I Want A Wife And Girl By Jamaica Kincaid

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The written pieces, “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, illustrate all of the traditional tasks and roles women play in the home as well as in society. Every day jobs such as laundry, cooking, and cleaning are present in both “I Want a Wife” and “Girl.” The women in these written works are portrayed as loyal, hard working, and self-motivated with the purpose to faithfully serve their families. They are inferior compared to other people and must obey what they are told to do. However, the tone and structure of each show the different attitudes the women have. With the tone and structure of the written works, Brady gives off a sarcastic tone which is seen in her diction while Kincaid displays the demanding nature of a…show more content…
In “Girl” Kincaid’s tone is instructive and harsh. This tone also portrays how much is expected in a woman. The narrator sounds very firm and somewhat demanding as she instructs this girl on how to be that “kind of a woman,” a woman that is a trustworthy and good wife. The girl is expected to do so much, Kincaid lists off, “this is how to sew on a button; this is how to make a buttonhole for the button you have just sewed on; this is how…” (369). Shown through repetition of “this is how” we see how the narrator, probably a motherly figure to the “girl” gives harsh instructions to the never ending duties of a woman. Word choice such as “slut” shows the cruelty of the treatment of the girl. The narrator condescends on the girl with this harsh word choice by saying, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming,” (Kincaid 368). The story is presented in one sentence which gives a the reader the feeling of the continuous burden of a women, by having one sentence shows there are no breaks for a woman who is to be a good housewife. It shows how much she is expected to do and gives a demanding feel to the story, one thing after another is instructed and expected of from the girl. It makes the reader feel like there is no break and that there is so much to do, just like what the girl must
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