Analysis of “girl” Written by Jamaica Kincaid

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This is another stark contrast to the previous piece of advice about not “[squatting] to play marbles—[because she] is not a boy”. (Kincaid 163). Spitting in the air is not a “ladylike” quality, and yet the mother teaches her daughter how to do it, and move out of the way so the spit doesn’t land on her. She is showing her daughter that she can do as she pleases if she wants. Even with the bits of advice that seem to oppress women into traditional roles, Kincaid has also shown in contrast to the sexism, the idea of an older woman teaching the younger generation on how to be strong woman who knows herself.

Kincaid ties the themes of sexism and feminism with an overall theme of power. Throughout the piece, the advice and instructions that the mother gives her daughter seems to restrict the daughter in all aspects of her life. The entire piece is a list of “do this”, “don’t do that”, “do it this way”, and “don’t do it this way”. However, upon closer reading, Kincaid has actually made a list of advice from a mother to a daughter to imply that without women, a house would not be maintained. Things mentioned like ironing, cooking, sweeping, cleaning, mending, gardening, and setting tables are all traditionally considered feminine responsibilities, but Kincaid conveys that without a strong woman to do all of these chores and tasks, a household would fall apart. The mother also tells her daughter, “this is how to throw back a fish you don’t like…this is how to love a man, and if this doesn’t work there are other ways, and if they don’t work don’t feel too bad about giving up”. (Kincaid 163). The mother is telling her daughter how to take control of her life and her circumstances. The advice to “throw back a fish you don’t like” can symbolically mean people in her life. This advice alone teaches the daughter the power that she can possess. Upon deeper reading of this story, it is evident the mother is not giving her daughter a list of limitations, but a list of ways that she can be independent and free.

In conclusion, when reading this piece through the first time, it has the sense of an “old school” mother with outdated values giving her young teenage daughter advice on how to be a good “housewife”. The overall tone of the piece has a sense of sexism towards women. Upon closer look, however, Kincaid has cleverly entwined each piece of advice from the mother in such a way to convey the power of a strong woman giving advice to her young daughter on how to grow up and have control of her fate as a woman. Although “Girl” was written in 1983, the underlying themes that are rampant throughout this short story shows that Jamaica Kincaid was a modern day feminist decades ahead of her time.