Girl

BY
JAMAICA KINCAID
 Author’s
Background
Jamaica Kincaid
is a writer, novelist, and professor. Her works
include Annie John, Lucy, The Autobiography of
My Mother, and Mr. Potter, as well as her classic
history of her Antigua, A Small Place and
memoir My Brother. Her first book, the
collection of stories “At the Bottom of the River”,
won the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award from the
American Academy and Institute of Arts and
was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award for
Fiction.
Jamaica Kincaid
Professor of African and African American
Studies in Residence at Harvard University,
Kincaid was elected to the American Academy
of Arts and Letters in 2004. She has received a
Guggenheim Award, the Lannan Literary
Award for Fiction, the Prix Femina Étranger,
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Clifton
Fadiman Medal, the Dan David Prize for
Literature in 2017, and the 2022 Hadada Award
from The Paris Review.
Jamaica Kincaid
Kincaid’s last novel, See Now Then, was
published in 2013. Her love of gardening
has also led to several books on the
subject, including My Garden (2000) and
Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalaya
(2005), a memoir about a seed-gathering
trek with three botanist friends. Among
Flowers was rereleased in late 2020 with
a new introduction by the author.
 Girl
JAMAICA KINCAID
 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;
cook pumpkin fritters in very hot
sweet oil;
soak your little cloths right after you
take them off;
when buying cotton to make yourself
a nice blouse, be sure that it doesn't
have gum on it, because that way it
won't hold up well after a wash;
soak salt fish overnight before you
cook it;
is it true that you sing benna in
Sunday school?;
always eat your food in such a way
that it won't turn someone else's
stomach;
on Sundays try to walk like a lady and
not like the sl*t you are so bent on
becoming;
don't sing benna in Sunday school;
you mustn't speak to wharf-rat boys,
not even to give directions;
don't eat fruits on the street - flies will
follow you;
but I don't sing benna on Sundays at
all and never in Sunday school;
 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 to hem a dress when you
see the hem coming down and to
prevent yourself from looking like the
sl*t you are so bent on becoming;
 this is how you iron your father's
khaki shirt so that it doesn't have a
crease;
this is how you iron your father's
khaki pants so that they don't have a
crease;
this is how you grow okra - far from
the house, because okra tree harbors
red ants;
 when you are growing dasheen,
make sure it gets plenty of water or
else it makes your throat itch when
you are eating it;
this is how you sweep a corner;
this is how you sweep a whole house;
this is how you sweep a yard;
this is how you smile to someone you
don't like too much;
this is how you smile at someone you
don't like at all;
this is how you smile to someone you
like completely;
 this is how you set a table for tea;
this is how you set a table for dinner;
this is how you set a table for dinner
with an important guest;
this is how you set a table for lunch;
this is how you set a table for
breakfast;
this is how to behave in the presence
of men who don't know you very well,
and this way they won't recognize
immediately the sl*t I have warned
you against becoming;
be sure to wash every day, even if it is
with your own spit;
don't swat down to play marbles -
you are not a boy, you know;
don't pick people's flowers - you
might catch something;
don't throw stones at blackbirds,
because it might not be a blackbird
at all;
this is how to make a bread pudding;
this is how to make doukona;
this is how to make pepper pot;
this is how to make a good medicine
for a cold;
this is how to make a good medicine
to throw away a child before it even
becomes a child;
 this is how to catch a fish;
this is how to throw back a fish you
don't like and that way something
bad won't fall on you;
this is how to bully a man;
 this is how to make ends meet;
always squeeze bread to make sure
it's fresh;
but what if the baker won't let me
feel the bread?;
you mean to say that after all you are
really going to be the kind of woman
who the baker won't let near the
bread?
 Dramatic Situation
A. Who is the speaker?
The Mother

B. To whom is the speaker speaking?

To the girl/daughter, and to anyone who is
reading the poem.
 Dramatic Situation
C. What is the situation?
The poem is a lecture from a mother to her
daughter. It is about the deeply human and
intense moment of instruction where a mother,
driven by both care and fear, tries to mold her
daughter into what she believes is the ideal
woman according to their cultural and societal
standards.
 Dramatic Situation
C. What is the situation?
The mother’s monologue is filled with practical
advice and moral guidance, reflects her desire to
protect her daughter from the harsh judgments
of society and to ensure her future success and
respectability.
 Dramatic Situation
D. What is the speaker’s tone?
The speaker's tone is a blend of
authoritative and concerned, reflecting
a mother's urgent desire to impart
societal and moral guidelines to her
daughter.
 Dramatic Situation
E. What does every stanza convey?
The first part conveys a mother's mix of
practical household instructions and
moral guidance to her daughter,
emphasizing proper domestic skills and
socially acceptable behavior.
 Dramatic Situation
E. What does every stanza convey?
The second part conveys a a mother's heartfelt
concern as she urges her daughter to uphold her
dignity and reputation, offering guidance to
navigate societal expectations, while the
daughter, in her defense, asserts her innocence
and challenges the strict rules imposed upon
her.
 Dramatic Situation
E. What does every stanza convey?
The third part implies the detailed and extensive
instructions given to the girl on various domestic
tasks and proper behavior, highlighting the
societal expectations for women to maintain
order, propriety, and competence in all aspects
of life.
 Dramatic Situation
E. What does every stanza convey?
The fourth part implies that the girl is being given
comprehensive instructions on how to conduct herself,
especially around men, to avoid negative judgments, alongside
practical advice on hygiene, gender-specific behavior, and
superstitions. It also includes traditional recipes and remedies,
reflecting the cultural knowledge she must inherit, even
addressing taboo subjects like abortion, highlighting the heavy
and diverse expectations placed on her.
 Dramatic Situation
E. What does every stanza convey?
The fifth part conveys the practical and relational skills
the girl is expected to master, including handling fish,
managing interactions with men through both
assertiveness and emotional strategies, and being
resourceful in daily life. It highlights the importance of
self-reliance, careful judgment, and navigating social
expectations, especially emphasizing the consequences
of failing to meet these standards.
 Imagery
"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"
"Cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil"
"Soak salt fish overnight before you cook it"
 Imagery
"This is how you make a bread pudding"
"This is how you make doukona"
"This is how you make pepper pot"
"Soak your little cloths right after you take them off"
"Be sure to wash every day, even if it is with your
own spit"
 Imagery
"This is how you sew on a button"
"This is how you make a buttonhole for the button you
have just sewed on"
"This is how you hem a dress when you see the hem
coming down"
"This is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it
doesn't have a crease"
 Imagery
"This is how you iron your father's khaki pants so
that they don't have a crease"
"This is how you grow okra - far from the house,
because okra tree harbors red ants"
"When you are growing dasheen, make sure it gets
plenty of water or else it makes your throat itch
when you are eating it"
 Imagery
"This is how you sweep a corner"
"This is how you sweep a whole house"
"This is how you sweep a yard"
"This is how you smile to someone you don't like too
much"
"This is how you smile at someone you don't like at
all"
 Imagery
"This is how you smile to someone you like
completely"
"This is how you set a table for tea"
"This is how you set a table for dinner"
"This is how you set a table for dinner with an
important guest"
"This is how you set a table for lunch"
 Imagery
"This is how you set a table for breakfast"
"This is how to catch a fish"
"This is how to throw back a fish you don't like and
that way something bad won't fall on you"
"This is how to bully a man"
"This is how a man bullies you"
 Imagery
"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"
"This is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it, and
this is how to move quick so that it doesn't fall on
you"
 Diction
Word Connotation Denotation
Slut A woman who has shame or failure
many casual
sexual partners.
Benna A genre of rebellion
Antiguan folk
music
 Diction
Word Connotation Denotation
Wharf-rat Boys who hang around negative
boys the wharf, possibly of influence
lower social standing.

Lady A woman societal

expectations
 Diction
Word Connotation Denotation
Squeeze bread to Checking the making careful
make sure it's bread's freshness by choices
fresh squeezing

Iron your father's Act of removing Duties and

khaki shirt wrinkles from a responsibilities
shirt
 Kinds of Language
Metaphor
Cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil
Hyperbole
be sure to wash every day, even if it is with
your own spit
don't throw stones at blackbirds, because it
might not be a blackbird at all
 Kinds of Language
Symbolism
this is how to smile to someone you don't like
too much

Irony
always eat your food in such a way that it
won't turn someone else's stomach
 Kinds of Language
Allusion
is it true that you sing benna in Sunday
school?

Personification
this is how you grow okra - far from the house,
because okra tree harbors red ants
Kinds of Language
Repetition
this is how
 Syntax
The poem is presented as a single, unbroken stanza.
Run-On Sentences
It is structured as a series of commands and pieces
of advice, often listed without conjunctions,
contributing to the rapid pace.
Imperative Mood
 Themes
The Relationship between Respectability and
Sexuality
Even though the daughter doesn't seem to have yet
reached adolescence, the mother worries that her
current behavior, if continued, will lead to a life of
promiscuity. The mother believes that a woman's
reputation or respectability determines the quality of
her life in the community.
Sexuality, therefore, must be carefully guarded and even
concealed to maintain a respectable front. Consequently,
the mother links many tangential objects and tasks to the
taboo topic of sexuality, such as squeezing bread before
buying it, and much of her advice centers on how to uphold
respectability. She scolds her daughter for the way she
walks, the way she plays marbles, and how she relates to
other people. The mother's constant emphasis on this
theme shows how much she wants her daughter to realize
that she is "not a boy" and that she needs to act in a way that
will win her respect from the community.
 Themes
The Transformative Power of Domesticity
The mother believes that domestic knowledge will not
only save her daughter from a life of promiscuity and
ruin but will also empower her as the head of her
household and a productive member of the
community. She basically believes that there are only
two types of women: the respectable kind and the
"sluts."
Undoubtedly for many Antiguan women, domestic knowledge
leads to productivity, which in turn wins respect from family
and society. Household work therefore brings power and even
prestige to women in addition to keeping them busy and away
from temptation. Readers recognize the reverence the mother
has for the power of domesticity because of the numerous
specific instructions she gives her daughter, such as how to
cook pumpkin fritters, sweep, grow okra, buy bread, and wash
clothes. For her, domesticity brings respectability; sewing up a
dress hem thus becomes more than an act of maintenance
because it saves a woman's sexual reputation within the
community
 General Idea
The poem is a prose poem that vividly portrays a
mother bombarding her daughter with a flood of
advice and instructions. This unending stream touches
on everything from household chores and proper
manners to moral conduct and personal behavior,
mirroring the societal pressures women face to
conform.
 General Idea
Through these directives, the poem captures the
intense and often conflicting expectations placed on
women, revealing the nuanced dynamics of the
mother-daughter relationship and the passing down of
cultural values. It explores themes of identity,
conformity, and resistance, showing the struggle
between individual desires and societal norms.