Girl By Jamaica Kincaid
“Girl,” is a short story written in 1978 by Jamaica Kincaid. This short story is a mom’s advice to her daughter, teaching her to be a proper woman. In the story, the tone is portrayed through the author's use of setting, point of view, and characterization.
While one can conclude that the two characters in the story live in the Caribbean based off of the author's biography and the author mentioning singing “benna in Sunday school,” the author leaves the setting generic. This, however, plays to Kincaid’s advantage when trying to convey the nagging tone of the story that is portrayed in the seemingly never ending list of commands the mother is giving the daughter. The reader feels as if they could easily be the girl and the girl’s mother their own mother because the badgering could be occurring anywhere. By never specifically describing or mentioning the setting, the author is successful in creating the stories authoritarian tone.
The story is told in first person point of view, through the eyes of the young girl. She does not yet understand that her mother is …show more content…
Although the girl does not describe what her mom looks like, we still get an idea of who she is through her words. As readers, we see the mother as a bossy lady who tells her daughter how to do everything from washing clothes to catching fish, to having an abortion. Since all but about two lines in the story are the mother’s words, the tone of the story becomes authoritative.
In the short story, “Girl” we learn of a girl who is regurgitating all the advice her mother has given her. From walking, to cleaning, to playing, to smiling, the girl’s mom has directions on how to do each task so that the girl becomes a proper lady. By doing certain things in the story such as using a relatively generic setting, telling the story from the girl's point of view, and characterizing the mother as bossy, the author creates a commanding tone in the
While one can conclude that the two characters in the story live in the Caribbean based off of the author's biography and the author mentioning singing “benna in Sunday school,” the author leaves the setting generic. This, however, plays to Kincaid’s advantage when trying to convey the nagging tone of the story that is portrayed in the seemingly never ending list of commands the mother is giving the daughter. The reader feels as if they could easily be the girl and the girl’s mother their own mother because the badgering could be occurring anywhere. By never specifically describing or mentioning the setting, the author is successful in creating the stories authoritarian tone.
The story is told in first person point of view, through the eyes of the young girl. She does not yet understand that her mother is …show more content…
Although the girl does not describe what her mom looks like, we still get an idea of who she is through her words. As readers, we see the mother as a bossy lady who tells her daughter how to do everything from washing clothes to catching fish, to having an abortion. Since all but about two lines in the story are the mother’s words, the tone of the story becomes authoritative.
In the short story, “Girl” we learn of a girl who is regurgitating all the advice her mother has given her. From walking, to cleaning, to playing, to smiling, the girl’s mom has directions on how to do each task so that the girl becomes a proper lady. By doing certain things in the story such as using a relatively generic setting, telling the story from the girl's point of view, and characterizing the mother as bossy, the author creates a commanding tone in the