Girl
Girl is a poem revolving around a mother-daughter relationship. With the mother doing all the talking, this poem emerges as a harsh conversation between the narrator and her mum. This piece of literal work describes in depth the expectation of the narrators’ mother in all aspects of her life from what she sings in church, how she plays, to the chores. Each line gives a viewpoint of how the mother sees the world, her expectations, and what is proper in her eyes. Throughout this dramatic monologue, the poet expounds on why people think the way they do, how these ideas are developed, the manner in which the society and family dynamic perpetuate gender stereotypes, and how child/parent relationship shape the way in which people see themselves.
Thinking Mechanisms
The manner in which people think the way they do and how the ideas are developed depends on two separate and opposite mechanisms being engaged in a critical struggle with impulsive and emotional as well as the intellectual and rational mechanisms. In many cases, the rightful thinking or rather making the right choice is steered by intellectual and rational mechanisms (Deci, and Richard 64). The reasoning that is based on intuition or emotion is always more efficient and better compared to that instigated by a rigorous and thorough analysis of the implication (Deci, and Richard 64). This phenomenon is informed by the intentions behind the advice given by the narrator’s mother and the reception of that advice by the daughter. The thinking behind the mother’s wisdom, advice, and concerns mainly point to how a respectable woman in a specific cultural/social world should be. Thus, clean through practices of restraint and strategy, and knowledgeable of social mores.
Gender Stereotypes
The poem also brings out how the family and society dynamics perpetuate gender stereotypes. As expected from the daughter’s gender, the mother lays out womanhood roles in her culture or society. The instructions that her mother sets out are connected to the subjects which take account of relationships, social conduct, cooking, manners, household chores. From the poem, it clear that the mother’s assumption on the quality of a woman’s life in the community is predisposed by their respectability and reputation. All through the poem, the mother often accuses her of being bent on turning out to be a ‘slut’ “The slut you're bent on becoming” (Kincaid 170). She warns her many times on how not to act like or become a slut. The mother's suspicion that eventually led to the advice is not aggravated by the behavior of the daughter but rather the family and society dynamics. This is mainly because good behavior resembles the daughter, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school” (Kincaid 171).
Child/Parent Relationship
In the poem, the poet brings to light how child/parent relationship shapes the way in which people see themselves. The monologue gives the impression that both the daughter and the mother spend a lot of time together and that the advice being given has been passed down from many women’s generations. According to Buhl, child-parent bond serves as a basis for other relationships; if it is supportive, the child can feel secure confident in how he or she sees himself or herself (Buhl 550). The mother-daughter relationship in Girl shapes the way in which the girl sees herself. Apart from the first claim that the mother makes about singing benna at Sunday school, the daughter does not resist the claims about becoming a slut. She instead expresses her response to this ethic of empowerment by voicing her concern that in accordance with her mother’s advice, the baker will not allow her, touch the bread to test it.
Works Cited
Buhl, Heike M. "Well-being and the child–parent relationship at the transition from university to work life." Journal of Adolescent Research 22.5 (2007): 550-571.
Deci, Edward L., and Richard Flaste. Why we do what we do: The dynamics of personal autonomy. GP Putnam's Sons, 2009. Print.
Kincaid, Jamaica. Girl. San Francisco Examiner, 1991. Print.
