Girl – Literary Analysis

Introduction

Before beginning an analysis, it is important to establish the nature of a story and what this means for its literary elements. Girl is a form of prose poem, and as such has no plot or dramatic structure. The narrative comprises a series of pieces of motherly advice and explanations about how to do things, possibly delivered over a period of many years. Some are the normal type of things that a mother would say to or teach a prepubescent girl (how to cook, sew, sweep, wash clothes, etc.), whereas others would apply only to a girl who has achieved womanhood (instructions for soaking her ‘little cloths’, on how to love a man, and on how bring on a miscarriage). The advice and explanations are not in chronological order, and many aren’t elaborated on. We have only the words This is how…. These factors indicate that the words are not being spoken directly, but are being remembered and possibly reminisced about by one of the characters at some later stage.

Setting

Although there is no description of the setting, context clues (food names and the reference to ‘beena’ songs) suggest that the events described took place in the Caribbean. This is consistent with Kincaid’s advice that the story was inspired by her own upbringing in 1950/1960s Antigua, now an independent country but then part of the British West Indies.

Point of View and Tone

Establishing the point of view for this story is not straightforward because it includes sentences where both characters use a possible first person “I”: they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming (the mother); and but I don’t sing benna on Sundays (the daughter). The answer – and the identity of the protagonist – lies in which character is recalling the events. This is almost certainly the daughter, as it is highly unlikely that the mother would have remembered the two interjections the girl made during the conversations. The point of view of the rest of the story (the mother’s words) is second person. The mother’s tone is authoritative, all of her sentences being either imperative statements or accusatory questions. The girl’s first interjection has a defensive tone, while the second indicates either insecurity or (in my mind more likely) a hint of sassiness.

Themes

The major themes of the story are motherhood: the central message underpinning the whole story; coming of age: reflected in some of the adult-oriented pieces of advice and the fact that the daughter seems to appreciate the effort her mother played in her upbringing; gender stereotypes: the mother’s horizon is limited to that of a housewife, she gives no encouragement for the girl to aim higher in life; generation gap: exemplified by the mother’s distaste for benna songs; and appearances: according to the mother, a woman is defined by things such as what she wears, how she walks, who she talks to, and even how she smiles. In her eyes, any who don’t comply with her standards of appearance is a “slut”.

Characters and Conflict

The Girl: Although she is the protagonist, we gain little insight into the girl’s character. The fact that she does not react to most of her mother’s advice doesn’t necessarily signify agreement or compliance. She may have been taught from an early age not to question her parents, or may have heard these gems of wisdom so often that they are no longer worth arguing about. The contradiction in the girl’s reply to the question about benna songs indicates that she appears to be a normal teenager. She liked a music style that her mother didn’t approve of, so sang the songs when away from home with her friends and, most likely, especially at Sunday school!

The Mother: We see several sides of the mother in the story. She is very dutiful, ensuring that her daughter learns all the skills necessary to be a good wife and homemaker. Although some reviewers suggest that the mother is controlling, I don’t see any evidence of this. She is simply trying to do what is expected of a mother in her culture. However, she is certainly authoritarian. The one time the daughter questions an instruction (but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?), she is immediately shut down with an insult (You mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?) The mother appears very anxious about the direction her daughter’s life seems to be taking. As the daughter does not offer any opposing comments on the ‘slut’ references, we can conclude that this was not a major point of conflict for her. It is more likely that the mother’s fears result from generation gap issues (differences in parent/child music preferences, dress standards, etc.) rather than any real impropriety on behalf of the girl.

Conflict: Internal: The mother’s cultural dilemma. She wants her daughter to adopt Western / Christian values, but also sees the need to teach her some very non-Christian practices from Antiguan culture. External: The differences between the girl and her mother/society in relation to music styles and appropriate dress and social behavior (Man vs. Man; Man vs. Society).

Examples of Literary Techniques

Metaphor: There are several Antiguan sayings in the story which are clearly metaphorical. Examples are listed in the cultural notes below, with possible explanations.
Repetition: This is used extensively at both the word level (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) and phrase level (this is how you set a table for tea; this is how you set a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest). The resulting alliterative rhythm emphasizes the consistency of purpose and importance behind the mother’s seemingly diverse commands. Repetition of the word don’t in negative commands emphasizes the mother’s authority, and potential points of tension between mother and daughter.
Symbolism: 1. The mother and daughter symbolize Antigua’s colonization. The mother (Great Britain) has all the power and lays down strict rules. The daughter represents the free-spirited, easy-going people of Antigua. 2. Benna songs and bread represent opposite extremes of social acceptance. The songs symbolize rebellion against social norms, and the slippery slide towards becoming a ‘slut’. The ability to feel the bread is a symbol of worthiness and acceptance by society (the baker). It is significant that these are the only instructions that elicit a response from the girl. She clumsily denies the first, and questions the validity of the second.

Cultural Aspects

If you are from a non-Christian country, you may be wondering about Sunday school. This is not like the tutorial classes that many students around the world attend on the weekend. It involves special classes that children go to at their church on Sundays to learn about religion. At the time of the story, benna music with its calypso-like beat was used to spread scandalous gossip across the Caribbean islands. The older generation thought that benna was bad, much in the same way that many parents in the U.S.A. believed that Rock & Roll was ‘the devil’s music’ in the early 1950’s.

There is an interesting point of irony in the mother’s piece of advice: Don’t throw stones at blackbirds, because it might not be a blackbird at all. This comment likely stems from Obeah, a now illegal system of spiritual beliefs and practices imported by African slaves over two-hundred years ago. Obeah is regarded by many as a form of black magic, the inference here being that throwing stones at blackbirds is dangerous because some of them embody spirits of the dead. For the mother’s ancestors, Obeah would have pervaded every aspect of daily life. The inclusion of this instruction indicates the mother’s wish for the girl to not only stay in touch with her traditional culture, but where possible to practice aspects of it. On the one hand we have the girl getting in trouble for singing ‘bad’ songs at Sunday School, on the other we have have the mother encouraging her to subscribe to parts of a very un-Christian religious system.

As mentioned previously, the mother seems preoccupied with her daughter maintaining a good reputation. There are some other strange pieces of advice in the story, but it is unclear whether these also have Obeah origins or are Antiguan sayings used to support the mother’s concerns about the girl becoming a ‘slut’. Those in this category are listed below, with possible interpretations if they do in fact relate to promiscuity:

Don’t eat fruits (flaunt your sexuality) on the street – flies (dirty boys/men) will follow you;
Don’t pick people’s flowers (sleep with boys) – you might catch something (a disease/baby);
This is how to catch a fish (man); This is how to throw back a fish (man) you don’t like, and that way something bad (a beating or worse) won’t happen to you.