother was giving her daughter has to relate to eachother. Moverover, having the question mark at the end of the short story indicates that theexpectation that the mother has on her daughter is high because when you end your conversationwith a question, it shows that you are a reflection on what the whole conversation was. It alsocan mean that the mother is question after all, if the daughter have understood what she hastalked about the whole time. In addition to that, this short story is written in June 16, 1978, and itwas published in “The New Yorker”. It is an American weekly magazine which is stated in 1925.Reflecting on the year it was published, I can tell that it was from a long time ago. Therefore, themorals and the expectation that the 20th century is also similar in the 21st century. We canconclude that these kinds of things that the society sets for us will not change no matter whatgeneration you come from. I have never read anything from this publication but I came acrossthis short story and I felt like this author is convey some of the issue that people in our societystill has these kinds of stereotypes for females Looking at the structure of the way that thewebsite was formated felt like people might read it for relaxation. For instance, at the end of thepage, there were, “play the crossword” and “play the Jigsaw puzzle”. This is an indication thatSultana 3this magazine publication for adults. It connects to how if this short story was read by a mother,she would be able to relate to this short story. In addition to that, putting this in this publicationhelps reach to certain audience. There is a high chance that adults would read this rather maybe ateenage girl.From reading the short story, the advice that is the author is writing it to other mothersand daughters who does these kind of talk to their daughter. It could be any one from any part ofthe world. All mothers and daughters talk to their daughter more or less about advising themthrough the right path. I can recall a moment when my mother would talk to me about how Ishould be when I am outside and how I should be when I am at home. There are manydifferences that as a girl we should follow. For example, whenever I have to go outside, I shouldnot talk to boys without specific reason. When I am inside, I am not supposed to talk to mycousins without having the headpiece on my head. I am saying all this because as a girl I have tomaintain certain expectation that is set for me not just from my parents but from the society that Igrew up. Most of the time my parents would tell me that their generation has grown to be acertain way, so I should also follow that same expectation and that the morals which I shouldalso maintain.Will it be enough for a girl to know that there is a certain way to make medicine at home?Your parents may have grown up in a completely different generation than you, however, thatdoes not set the same qualifications your generation. In “Girl” the mother figure is telling thedaughter that, “… this is how to make a good medicine for cold…” to me it means that themother is telling the girl how to make medicine which indicates that the daughter might beinsecure and that is why her mother is telling her how to make medicine. Also, it is not like she isSultana 4in the hospital and she is telling the daughter to make medicine, I can assume that she is tellingher in a setting that is not the hospital which indicates that there is no education needed formaking medicine. By telling her daughter in this manner, it indicates that when her mother wasyoung they would used to make medicine at home without doctors. In an article that I have foundwhich the author talks about how people should think of power in terms of the ability to makechoices. To be disempowered means to be denied choice, while empowerment refers to theprocesses b​y which those who have been denied the ability to make choices acquire such anability. As Naila Kabeer says in an article, “Gender equality and women’s empowerment”,“education appears to increase women’s capacity to deal with the outside world…(2010 pg15).This is portraying that women who have an education are increasing in their capacity outside ofthe world. In most of the cases, we see that society tends to judge women for no reason buthaving good education increases the chance of not getting judged by others. Linking back towhat kincaide mentioned in her text, is that the mother is telling the daughter how to makemedicine but she should first get her education before telling her how to make medicine. Iunderstand that the mother grew from a different generation but that would not do good to thegirl that she is advising. Things are different as the generation goes by.Mothers are always there for their child to give them information that they would carrywith them self for the rest of their life. But should a mother advises her daughter by giving hernegative information? In the short story, the author states that the mother is giving her a negativeinformation about how to throw away a child before it becomes a child, “… this is how youmake a good medicine to throw away a child before it becomes a child…” I have found that anarticle that explains how society defines women with reproductive terms. In the article it says,Sultana 5“….were women’s role in society is defined purely in reproductive terms, education is seen interms of equipping or increasing their chances of getting a suitable husband…”(Kabeer,17) Thisis the realities of society that can be seen in many parts of the world.In addition, there are other part of the short story that the mother is talking to the girl.Personally, this part of the story strouck me that i felt like i won’t be inside the author’s head toresponse back to the mother. As Kabeer says, “… this is how to behave in the presence of menwho don’t know you very well, and this way they wont recognize immediately the slut I havewarned you against becoming…” Here, she is like criticizing her daughter that she wants herchild to grow a certain way. My question is that, if that was a boy the mother would not tell theson about how to behave while being with a girl? Speaking from my own personal experience, Ican relate to this because my parents have raised a certain way that I feel like it is very differentfrom other cultures. I feel like my mother would agree with this mother figure because Iremember that my mother would tell me similar things. To contract to that, there is an arcel that ihave encountered, and it states, “Teachers in africa have different attitude towards male andfemale students, on the basis that boys need career and girls need a husband…”(Kabeer 17) ifyou didn’t get an education, where would they learn to act certain ways when girls are aroundboys. As a mom, you are instructing your daughter to behave certain ways with men, however,you might decide that you do not want you daughter to attend school. Therefore, I can say thatthe whole conversation that the mother and the daughter is having is preparing the daughter forthe future, but is she only preparing just to get a suitable husband.A mother giving advice to her child is a normal things but to what point does that becomethat parents are overbearing to their children.​This is illustrated in the whole story, which isSultana 6presented a little of the perspective of the girl. Kincaid’s story mainly shows the perspective andthoughts of the mother. The mother states most of the lines of the story. In contrast, the daughtersays a few lines. As a result, the reader is left to wonder what the daughter thinks. The storyshows that the mother does not consider much of what the girl thinks. It is apparent in themother’s lines that she just keeps saying about what she thinks is appropriate for her daughter,and not what the daughter thinks. The story illustrates that the mother does not have the desire tohear the thoughts of the girl. The mother does not have the will or desire to know more about herdaughter. For example, in talking about singing benna in Sunday school, the mother keeps sayingthat the girl should not sing benna in Sunday school, without even considering the probabilitythat her daughter actually does not sing benna in Sunday school. Moreover, the mother does notask about whether or not the girl still plays marbles by squatting like a boy. It appears that themother does not think about the social aspect of her daughter’s life in relation to her interactionswith other children. In this regard, the mother is overbearing on her daughter. ​Parents who exerttoo much control over their children could be causing them lifelong psychological damage,according to a study which tracked a group of people born in the 1940s until the presentday.Researchers found that people who reported their parents had intruded on their privacy inchildhood or encouraged dependence were more likely to have low scores in surveys ofhappiness and general well being carried out in their teens, their 30s, their 40s and even their60s(Cooper 2015). This is an article that I have found which focused on how overly controllingparents cause children lifelong psychological damage. In this situation, the girl is controlled byher mother to behave a certain way.Sultana 7Society inflicts stereotypes on children. This is illustrated in kincad’s short story. Thedirections and the ideas that the mother gives to her daughter are discriminatory of women insociety. For example. The mother figure says that the daughter should not play marbles like aboy, and that the girl should do household work. These statements shows how the motherbelieves that there are some things that the females cannot or should not do. These stereotypesestablish the gap between the genders. The mother is a representation of the idea that womenshould be limited to the h​ome and that men can go out without any restrictions from parents.More importantly, the mother kept repeating the word “slut” which she is labeling her daughterwith a disrespectful attitude. ​Merry states in an article “Constructing a global law-violenceagainst women and the Human Right System. I agree with what this author expressed… “although no country has come close to achieving gender equality, even those that have achievedrelatively equality stills experience violence against women…(Merry 944) we see that girls areresotircted to go outside and play like boys yet they are the one to experience harrasment andviolence.In conclusion, all parents want their children to grow up a certain way in a society. Doesyour mother had given you guide on how to live your life in the right path? In this short story, Kincaid portrays an interesting story of a mother directly talking to her daughter. She isproviding both pros and cons information to the girl. However, most of the time you see thatgirls are the one to get the most restrictions from the parents. We always see that girls are judged by society.

Final

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid
A mother’s words are the ones that ring loudest in a child’s ear, are passed down from generationto generation, and the ones that hold a special place in a child’s memory and heart forever. Expectations and guidelines are set at a young age. Morals and values are learned throughout the years, and life lessons are taught through the wisdom passed down from a mother to a daughter. Every mother has a wish for their daughter to be the best they can be. But at what point does instruction and wisdom become simply words that have been said one too many times? The short story “Girl,” written by Jamaica Kincaid is presented to the reader as a list of instructions from a mother figure talking to her daughter on how to live life in an ideal way. No matter what family you come from, there would be morals and expectation that is set for girls to obey. Why should only girls be the one to stay into this social moral set by society? The short story focuses on the significance of the relationship in shaping individual behavior. Some of the main points that kincaid mentioned in the text includes: how the mother gives both good and bad information to the daughter and how societies impose stereotypes on children and to what extent parents can be overbearing to their children; she conveys to the reader by the structure of the text which connects to how parents in society talk to their girls.

There is a unique way how kincaid written this short story that you would not see in a typical text. This text is written in a way that the sentences are divided using semicolons without any periods and the last sentence ended with a question mark. For instance, “ wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and out them on the clothesline to dry… you are going to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let hear the bread?” This indicates that the mother is talking to the daughter in one breath without taking a pause. The message behind what the mother wants to say is crucial which she decided not to stop while she is talking to her daughter. The mother’s advice and commands indicates that it is a run-on sentence. In general, when your parents talk to their children about an important topic, they tend to never stop while they are talking. They keep going on and on. In grammar, a semicolon is used to connect related independent clauses. From this, we can interpret that all the instruction that the mother was giving her daughter has to relate to each other. Moverover, having the question mark at the end of the short story indicates that the expectation that the mother has on her daughter is high because when someone ends their conversation with a question, it shows that they are reflecting on what the whole conversation was. It also can mean that the mother is questioning after all, if the daughter have understood what she has talked about the whole time. In addition to that, this short story is written in June 16, 1978, and it was published in “The New Yorker”. It is an American weekly magazine which started in 1925. Reflecting on the year it was published, it can be seen that it was from a long time ago. Therefore, the morals and the expectation that the 20th century is also similar in the 21st century. We can conclude that these kinds of things that the society sets for us will not change no matter what generation a person comes from. I have never read anything from this publication but I came across this short story and I felt like this author is convey some of the issue that people in our society still has these kinds of stereotypes for females. Looking at the structure of the way that the website was formated felt like people might read it for relaxation. For instance, at the end of the page, there were, “play the crossword” and “play the Jigsaw puzzle”. This is an indication that this magazine publication for adults. It connects to how if this short story was read by a mother, she would be able to relate to this short story. In addition to that, putting this in this publication helps reach to certain audience. There is a high chance that adults would read this rather maybe a teenage girl.

From reading this short story, mothers and daughters talks in a certain tone that makes the reader think who talk to their daughter like that. The mother presentes helpful and some not helpful information to the daughter. The mother also gives information that she is forbidden to play marbles, even when with boys, can lead to issues in the way the girl makes social interactions with males.As Fader stated, “Toxic mother-daughter relationships, in particular, are very common, with toxic mother-son relationships slightly rarer. Dysfunction in this primary connection affects all aspects of a person’s psyche and life, and awareness of this, especially in women, seems to be on the rise. Bethany Webster, a trained psychologist and Life Coach, has coined the phrase “Mother Wound,” defining it as “…the pain of being a woman passed down through generations of women in patriarchal cultures.” all mother gives advice to their child but not in a way that the girl does not have the voice to speak up and say something. In the short story, it can be seen that the girl does not speak and it lets the reader wonder if the mother actually know if she plays marble with boys.

Will it be enough for a girl to know that there is a certain way to make medicine at home? Your parents may have grown up in a completely different generation than you, however, that does not set the same qualifications your generation. In “Girl” the mother figure is telling the daughter that, “… this is how to make a good medicine for cold…” to me it means that the mother is telling the girl how to make medicine which indicates that the daughter might be insecure and that is why her mother is telling her how to make medicine. Also, it is not like she is in the hospital and she is telling the daughter to make medicine, I can assume that she is telling her in a setting that is not the hospital which indicates that there is no education needed for making medicine. By telling her daughter in this manner, it indicates that when her mother was young they would used to make medicine at home without doctors. In an article that I have found which the author talks about how people should think of power in terms of the ability to make choices. To be disempowered means to be denied choice, while empowerment refers to the processes by which those who have been denied the ability to make choices acquire such an ability. As Naila Kabeer says in an article, “Gender equality and women’s empowerment”, “education appears to increase women’s capacity to deal with the outside world…(2010 pg15). This is portraying that women who have an education are increasing in their capacity outside of the world. In most of the cases, we see that society tends to judge women for no reason but having good education increases the chance of not getting judged by others. Linking back to what kincaide mentioned in her text, is that the mother is telling the daughter how to make medicine but she should first get her education before telling her how to make medicine. I understand that the mother grew from a different generation but that would not do good to the girl that she is advising. Things are different as the generation goes by.

Mothers are always there for their child to give them information that they would carry with them self for the rest of their life. But should a mother advises her daughter by giving her negative information? In the short story, the author states that the mother is giving her a negative information about how to throw away a child before it becomes a child, “… this is how you make a good medicine to throw away a child before it becomes a child…” I have found that an article that explains how society defines women with reproductive terms. In the article it says, “….were women’s role in society is defined purely in reproductive terms, education is seen in terms of equipping or increasing their chances of getting a suitable husband…”(Kabeer,17) This is the realities of society that can be seen in many parts of the world. People in society tends to speak upon girl on their appearance, but when mothers speak to their daughter, they forget what the society has already set for girls.

In addition, there are other part of the short story that the mother is talking to the girl. Personally, this part of the story strouck me that I felt like I won’t be inside the author’s head to response back to the mother. As Kabeer says, “… this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they wont recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming…” Here, sheis like criticizing her daughter that she wants her child to grow a certain way. My question is that, if that was a boy the mother would not tell the son about how to behave while being with a girl? Speaking from my own personal experience, I can relate to this because my parents have raised a certain way that I feel like it is very different from other cultures. I feel like my mother would agree with this mother figure because I remember that my mother would tell me similar things. To contract to that, there is an article that I have encountered, and it states, “Teachers in africa have different attitude towards male and female students, on the basis that boys need career and girls need a husband…”(Kabeer 17) if you didn’t get an education, where would they learn to act certain ways when girls are around boys. As a mom, you are instructing your daughter to behave certain ways with men, however, you might decide that you do not want you daughter to attend school. Therefore, I can say that the whole conversation that the mother and the daughter is having is preparing the daughter for the future, but is she only preparing just to get a suitable husband.

Society inflicts stereotypes on children. This is illustrated in kincad’s short story. The directions and the ideas that the mother gives to her daughter are discriminatory of women in society. For example. The mother figure says that the daughter should not play marbles like a boy, and that the girl should do household work. These statements shows how the mother believes that there are some things that the females cannot or should not do. These stereotypes establish the gap between the genders. The mother is a representation of the idea that women should be limited to the home and that men can go out without any restrictions from parents. More importantly, the mother kept repeating the word “slut” which she is labeling her daughter with a disrespectful attitude. Merry states in an article “Constructing a global law-violence against women and the Human Right System. I agree with what this author expressed… “ although no country has come close to achieving gender equality, even those that have achieved relatively equality stills experience violence against women…(Merry 944) we see that girls are resotircted to go outside and play like boys yet they are the one to experience harrasment and violence.

It could be any one from any part of the world. All mothers and daughters talk to their daughter more or less about advising them through the right path. I can recall a moment when my mother would talk to me about how I should be when I am outside and how I should be when I am inside the house. There are many differences between a boy and a girl when it comes to following certain things. For example, whenever I have to go outside, I should not talk to boys without specific reason. When I am inside, I am not supposed to talk to my cousins without having the headpiece on my head. I am saying all this because as a girl I have to maintain certain expectation that is set for me not just from my parents but from the society that I grew up. Most of the time my parents would tell me that their generation has grown to be a certain way, so I should also follow that same expectation.

A mother giving advice to her child is a normal things but to what point does that become that parents are overbearing to their children.This is illustrated in the whole story, which is presented a little of the perspective of the girl. Kincaid’s story mainly shows the perspective and thoughts of the mother. The mother states most of the lines of the story. In contrast, the daughter says a few lines. As a result, the reader is left to wonder what the daughter thinks. The story shows that the mother does not consider much of what the girl thinks. It is apparent in the mother’s lines that she just keeps saying about what she thinks is appropriate for her daughter, and not what the daughter thinks. The story illustrates that the mother does not have the desire to hear the thoughts of the girl. The mother does not have the will or desire to know more about her daughter. For example, in talking about singing benna in Sunday school, the mother keeps saying that the girl should not sing benna in Sunday school, without even considering the probability that her daughter actually does not sing benna in Sunday school. Moreover, the mother does not ask about whether or not the girl still plays marbles by squatting like a boy. It appears that the mother does not think about the social aspect of her daughter’s life in relation to her interactions withother children. In this regard, the mother is overbearing on her daughter. Parents who exert too much control over their children could be causing them lifelong psychological damage, according to a study which tracked a group of people born in the 1940s until the present day. Researchers found that people who reported their parents had intruded on their privacy in childhood or encouraged dependence were more likely to have low scores in surveys of happiness and general well being carried out in their teens, their 30s, their 40s and even their 60s (Cooper 2015). This is an article that I have found which focused on how overly controlling parents cause children lifelong psychological damage. In this situation, the girl is controlled by her mother to behave a certain way.

To conclude, all parents want their children to grow up a certain way in a society. Does your mother had given you guide on how to live your life in the right path? In this short story, Kincaid portrays an interesting story of a mother directly talking to her daughter. She is providing both pros and cons information to the girl. However, most of the time you see that girls are the one to get the most restrictions from the parents. We always see that girls are judged by society. As the world becomes more and more dangerous because of the stereotypical conclusion that is made for females, girls get influenced by the media which impacts the society as a whole. If a mother tells her daughter that she should be living her life a certain way, then what would happen to the society that we live in now. Parents do not know what is going on in the internet. Unless, they know how their daughter is going through because of the media, then they can advise their daughter based on the circumstance they are in. For instance, the stereotypes propagated by the media go way beyond just gender stereotypes. Due to their great influence on people’s attitudes, the television and the internet, in particular, can depict certain social groups in an adverse and unrealistic manner (2019). This conveys that stereotypes has always had a big influence on children which result in children’s unrealistic manner. To sum up, in “Girl”, the mother did not let the girl to respond so she did not have the chance to show attitude. Nowadays, we see teengaers who are always talking over their parents. As a whole, this text has a big impact on how people in society are treating girls and what they should be expecting from girls.