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Feminist Analysis

In: English and Literature

Submitted By shammah
Words 690
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Feminist perspective
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“Girl”

In the short story “girl” the conversation between the mother and her daughter gives plenty of insight on the perspectives of the girl child in that particular society. From the conversation we can come to a conclusion that the girl in the story was of great value to the family and had lots of responsibilities.

The setting of the story must be some years back in the Caribbean (Kincaid, 2010). The story gives us an insight onto the culture and the perceptions of the community at that time. In the story the parents are depicted as strict and overly demanding of their daughters. The entire story shows how a mother results in using an overwhelming tone of voice to make sure her daughter does things the right way. From this story we can see how she tries to empower the daughter to become a proper woman. The story’s title “girl” also feminist as it gives emphasis on the girl in the story. It represents the fact that she is not yet a woman and has a lot to learn. In this dialogue between mother and daughter, the mother gives instruction on a range of subjects ranging from cooking and household chores to social skill and matters dealing with love and relationships. The article very accurately portrays the mother daughter relationships and the expected roles of women.

In the story the author defines the role of women as expected by the society. Being a woman herself, she uses her two characters to show the relationship between the a mother and daughter. This could be drawn from her own experience with her own mother and how she was taught to behave. Generally the story gives the picture of the gender roles expected of women.

The story also shows the issue of relationships between race and social class. According to the mother the daughter should not associate with certain kinds of

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