Monday, March 14, 2016
Girl
In this short story called Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid, the tone of the story seems to be very harsh. In Girl , it sounds as if the speaker is a Mother talking to her daughter. The way the author wrote this is by using run on sentences. These run on sentences sound like commands on how a girl should behave and act in public and most of all how to act around men. The story goes in chronological order by the Mother talking to her daughter as a child for example the author says in line 10 "...like the slut you are so bent on becoming". Then through the middle of the story she seems to be talking as if the child is now a teenager for example in lines 31-32 "...this way they won't recognize immediately the slut i have warned you against becoming". At the end, the author says in lines 47-48 "...after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?". This story is very similar to Danger of a Single Story because they both indicate various gender roles, such as women should learn how to clean and cook. Women should not play in the dirt yet boys can. Women should work in the house while the men make money for the family. Some people say the tone of this story can either be harsh or caring. In my eyes I believe that the tone of this story is harsh only because of the various slut remarks, and all the mother says are commands on how to be a low-key slut. At first I thought it could be both harsh and caring because the Mother is giving advice to her daughter. She is looking out for her but then again it is very harsh because she keeps calling her a slut in lines 10 and 16. Another tone of this story is very sexual. For me it took me a while to understand all the little dirty metaphors and jokes. It's sexual because the mother is actually giving her advice on how to be a slut without anyone knowing right away. She tells her in lines 45-46 "always squeeze the bread to make sure it's fresh". She's not really talking about bread in that sentence. If you re-read that line, you will finally understand it. Clever isn't it? Talking in metaphors also leads into a gender role because it's ideal for women to talk in metaphors. That is ideal in other countries. From what I said would you agree with me that this short story is harsh? If you were a mother would you be harsh or caring in giving your daughter advice about being a slut?
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I do agree with you in saying that the tone of this story is harsh. If I were to give my future daughter advice, I definitely wouldn't be giving her advice about being a slut, I probably wouldn't even want to use that word around her or towards her. There are other ways to be a caring mother and still be firm in guiding her in the right direction without being completely harsh and calling her a slut. I also think that the mother shouldn't be telling her how she's supposed to get a man because that's something that the daughter should be able to learn and experience on her own.
ReplyDeleteThe tone is very harsh when the mother is basically lecturing her daughter about being a slut when she is only just a kid. "Slut" is used by the mother to show how negative it is to be looked at like a "Slut". I definitely do not agree with this at all and It's kind of traumatizing to a young girl trying to find her place in the world and if she makes one mistake she is seen as something negative. Using the word slut drives so many stereotypes about women and the amount of sexuality they have. I think if the mom wanted to talk to her daughter about sex she should have not immediately called her daughter a slut and just refrain from slut shaming.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the tone of this piece is harsh. The mother tells the daughter things that she is fully capable of finding out on her own. And no mother in her right mind calls her daughter a slut. That is very wrong and can make girls think very lowly of themselves and even cause severe self esteem issues. I think the mother should've been more considerate if she wanted to be caring and look out for her daughter.
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