Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Summary

‘Girl’ is an astonishing prose poem written by Jamaica Kincaid, this is one of the monologue that is easily imagined in a clear dramatic context. The irony of this prose poem come from the title given to it “Girl” because the girl only gets to speak two line through out the text and the rest is covered by the mother. The prose poem consists of single sentences about a mother advising her daughter about femininity, society, traditions and sexuality. Throughout the text, the use of single sentence advices from the mother proves the purpose of the prose poem which is the mother’s fears for the girl’s future and the mother’s desperate need of her not becoming a ‘slut’. The mother intends to advice as well as scold her at once with the words of wisdom. Since the mother has dominated the poem, the central voice belongs to her and the use of sentences suggests her advices are at a very fast pace.

The complete text consisting just two character’s makes the sentences portray a brief meaning and this causes the repetitions
The mother’s social advices are also connected to sexual advices, she literally teaches her daughter how to smile at people that she likes and how to smile at men that she dislikes, and how to avoid people that may cause a threat to her sexuality, this is supported by the sentence “don’t throw stones at blackbird, because it might not be a blackbird at all”. This reference suggests how much the mother’s intermingling the social advice with the sexual