Meghan Rowe

Instructor Sarah Haak

English 1510

26 September 2017

A Universal Female Experience

Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" focuses on her experience as a girl growing up in 1970's

Antigua. She recounts her mother's seemingly never-ending list of expectations she wants her to

follow. Ranging from housework, ways to act ladylike, and ways to please men, the essay is

short, yet full of these tasks which are solely separated by semicolons. Kincaid only speaks twice

amongst these orders, first to explain how she is not doing what her mother says she should not,

and asking what if she is unable to obey her mother because of someone else. There is also a

pretty harsh cost for not fulfilling these expectations, as her mother tells her she will become a

slut if these expectations are not followed.

Jamaica Kincaid's essay "Girl" is short, yet jam-packed with expectations that girls are

expected to follow. Her stylistic choices, the anomalies within the text, and repetition of

imperative terms best support the claim that the societal expectations of women are substantial,

harsh, instilled young, undebatable, and differ from men's.

Through the very way she organizes her work, Kincaid emulates the intensity in which

the expectations of girls are expressed. By writing her essay without paragraphs and individual

sentences, it reads like a never-ending list. This can be interpreted as a means in which to

demonstrate just how many expectations there are for her to do. It can also be interpreted as a
way to overwhelm the reader, just like Kincaid may feel. Both interpretations aid in bringing

attention to the large amount of expectations.

By writing sentences separated by semicolons in only one paragraph, Kincaid emphasizes

how many expectations there are for young girls, as well as how intensely they are demanded.

Not only is the reader intended to be overwhelmed by the essay being one paragraph, but the fact

that there are no sentence breaks enforces that even more. This helps to further convey the idea

of a never-ending list of orders.

The word "slut" is an anomaly that is shocking, regardless of reading the piece as a

mother talking to her daughter or a woman's internal monologue. The word itself is harsh and

derogatory, meant to shame a woman. Perhaps it is used as a threat, the label of "slut" being

placed on a woman who does not follow all of these expectations. Due to the intensity of the

word, it may be a mechanism to further relay how harsh and demanding these expectations are.

In an essay with expectation after expectation, the times Kincaid responds to these tasks

are anomalies. Not only do their italic typestyles stick out, but the fact that she only responds two

times. The first time, she contests the order of not singing benna in Sunday school. She attempts

to interject by explaining how she does not "sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday

school" (Kincaid). However, she is ignored and ultimately drowned out amidst the rest of the

expectations. This can be viewed as a testament to how, regardless of whether or not she is or is

not abiding by these expectations, they have to be explained to her anyway. If this is read as a

mother to daughter dialogue, the ignorance of Kincaid's interjection can imply that her mother

does not care to listen, or wants to, but has to conform to society's expectation of mothers

instilling these expectations in their daughters.

 The second time she speaks is near the end, in the form of a question. Here, she asks

"what if the baker won't let me feel the bread," as her mother expects her to do (Kincaid). There

is a shift from defending herself to placing the potential fault on someone else. Her mother

responds with "you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who

the baker wont let near the bread," which is an anomaly because her mother responds and

responds with a question that can either be interpreted as positive or negative (Kincaid). It can be

viewed as her mother supporting defiance, encouraging Kincaid not to listen to the baker and

touch the bread anyway. It could also be viewed negatively, as a mother's frustration with the

very question being asked after listing all the expectations her daughter needs to do. She could be

asking this question rhetorically, implying frustration that her daughter has the potential to

disobey these expectations and become a woman the baker will not let near the bread.

The fact that the word "girl" is never stated in the piece, yet is the title of the essay is an

ironic anomaly important in emphasizing the earliness these expectations are instilled. Because

"girl" is the title, it suggests that the piece will be innocent, perhaps an essay reminiscing on the

joys of childhood. However, upon reading it is made clear that it is not and "girl" is not stated

once. The use of "lady" and "woman" are both used, which can be interpreted as implying a

hurriedness to grow up into a what society views as a proper woman. The contrast between the

child and adult words of "female" can harshen these expectations, exemplifying the innocence it

destroys by being instilled so young.

The use and repetition of imperative terms brings a sense of necessity and harshness to

the expectations. The tasks are often described and accompanied with "don't" or "always." This

implies that there is no debating whether or not to do these tasks. It drives the point home that
these are expectations, not suggestions, which emphasizes the sexism within this. Girls do not

have a choice whether or not they want to do these things, it is simply expected of them.

While girls are bombarded with these undebatable orders, boys' only troubles seem to

arise when women do not complete their tasks. Every mention of a boy or man is accompanied

by something Kincaid should or should not be doing for or around them. While boys get to play

marbles, Kincaid is told "don't squat down to play marbles you are not a boy, you know"

(Kincaid). Perhaps this is because this essay focuses on girls and does not leave much room for

the hardships or oppression of men. However, based on the treatment of women throughout

practically every nation's history, it can best be interpreted as an example of the sexism plaguing

her and robbing her of the playfulness of childhood.

These examples of blatant sexism are testaments to the universalness of this piece. While

one could read "Girl" and take the date it is written and Kincaid's location into consideration, one

could not and read the piece as current-day. And while it is unlikely one may picture her story

taking place in a place like America due to some of the terminology she uses, parallels are still

able to be drawn. While a reader in the United States may not be familiar with placing washed

clothes "on the stone heap," there are dryers that serve the same function (Kincaid). Other tasks,

such as "[ironing]...khaki pants so they don't have a crease" and "[setting] a table for dinner" are

easily related to because they are universal (Kincaid). Housework tasks like these have

traditionally been assigned to women and, despite efforts in the redefinition of gender roles, still

remain reserved to women by many. This furthers the point of this universal sexism, as noting

parallels between different time periods and geographical locations is important in Kincaid's

conveyance of these discrepancies based on sex.

 Kincaid's "Girl" can be interpreted as an expos of sorts, showing readers these

undebatable sexist discrepancies by listing off all the expectations placed upon women. It can

also be interpreted as a way to show readers just how early these expectations are instilled and

the childhood and innocence it robs.

 Reflection Statement

After receiving feedback from my previous essay, I felt more prepared and confident

going into this essay. Also, the fact that it was a textual analysis made me more comfortable, as

textual analysis has been my primary form of analysis for the past four years. I felt better about

including textual evidence and citations. The subject matter was also beneficial to me, as I am a

big fan and reader of articles like "Girl" and their women-centric subject matter. However, being

so enthusiastic about feminist topics makes it hard for me to narrow down the focus of my essay

as well as explaining all of the points I want to hit. My last body paragraph is where I feel I fell

short, trying to explain an idea that I thought was important as I was writing, but wasn't explicitly

mentioned in my thesis. This led me to ramble on, which is my biggest issue in writing. I am

excited to write and talk about a piece because I have ideas I want to convey, but often am

unable to articulate them well. I have attempted to write outlines in the past, but even those tend

to ramble on and go off the rails a bit.

Another thing I feel I need to work on is breaking away from that argumentative essay

mold. I tried to do so more in this essay than in the other one, after asking you in class how I

should phrase things in order to do so. However, I feel my thesis was too argumentative-like, and

didn't adhere to what you were suggesting to me in class. I am trying to break from that mold,

but feel a little lost in how exactly to write a concise essay with possible interpretations that I

view as "loose ends." I don't think it is an issue of coming up with or considering other

interpretations, but rather a difficulty in working them in to where they aren't just plopped among

a body paragraph explaining all the textual evidence that supports the interpretation I feel is

strongest.
 I also have difficulty with transitioning from one point to the next, I feel like I am just

listing off every interpretation instead of making them flow. I feel like I run into the same

problem with my conclusion, that I just sort of list off some of the points I make and end there.

I dont know if that all made sense, but it's where I am at in terms of the analysis-style

writing. All this being said, I continue to be excited for this class and to learn how to become a

stronger writer in this style.

 Works Cited

Kincaid, Jamaica. Girl. The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017,

www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/06/26/girl.