Girl

Are there any female characters in the work that you identify with?

This short story, Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid, wasn’t a typical one. Rather than having multiple sentences with numerous periods separating similar ideas, this story is made up of multiple fragments separated by semi-colons each consisting of different ideas. The basis of the story was a list of what a girl should do to be appropriate and socially accepted in this world. The fragments may be different, however, they do come together in the end to make a unifying story with a bigger meaning. Another difference between this short story and other typical short stories is the way this story is told. You would normally think that the author of the story is also the narrator of the story. However, in “Girl”, the narrator is actually the author’s mother, telling the author how to act in life. Consequently, the “Girl” being talked about, and to, is the author, and this is the female character that I identify with rather than the narrator. The reason I identify with this female character is because my mother is always telling me things that I should do. To her, it was obviously good advice that she thought would make my life as a girl easier in this world. However, to me, and to Jamaica Kincaid, sometimes that “advice” can seem like mandated rules that you would have to follow in order to be seen as a lady in front of other people. There were moments in the story where you can see that Jamaica doesn’t fully agree with what her mother says, which is represented by italics. I identify with this as well, because although mothers have good intentions and think that what they say is for the best, children don’t always see it that way, and we think that we know ourselves better than our mothers do, especially when we are young. I bet when I get older, I will eventually see it the way the narrator does, and soon I will start to identify with that female character.