Ryan-Swisher_Summarizing-Fiction
Insert NameENGL 102Insert Date
“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a short story that focuses on morals that were meant to be passed on from generations to generations such as from mother to the daughter. The start of the story is a series of motherly duties that a daughter ought to be responsible and undertake. For instance, the mother character in the story emphasizes the importance of washing clothes, cooking food as well as the general conduct that would enable one not to be portrayed as a slut. In the story, various mother roles are brought out through the extensive use of semicolons.
There is the practical advice by the mother to the daughter on how to run the house and the daily chores. The house duties are important for the daughter to learn such as laundry work, sweeping and cooking. For the mother, it is important for the daughter to learn these skills so as to impress and run the family successfully. Other practical duties that are important for the daughter include how to make good medicine that would be used by the family.
According to Kincaid, through the mother character, emphasizes the importance of a daughter being able to differentiate their role from that of the boy. The mother makes it clear that the girl must behave with caution so as not to portray herself as a slut. The games that a girl may play are very different from those that the boy may engage in. According to the mother, a boy may squat and play marbles, pick flowers and throw stones at blackbirds. However, for the girl it is very different.
For the daughter, she ought to know how to love a man; she needs to know how to make ends meet even when it seems impossible. The story “Girl” by Kincaid is an illustration of the high morals and responsibility that has been placed on the woman. Throughout the story, there is a distinct use of semicolons that separate the various tasks that are present for the daughter. It presents with a unique and intriguing point of view that would eventually culminate to a happy family for the family. The story is based on a mother’s teachings to a child to succeed.
