Jamaica Kincaid A teacher in Vermont, a featured writer, Jamaica Kincaid was born Elaine Potter Richardson in Antigua and Barbosa where she spent her youth before coming to the United States. She was the oldest of the four children her mother had. Unfortunately, she was discriminated in her family and her other three brothers were given preference over her. She was sent by her mother to the US to earn for the family. But her rough childhood had paved a different path for her. She chose to defy her
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a literary work that details the duties of women in the Caribbean. Kincaid uses this story as a way of conveying the view and work of women not in just the Caribbean, but in the world at the time. Being written in 1978, “Girl” gives a retrospective view on patriarchal society at the time. Words such as “benna”, “okra”, and “dasheen” are associated with a tropical Caribbean area, which makes sense since Kincaid was born and raised in Antigua. Kincaid chronicles what is
Using a series of semicolons between words of wisdom and advice from mother to daughter, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid gives us a wonderfully accurate display of the nature of relationships between matronly figures and their smaller female duplicates. The story isn’t long, however it does happen to be a single, astonishingly extensive sentence. The rapid fire advice begins immediately, rarely ceasing in it’s mission to reform. The mother’s list is full of good intentions and generously explains instructions
“Girl”, written by Jamaica Kincaid, is a challenging read because it uses a list or commands in the place of a traditionally structured story: interpretation of the main idea is not easy to pick up on. Essentially, “Girl” is laundry list of instructions that a mother is reading off to her daughter. Referring to “Girl” as a story—the tale is without a plot and a narrator, tools that would normally be used to guide the reader in the direction of its purpose for being. Instead, Kincaid attempts to force
control the life of their daughter. Mothers have a great amount of influence upon their daughters, whom they possibly see as a second chance at life for themselves. In the short story “Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, the mother gives her daughter a lecture on how a lady is supposed to conduct herself in society. Kincaid reveals the nature of gender identity structure through the mother’s advice about home-making skills, appropriate etiquette, and virtuous morals. Like most women of the time period, the
prepare them for the unexpected turns that life may bring. Every day, people get to be a witness of seeing the dynamic and depth of the relationship between a mother and daughter. In the story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid readers are only able see bits and pieces of a verbally abusive mother and a young girl readers barely know but still feel sorry for. This story lacks depth because readers are unable to see any change or shift in the dynamic of their relationship. This leaves a big gap for anything
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
Edan Mor 9th Grade Debby Arzt-Mor_______________ Boaz Mor________________ Annie John Jamaica Kincaid, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1985 New York SUBJECT: Annie John is about Annie, a girl, growing up in Antigua. THEME: I have learned what kind of person Annie John is, and how much she changes when growing up from age ten to age seventeen. CHARACTERS: Annie: Annie John is the main character in Annie John. Annie secretly likes to play marbles, she likes to read, and when she was little, she loved to
Imagine being a teenage girl and embarking on a dangerous journey all by yourself. Many people would not be able to achieve such voyage. Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid tells of a story of nineteen-year-old Lucy leaving her British ruled Caribbean for the great American dream. Lucy arrives in America to work as an au pair for a wealthy family. She dreams of something different; something better for her future and she believes America is the place that would help her in achieving her goals. Lucy is most
Jamaica Kincaid is an African American literature writer that has impacted many people with her works. Most of her writing has a parallel connection with her life growing up as a child and dealing with the difficulties of living in a Caribbean culture. In two of Jamaica Kincaid’s works “Girl” and Annie John, she gives insight on the Caribbean culture that’s bestowed on girls and her difficulties in having a stable relationship with her mother. Jamaica Kincaid’s maiden name when born was Elaine