Incidents In Girl Analysis

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We have studied many interesting narratives and themes so far in class. The two narratives that appealed to me the most was, Incidents in the life of a slave girl and Girl. These two narratives presented many themes within their context but the one that was most apparent the most in both was motherhood/gender roles. Motherhood and gender roles in each of these stories by inferring that motherhood was essential and there were “women traditional roles” Incidents in the life of a slave girl was written by Harriet Jacobs who is also the narrator (Linda Brent). The genre of this narrative women's biography with first person point of view. An overview of the narrative is Linda Brent struggles to protect herself from her lecherous master and is…show more content…
She is obviously very protective over her daughter and wants her doing the right things but on the other hand she does not give her the “benefit of the doubt”. Her mother just assumes she is already becoming a “slut”. For example she tells her daughter, not to squat while playing marbles, not to sing any Antiguan folk songs in Sunday school, and to always walk like a lady. This displays conflicts that motherhood brings which is trusting your children to go on the path you try to lead them down. She is so desperate for her daughter not to turn out like her that she restricts herself and her daughter with rules of femininity. For example in the story her mother states, “Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; don’t walk barehead in the hot sun.” Her mother gives her rules on how to play the traditional role of a…show more content…
Despite the mother’s caustic remarks and accusations, the fact that she knows how to make abortion-inducing elixirs implies that she has had some illicit relations with men or at least understands that such encounters sometimes occur. She remembers, for example, how her mother constantly accused her of promiscuity and impropriety, an accusation that has apparently haunted her through the years. The inclusion of such remarks in the story illustrates how deeply they affected her while growing up and just how powerful a mother’s influence and opinions can be on her children. The mother makes it clear that because she has to be “a lady” that she can not do all of the things that she may see others
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