Contrast of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and John Updike’s “A&P” “A&P” and “Girl” both symbolized the protagonists’ oppression by an older, more experienced generation. However, Kincaid’s “Girl” was artistic with an undercurrent of selfless love and hope while Updike’s “A&P” was uninspiring with selfishness and lust. The protagonist of “Girl” discouraged her daughter’s dreams out of love. The protagonist of “A & P” encouraged the antagonists’ out of a selfish desire for self-promotion. The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid was a bittersweet warning from a mother to her daughter. The reader is experiencing the viewpoint of the protagonist through the soliloquy of her mother’s instructions that batter her like bugs smacking the …show more content…
He describes the girls’ bodies in terms of the physical features most notable by first glances, including a reference of one girl being overweight with a large, but attractive rear end (Updike 561). I was thoroughly disgusted when he compared a woman’s empty mind with a buzzing bee in a glass jar (Updike 561). The girl referred to as “the queen” is the object most attracted by his affection and his roving eyes. “There was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except her…it was more than pretty” (Updike 561). At the end of the story, the narrator refers to the “Big Tall Goony-Goony” as “not bad for raw material” (Updike 564) and while taking the money, compares Queenie’s breasts to raw scoops of vanilla ice cream (Updike 563). When he loudly announces his intentions to quit his job, the narrator is upset that the girls don’t seem to notice or appreciate him and he seems disappointed to find “his girls” gone from the parking lot and his life without noticing his martyrdom (Updike 564). I was offended as I imagined this was a stand easily taken by many man for pretty girls. I wanted to run home and smack my boyfriend on the head with a rolled up copy of Vogue. Looking at the contrasting opinions of the two stories of societal oppression, it’s obvious that my sympathies are biased towards women and that I’m revealed for
During the time both short stories were written and where they were written, similar things were expected of women despite the time period difference. In the 1970’s in the Caribbean, women were expected to take care of the house and their families. In the 1890’s, women were not allowed to do anything and be their own people in any way as long as they were married. These are similar because in both periods, women were forced into being led around by others. In “Girl” written by Jamaica Kincaid, the story follows a mother giving her daughter a long strain of advice and tasks she needs to learn how to do. The advice she gives is important and teaches the girl life skills and lessons while also scolding her. This story also reflects the oppression of women during this era, being the late 1970’s. The girl's mother tells her what a girl must do in their society and what she mustn't do. She says to her, “this is how to love a man, and if this doesn’t work there are other ways,” It shows how much is expected of a girl, from washing white clothing on Monday and
A mother’s words are the ones that ring loudest in a child’s ear, are passed down from generation to generation, and the one’s that hold a special place in a child’s memory and heart forever. Expectations and guidelines are set at a young age. Morals and values are learned throughout the years, and life lessons are taught through the wisdom passed down from a mother to a daughter. Every mother has a wish for their daughter to be the best they can be. But at what point does instruction and wisdom become simply words that have been said one too many times? The short story “Girl,” written by Jamaica Kincaid is presented to the reader as a list of instructions from a mother to a daughter on how to live life to the
“Girl” is a short story in which the author, Jamaica Kincaid, unofficially presents the stereotypes of girls in the mid 1900s. Kincaid includes two major characters in the story “Girl”, they are the mother and the girl. Although the daughter only asks two questions in this story, she is the major character. The mother feels like her daughter is going in the wrong direction and not making the best decisions in her life. The whole story is basically the mother telling her daughter what affects her decisions will have in the future. The mother believes that because her daughter isn’t sitting, talking, cleaning, walking or singing correctly it will lead her to a path of destruction. “Girl” is a reflection of female sexuality, the power of family, and how family can help overcome future dangers.
In the short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, you hear about the many words of wisdom, or advice that a mother is attempting to pass on to her daughter. The condescending tone of the story is portrayed by the use of semi colons, showing a steady stream of advice and preaching of the mother onto the daughter. The story follows an almost poetic or lyrical style of writing that flows from basic advice like how to sweep a corner to advice like how to handle a man bullying you or how to have an abortion. Although a lot of the advice given to the daughter may be useful in her life and in the culture they live in, it is delivered in a way that seems very callous, and is said with a stern tone, much like a dictator. The daughter in the story tries to speak up only twice throughout the entire thig, only to be completely unheard as the mother continues her chant. The only time the mother’s advice is repeating is when she refers to her daughter as a slut, or her inevitable “becoming of a slut”, which occurs four times throughout the work. The story is written with no real chronological timeline and does not have the traditional beginning, middle, and ending.
The narrator of Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl, who is implied to be a mother, reveals much of her worldview through the story’s dialogue. In this dialogue, she both instructs and scolds her a girl who is implied to be her daughter. The instructions that the mother imparts to her daughter in Girl offer a deep insight into what the mother believes is good for her. In teaching these lessons, the mother is preparing her daughter for what she believes is her daughter’s future. Thus, these lessons are setting the expectations that she has for her daughter within her world.
“A&P” begins when three teenage girls that are wearing bathing suits walk into a grocery store in a small conservative New England down with nothing but a church nearby. Sammy, a young man who works at the cash register, watches them extremely closely and notices one in particular whom he calls “Queenie.” He is impressed with their looks and notes specific details about the way they carry themselves. This can be seen when Sammy says, “the kind of girl other girls think is very “striking” and “attractive” but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much -- and then the third one, that wasn't quite so tall” (1). After describing what the girls look like in great
Elaine Potter Richardson, more famously known as Jamaica Kincaid, is recognized for her writings that suggest depictions of relationships between families, mainly between a mother and daughter, and her birth place, Antigua, an island located in the West Indies. She is also familiarized with Afrocentrism and feminist point of views. Kincaid’s work is filled heavily with visual imagery that produces a mental picture in readers that helps them connect stronger to the reading. An example of this really shines through in her short story piece, “Girl.” This short story describes the life of a lower class woman living in the West Indies, and also incorporates thick detailing between the relationship between her and her mother. Jamaica Kincaid structures the story as if her mother is speaking to her. She writes broad, but straight to the point, allowing readers to imagine to picture her experience. Kincaid uses visual imagery and repetition consistently throughout “Girl” to reveal the theme and tone of the story; conflictual affair between a mother and daughter.
“Girl” provides a relationship between a mother and daughter. The story represents Kincaid in her youth years. A mother giving her daughter advices on becoming a “women.” Kincaid makes sure
John Updike wrote, “A &P” in 1961. In this era of the 1950s and early 1960s, conservative dress mirrored conservative social values. Conformity was the measure of popularity as well as a measure of moral rightness. During this time, people were more afraid of being labeled outsiders than they were afraid of the outsiders themselves (“A & P”). Gender issues and the emergence of feminist consciousness are represented when Lengel states the rules that proclaim the girls are "decently dressed"-coding the norms of the day for correct dress and behavior for women while Queenie returns, "we are decent." The story, “A & P” By John Updike is a story of enlightenment, whereby the main character Sammy grows from being a male chauvinist to seeing women as human beings. He uses this view to show how things function, that most people do not notice like how men view women. Through his text, John Updike conveys to the world his views on men versus women.
“Girl” is a poem written by Jamaica Kincaid that was published in 1978 in The New Yorker. It was her first piece of published work. She is from Antigua, and most of her work contains stories of Antiguan life. As an African women, Kincaid always explores in her writing about class, race and gender discrimination. “Girl” is not exceptional from her other writing. Here she creates the image of Western Caribbean domestic lifestyle. The theme of this story is mother and daughter argument. In this story, the mother teaches her daughter how to be a perfect lady in this society. According to old fashion many mother teaches their daughters about what a women should be. “Girl” is a perfect example of this relationship.
The rise of feminism in the 1960s is represented in the short story “A&P” by John Updike. The story is narrated by the protagonist, Sammy, who witnesses three bikini clad girls be victimized for the way they are clothed, in the end Sammy stands up for the girls to show his respect for women. Sammy’s stand was meant for personal gain but also shows the changes that society needs for sexual equality. John Updike shows this major theme throughout the story when female characters are sexually objectified, subjected to prejudice, and disrespected because of their appearance.
After diving much into the short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, a casual reader would nonchalantly read this short story, and observe the strict mentoring or teaching aspect. Like most stories there should be a sense of curiosity when we read them. Inspecting this story on a more personal level has opened many doors of speculation. Applying the phrase “behind closed doors” literally, we are going to dive deeper into the story. Looking not only at the story itself, but also finding “nits and bits” of the story that gives a larger insight on the writer and her intentions.
puberty bring with it a complex tradition of restrictions and behavioral guidelines. Kincaid’s poem reveals the rigidity and complexity of the social confines the girl is expected to operate underl. A girl is an induction into the women community as well as an orientation into the act of womanhood (Walkerdine et. al.). The lectured instructions given to the silent girl child vary from the housekeeping, “this is how you sweep a whole house”, to dealing with intimate relationships, “this is how a man bullies you; …how to bully a man” to medicine, “this is how to make good medicine (to abort)” (Kincaid).The inane patriarchal society expects gender stereotypes to prevail. The mother is tasked to give her daughter instructions on how to be a good woman in the stereotyped society. The advice the mother gives to the daughter cements the gender stereotype and portrays limitations on a woman (Bailey and Carol 107).
John Updike, an excellent author of a short story presents us in A & P, a part of teenager’s life, easy to relate with everyone’s life. The picture, in which John Updike introduce his character, Sammy, as a responsible and mature young man which is working at A & P at the age of nineteen, conflicts with his rebellious actions and a behavior of typical American adolescent who is trying to overcome the growing pain of adolescence in search of individuality in a society in which following standards is mandatory and where talking or showing sexuality is a taboo.
Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl explores these controversies and writes a long form poem that includes a list of rules for young girls to follow as advice that will help them be more likeable and become a reputable “woman”. These rules are delivered in a direct emphasis with strict undertone. The guidelines given to the young girl can be inferred as a mother teaching her daughter who is at the age of adolescence. Jamaica Kincaid’s long form poem Girl highlights the stereotypical social responsibilities of young girls which is heavily defined by language, culture, and mothers. In the poem the mother figure covers everything from how to