“Girl” Jamaica Kincaid Essay

The short report card of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid is about a catch and her consanguinity with her female child. It is a tart unity sided discourse between the story propounder and her fret, with the m early(a) doing both in all the talking. The story gives a rich translation of what her bring expects from her in all aspects of her spiritedness, from chores, to how she plays, to what she sings in church. From each filiation you see the outdoor stage of how her perplex sees the world, what is proper(a) in her look and her expectations for her young charr. Throughout the story the emblemism gives deeper symboliseer to every verse and shows deeper insight to their re besidesnship.One of the graduation symbols is in the first line is the saturation vacuous. The example of the distort white is foreshadow the tone for the full short story. black-and-blue represents pure, virgin, and clean. The amaze is reprimanding her child for the demeanor she walks on sunli ghts try to walk ilk a peeress and non equivalent the floozy you so bent on sightly (380). The vote counters fret already has concerns of her fille becoming sexually light-colored and tarnishing her reputation. The vexs tone is harsh throughout the whole short story. She is demanding her little girl does these things as she dictates. This is not a sweet moment between a mother and her fille. The conversation is laced with insults and fears. The mother also warns her little girl about finishing on the street dont eat fruit on the street-flies lead obey you (380). Flies atomic number 18 seen as tail feeders, dirty and irritating and when flies atomic number 18 surrounding an animal it is seen as filthy. She is telling her female child that she will be seen as dirty if her fruits ar out for everyone to see.This has to do with creation covered and not allow everyone stare at you. This supports her idea that her daughter will become promiscuous and not respect sufficient. another(prenominal) symbol example is the greatness on clothing. The mother cautions when buying cotton plant to make head look yourself a nice blo call, be sure that it doesnt have apply on it, because that way it wint hold up after a wash (380). The mothers stress on clothing highlights her view of howyou nip is a reflection of you as a person. Its gives insight to your char identification numberer and personality that you bring pride in how you look. Clothing is use cover your body, when you are covered you are seen as upright in her community. In the conversation this is how to hem a cut down when you see the hem coming and so to prevent yourself from looking like the hack I know you are so bent on becoming (380)This is the secondly time that her mother accuses her of turning in a slovenly woman. The hemming of the dress is no time-consuming a lesson in how to sew, but the act itself has tuned into creation seen as respectable and that reinforces her m others view. In addition, Benna is also a symbol in the text. The word benna is one of the cultural symbols she uses. It gives insight to where the story is fetching place. It also gives the lector the first retort to her mother who has been talking the whole time. I dont sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday School (Kincaid 380). Why did the narrator witness compelled to finally speak up for herself in this moment? What did her mother mean by accusing her of this that the narrator feel she had to def kibosh herself? From this short sentence the reader back tooth assume that something that has changed culturally. If the daughter is implying that relation Calypso music is frowned upon and considered taboo that mean singing it in Sunday schooldays would be a grave disrespect. The other aspect of the sentence is the use of Sunday school, the introduction of Christianity has added to the mothers fears of her daughter being respectable.The mother is also passage throu gh changes culturally and that has influence her concerns for her daughter. Another example of cultural symbol is the this how you caboodle a table for tea (381). This line in the story shows a savoir-faire to Britain through tea. The reader can consent that what has been breathing out on culturally is in reference to Britain. on that point are foreigners in her boorish who could be judging the country as they interact with the natives. Her constant fear of her daughter becoming a street girl is stemming from what the mother now views as proper behavior. They are many symbols that come from food. The use of food in this short story has a small number of horizontal surfaces. There is the superficial layer that acts as a cultural symbol in her use of her native dishes in the text. It also adds information to the short story and shows the reader where the narrator and her mother are living this is how to make scratch pudding, this is how to make doukona, this is how to make bombard pot (381).The readerhas only seen the mother in the fierce, menacing tone. Upon further compend of the symbolism, it shows that her mother doesnt want her to go forth her cultural heritage among all the changes going on currently in her life with Sunday school and the British being in her country. She wants her daughter to learn how to spend a penny these native dishes as a way of passing down her legacy. Another layer is the mother finds cooking to being power of being a respectable women. cooking is something the mother puts value on. She believes that a woman who can cook is valuable to their auberge. oer the course of the text she come defend to instructing on how to cook. The reader is also able to see it in the beginning, middle and end of the short story. It is not just being able to make these dishes, but the whole act itself cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil (380).The mother believes that cooking strengths the bond her daughter will have with her family and with the community. The last symbol in food is the when the mother tell her how to she is to squash the dent always gorge cacography to make sure its fresh but what if the baker wont 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 wont let near the bread (381) This goes back to the overall theme of the holy story. Her mother wants her be the kind of lady that the baker lets squeeze the bread. The word squeeze is suggestive in a way that the mother doesnt want her daughter to allow anyone to squeeze her. It also reinforces that her daughter should not become a slut or she will be not be a functioning process of society. Sluts and wharf-rat boys are not part of their society her mother warns you mustnt speak to wharf-rat boys (380).They are outcast, if she becomes a slut the baker will not allow her to touch the bread and she will be an outcast like the wharf-rat boys. The final symbol is housework the grandeur of it is seen throughout the short story. The narrators mother makes many references toward housework, 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 (380). She sees housework as a way of keeping busy so her daughter doesnt become promiscuous. It also establishes her role as women taking alimony of her house. In their culture this seen a respectable and earns them respect from their community.This short story looks like a simple stern frustrate from a mother to daughter. When you look at each sentence in-depth, you see mother hasfears that are based not in anger but in humans due to all the changes going on in their culture. These fears are expressed sometimes harshly by calling daughter a slut, and her tone throughout the story. At the end it is just a mother being concerned with her daughter and lacking the best life possible for. The symbolism gives more insight than what the re ader can read just on the surface. It shows a whole different character for the mother and sheds light as to why the mother has these expectations and fears. What people fear shapes them and their relationshipsWorks CitedKincaid, Jamica. books A Portable Anthology. 3rd ed. Boston, MA Bedford St Martins, 2013.