Reflective Essay on Cultural Rules in Kincaid's 'Girl' Analysis

This essay presents a reflective analysis of Jamaica Kincaid's short story 'Girl,' focusing on the cultural rules imposed on the young girl and their secondary purposes. It explores how these rules, delivered in the second person point of view, aim to instill conventional ideas about femininity and societal expectations within a conservative Black community. The analysis provides examples from the story, such as ironing instructions and prohibitions against certain behaviors, to illustrate how these rules reinforce gender roles and societal norms. Furthermore, the essay draws personal connections, relating the experiences of the girl in the story to the author's own encounters with similar societal pressures. The essay concludes by highlighting the enduring relevance of Kincaid's work in understanding the complexities of cultural expectations and personal identity. Desklib provides this solution and many more to aid students in their studies.

Running Head: REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
1. READING ANALYSIS:
What is the purpose of the rules that are imposed on the young girl in the
memoir?
‘Girl’ is ta short story authored by Jamaica Kincaid. In this short story. The plot of this story
revolved round the relationship of a girl with her mother who attempts to impose some rules on
her. More specifically, it can be stated that, in this story Jamaica Kincaid has depicted how a
mother imposes some conventions on her daughter which are regarded by the mother as
appropriate to represent ideal femininity. Here rules imposed by mother are associated the
culture and tradition of the Black community. In other words the young girl in the memoir are
instructed not to nourish any opinion regarding the things she should do and follow the
conventional rules associated with her own tradition and culture (Kincaid, 1991).
Using at least 2 examples from the reading, describe how these very specific
rules have a secondary purpose to teach the reader.
The specific rules which are taught by a mother to the daughter in the short story ‘Girl’,
also have a secondary purpose. For instance in the instruction ‘this is how you iron your father’s
khaki shirt so that it doesn’t have a crease; this is how you iron your father’s khaki pants so that
they don’t have a crease”, which the mother provides to her daughter, reflects that during the
journey to become a woman from a girl, the girl needs to learn every household tasks perfectly,
so that, she fits into the societal definition of a woman, and is able to please her male counterpart
always. This implied, secondary purpose of teaching such perfection was to implant the
conventional ideas of the society in the mind of the little girl, that, in a house man should be

2REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
provided perfect and excellent service by his wife as well as daughter, irrespective of the fact
whether he is treating women properly or not (Kincaid, 1991).
Another example is when the mother states “Don’t squat down to play marbles—you are not
a boy, you know”. This statement also has a latent purpose, which is to make the little girl
perceive the conservative ideas of the Black society that suggests that the activities of men and
women should be segregated, so that some become the representative of masculinity and some
symbolizes femininity. In this case, the society considers that squatting down and playing
marbles is an activity representing characteristic of a boy and doing the same will be violating
the societal norm of becoming a good girl’ or ‘perfect woman’ (Kincaid, 1991).
2. CONNECTIONS TO COURSE CONTENT:
What narrative points of view do Danticat or Kincaid use in their work? How
do these different uses of point of view create a feeling of emotional tension?
Use at least two examples from the course content to help support your
answers.
Narrative point of view used in the short story ‘Girl’ is Second Person Point of View
abbreviated as Second Person POV.
A more realistic impact can be casted upon the readers by the use of Second Person POV.
The second person point of view using which the narrator has elaborated the instruction given by
a mother to the daughter make the readers feel as if they are instructed the same by the narrator
in reality. This is also an amazing technique to create an emotional tension among the readers by

3REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
making them focus on the instructions revealing norms of a conservative society. This reflects in
the following examples:
 “Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on
becoming”
 “You mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions” (Kincaid,
1991).
2. PERSONAL CONNECTIONS:
Discussing either Danticat or Kincaid, what larger insights or connections do
you see between your life and their stories? Include at least one personal
example and at least one example from one of the stories.
As the larger insights of the plot of the short story ‘Girl’, I can relate the situation faced
by the girl in the short story with the circumstances I encountered in my personal life.
One example from Personal life:
Being a woman as well as a part of a conservative society, I have faced similar situation,
in my personal life, where I was told by a senior female member of my family that laughing
loudly as well as being frank with men who do not know me well, will form an image of mine in
their minds, which is similar to that of a ‘slut’.

4REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
One example from the text:
“This is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way
they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (Kincaid,
1991).
References:
Kincaid, J. (1991) Girl. In Neulieb (Ed.), Mercury Reader LITT14310G Memoir: Life in Story
(pp. 157-159). Boston: Pearson Publishing.

5REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
Bibliography:
Barrington, J. (2002). Writing the Memoir 2nd. ed. Portland: The Eighth Mountain Press.
Tanemura, K. (2010). "The Personal Memoir" Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/753/02/
Thompson Writing Program (n.d.) "Creative Non-Fiction." Duke University. Retrieved from
https://twp.duke.edu/sites/twp.duke.edu/files/file-attachments/creative-nonfiction-1.original.pdf
Van Cleave, R. (2013). Memoir Writing for Dummies. Mississauga: John Wiley and Sons.
Yagoda, B. (2009). Memoir: A History. Penguin Publishing.
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