Jamaica Kincaids Girl
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Although there are many things we do not know about the narrator of Jamaica Kincaid's story "Girl," there is much that can be determined by the content of the short story. There is no reference throughout the entire story to who is speaking and to who is being spoken at which, gives the story a distinct interest. However, certain aspects regarding the characters can be implied by the text of the story. The context reveals to us that a traditional mother is telling her daughter how to live life. The mother's impressionable words can be widely related to many people who understand a mother-daughter relationship. The story's universal appeal is not only driven by the style, but also by the theme and point of view the author has chosen to use.
Like many of the stories that Kincaid has written, "Girl" has a very unique and interesting style. The structure of the story consists of many sentence fragments being divided by semicolons. The content of these word segments is what truly makes the story quite appealing. For example, when the mother informs her daughter of how certain activities and life experiences should be accomplished, the use of the semicolons demonstrates the mother's teaching approach: "this is how to behave in the presence of men who don't know you very well, and this way they don't recognize immediately the slut I have warned against becoming; be sure to wash everyday, even if it is with your own spit"
Throughout the story, Kincaid also uses repetition to give the style more universal appeal...