s short story
is told through a list form that
blends dialogue with instructions. Although names are not
used, we can deduce
from the title and some of the instructions that it is most likely a mother
speaking to her daughter. The story takes the form of a single sentence that is strung
together
by semicolons, with each semicolon separating one instruction from
the next.
Despite the storys brevity, this long sentence
quickly becomes overwhelming, and this
overwhelming nature is exactly the
point of Kincaids story. Girl reveals the challenges of
being a woman in a
patriarchal society. It is so challenging, in fact, that even female-female
relationships are unfortunately organized around criticism instead of love.
The quantity and variety of instructionsas the girl is instructed
how to sweep, how to sew, how
to set a table for the different meals, and so
onreveals the role that gender plays in labor.
The titular girl needs no name
because she...
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