Theme of Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl"

Two themes of "Girl," by Jamaica Kincaid
MLA citation: Balcarcel, Rebecca. "Theme of Jamaica Kincaid's 'Girl'." Online video clip. Sixminutescholar. KZbin, 9 Feb. 2012. Web. DayMonthYearYouWatchedTheVideo.

[@ellencollins3009]

I am studing this in my lit class in college...this really helps me understand the story a lot more....

[@moeshasims2231]

thank you! I'm writing a book report and your analysis really helped me!

[@j0mezzy]

You are like seriously clarifying my understanding throughout my literature course, thank you so much! Keep being great at what you do :) !!

[@SixMinuteScholar]

Let's see . . . This story is short, so try having a friend read it with you. Together you can talk about it. Think of it as a list of advice. The mother figure wants to teach her daughter how to be a proper woman. She teaches her daughter how to clean and sew, for example. But then comes a deeper layer. The advice is coming from a woman who has a past, who has a culture, who grew up in a certain time. She has "baggage," as we say. That puts her advice in a different light. Good luck!

[@josephh3993]

"Iron all that out"... I see what you did there. LOL

[@yanisel3477]

Thanks, helped me out with my English class

[@jb8839]

Thank you so much!! Your analysis really helped me.. I have trying to come up with a male perspective in a similar style for my class. As you have mentioned, men have similar pressures, so I'd want to compare the two so as to put forward the idea that both women and men are burdened by expectations from family and society. I hope to watch and understand rest of your work.. God Bless.

[@gloriax1685]

Thank you so much! You're saying exactly what I think and you help to address some of my confusions!

[@RooseveltAliWashingtonX]

You provide a great service. Thanks a lot, I appreciate you!

[@samunderkhan1078]

Thank you for the citation. much appreciated.

[@lanee7638]

Great interpretation, of the story. I really appreciate, your examples and thoughts on the story. It really helped me for, my Lit assignment. I wish you was my teacher. Your thoughts are clear and precise. Straight to the point. I understand this short, video more clearly than, my teacher hours of lecture. Thanks😀

[@muhammadabdulalikhan4521]

On Monday is my primary reading paper and this video really help me

[@mariposacaliente100]

thank so much this really save me !! god bless you

[@samratmagar7839]

Thank you so much 💓 i love you 😘 for all analysis

[@connieperez1786]

Thank you!

[@dalalqueen6140]

Thank you a lot! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@j00451]

It's difficult to even begin articulating the depth of "Girl" by Kincaid, so thank you for this video! I think through that there is at least this much else going one: an additional theme, or perhaps a subtheme of womanhood/identity, that I think merits contemplation is sexuality. There is a cutting, ugly word used several times throughout-slut-that causes me to flinch each time I read it. It's a pejorative, hurtful word that sears the girl like a cattle brand due to Kincaid's contrast with the barrage of domestic instructions and chores. It aims to trap, to reduce, and to guilt-induce. That would be bad enough, but Kincaid's brilliant final line, a question about the girl's inability to use her sexuality as a tool with the baker/men, is a further dizzying element-the cherry on top of the verbal whirlwind of commandments and castigations from the mother to the daughter.

[@bastantetriste]

Thank you so much you jepled me understanding it and Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" you analyzed it in a wonderful way..i have a final exam tmw im American Literature course. .😊😊

[@Ronldbx6]

Thank you so much for this reveiw. I understand the themes of Girl a little bit better now. This also helped my with my college work. take care :-D

[@minecraft201]

Very Helpful. Thank you.

[@lizzx93]

THANK YOU SO MUCH XOXO

[@Praisestoallah7]

I saw this as a great poem to define what a woman outta know in today's society

[@bryancarvajal1462]

My essay and i thank you! Great thoughts!

[@normamariona7387]

thank you

[@SixMinuteScholar]

Glad to know this helped!

[@walterandres1994x1]

thanks it helped me a lot.

[@user-mr9xn1eg5o]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@SixMinuteScholar]

You're so welcome!!

[@limatehmeh6072]

can someone pls help me ,i do not understand this at all

[@SixMinuteScholar]

Glad to help!

[@SixMinuteScholar]

You're welcome!

[@Freiya2011]

Thank you for the analysis. It increased my understanding. I missed that the most feared thought of the mother is that her daughter might become a "sl-t". She even gives contradictory advice on how NOT to become a sl_t. As a reader I got the impression, that the mother is at no point of the story NOT certain, that her daughter is on the straight path of becoming a sl_t. I'm also missing a hint on the fact that this story does not only deal with the mother-daughter-relationship but also plays in Afro-American context.

[@SixMinuteScholar]

Yeah. At least it's a short read -- one page or so? Hope it worked out for you!

[@SixMinuteScholar]

Your are BOTH welcome. Haha! Glad to help. :-)

[@explosive4277]

FeelsWeirdMan

[@Jovanigirl]

Great analysis! I think the poem would be even better understood if it were contrasted with the period and culture that the author would have grown up in.

[@SixMinuteScholar]

Yes, good point! Jamaica Kincaid changed her name and attended a British boarding school. Her upbringing gives her a strong desire to assert the island identity.

[@deeppockets850]

Here for community college.

[@davidjordan1476]

I AM STUCK WITH YOUR OPINION INSTEAD TO REALLY COME UP WITH MINES TO ADDRESS ALL THIS BUNCH OF DIRECTIVES.

[@DeviousOnion88]

She looks like an young emo that vegan teacher😭😭

[@Cdonald4]

Hard short story to read without skimming. Blasted college assignments! :P

[@makellasafe]

I disagree with you. We are indoctrinated just the same with social constructs. And I would not say womenhood has more as wife hood. A women chooses to be a "slut" but a wife is a good thing to a husband