Girl: Jamaica Kincaid

 

Dramatic Monologue: Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHr1HYW0mKE

About the Writer

Jamaica Kincaid, born Elaine Potter Richardson in 1949 in Antigua, is a renowned Caribbean-American writer. Her work often explores themes of colonialism, race, gender, and identity. Kincaid's writing style is known for its lyricism, intimacy, and sharp criticism of societal norms. She rose to prominence with her early works, including the novel "Annie John" (1985) and the essay "A Small Place" (1988), which offer poignant reflections on her Caribbean upbringing and the effects of colonialism.

The Main Theme of the Story     

Girl by Kincaid features a non-stop monologue of a mother to her daughter, with her daughter only responding a couple of times. The story comprises one single sentence in 650 words and takes the form of a dialogue between a mother and her daughter. In the story, we see the author talking about the things that a young girl should do and learn so that she can be accepted by society. She starts by saying in the beginning that washing clothes is only a task for women, starting on Monday: “Wash the white clothes on Monday”. Then goes on to talk about doing more chores on Tuesday that should only be done by a woman.

‘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.’

Summary of the Story

The story comprises one single sentence of 650 words and takes the form of a dialogue between a mother and her daughter. Although this is not stated in the story, the setting – as Kincaid has subsequently pointed out – is Antigua, the Caribbean-island where she was born and raised, and the reference to numerous local foods, such as okra, salt fish, and dasheen, all hint at the story’s Caribbean setting. The mother advises her daughter, the ‘girl’ of the story’s title. Initially, this is practical domestic advice about washing and drying clothes, as well as cooking tips, such as how to cook salt fish. It is also parental advice along the lines of not walking bareheaded in the hot sun.

But as the mother’s advice continues, we begin to learn something about her attitude to her daughter: she tells her to walk like a lady on Sundays, rather than the immoral and unkempt woman she is determined, according to the mother, to become. The mother tells her daughter not to sing ‘benna’ in Sunday school: a reference to benna, a calypso-like genre of singing popular in Caribbean countries and characterized by scandalous gossip and a call-and-response format. At this point, the daughter’s voice breaks in, in italics, and protests that she has sung benna in Sunday school, so she is being cautioned against doing something she already knows not to do. The mother appears to ignore her daughter’s interjection, continuing to give her advice, including how to wear a different smile for people she doesn’t like, people she actively hates, and people she does like. She then tells her how to dress so she doesn’t look like ‘the slut I know you are so bent on becoming’. This phrase is repeated several times in the story.

The mother carries on, becoming more critical of her daughter’s attitude and behavior. She mentions Obeah, a mystical religion with its roots in African beliefs and rituals, and tells her daughter not to judge by appearances. She also offers medical advice, including how to bring on an abortion and how to catch a fish, as well as how to catch, or attract, a man to become her husband. Indeed, much of her advice focuses on the kind of domestic chores a wife would be expected to perform for her husband in traditional societies.

The story ends with the mother advising her daughter on how to squeeze a loaf of bread to tell whether it is fresh. The daughter speaks again – only the second time she has done so in the story – to ask what she should do if the baker won’t let her touch the bread. The mother responds, Is her daughter going to be the kind of woman the baker won’t let near the bread?

Here are the instructions of the Mother

·              Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap.

·              Wash the colored clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry.

·              Don’t walk bare-headed in the hot sun. Don’t eat fruits on the street, flies will follow you. Don’t pick people’s flowers. Don’t squat (bend) down to play marbles. Don't throw stones at blackbirds.

·              Cook pumpkin fritters in very hot, sweet oil.

·              She advises on how to catch a fish, select fresh and stale bread, select clothes when buying, sew on a button, make buttonholes, iron, sweep a corner, and the whole house, to make a pepper pot.

·              How to cook bread pudding, doukona ( Antiguan dish)

·              How to smile at someone you don’t like at all or someone you like completely. 

·              How to set a table for breakfast and launch. How to make medicine for different diseases.

·              How to and where to plant Okra(a plant known for its edible seed pods), even how to spit.

·              Try to walk like a lady not like the slut. असभ्य महिला

·              Must not sing benna in Sunday school, must not speak to wharf-rat boys. चोरी गर्ने मनसायले वरपर घुम्ने व्यक्ति।

·              How a man bullies you and how to bully a man.

·              She even advises not to mind giving up if the man you will be in love with doesn’t understand you.

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