on “girl” by jamaica kincaid

Posted by lysette on April 28th, 2008

it’s one of the very few titles that i have managed to save when i had once tried to abandon the art of writing.

it’s not like the ordinary story controlled by dialogue and not written the traditional way. many would react to how it directly and subtly directs its readers attention from the simple directions a mother gives her daughter to how the society has formed the totality of a woman. the protagonist’s character is revealed in her short, very timid answers compared to the litany of the mom. The way the mother orders her daughter on what to do and what not to do speaks so much of what society expects of her as a woman. The catch is that despite everything that has been said and done, that every girl has a 80% chance of ending up a slut is already a given.

“girl” is every woman’s beginning.


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