Girl Group at eNotes

How can you describe the relationship between the mother and her...

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:05:46 PST

How can you describe the relationship between the mother and her daughter in "Girl"?

How can I compare and contrast the two poems "girl" by Jamaica Kincaid...

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:32:57 PST

How can I compare and contrast the two poems "girl" by Jamaica Kincaid and "first lesson" by Philip Booth?

I shall assume you mean Girl, by Jamaica Kinkaid. This piece is written...

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 19:22:03 PST

I shall assume you mean Girl, by Jamaica Kinkaid. This piece is written in one long sentence and is a mother speaking to her daughter. The mother is warning her daughter and telling her what she needs to do in order to please men and be a good girl and "not the slut you are bent on becoming". When the mother is explaining to her daughter the duties of being a good woman, she is focusing on the aspects of the older, more oppressive ways that a...

probably b/c she felt it was the right word to use

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 17:33:28 PST

probably b/c she felt it was the right word to use

"Girl" is a unique piece of literature. It is a story, but there is no...

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 02:18:30 PST

"Girl" is a unique piece of literature. It is a story, but there is no setting, description, or exposition. Characters are not named or identified. It is not a play or a poem, but there is essentially one long speech, a monolog, with two interruptions. The point of view is first person narrator in that almost all of the story comes to the reader as the voice of the mother speaking to her daughter. Only twice does the daughter's voice break in...

What is the point of view in Kincaid's "Girl"?

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 00:39:36 PST

What is the point of view in Kincaid's "Girl"?

What kind of statement does 'Girl' make about the conditioning of girls...

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:48:21 PST

What kind of statement does 'Girl' make about the conditioning of girls in a patriarchal society? Tell me the answer in 200 words please.

There are two general reasons why the mother in this story might keep...

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:38:39 PST

There are two general reasons why the mother in this story might keep using this offensive word. First, biographical reasons: this story is based on Kincaid's experience, and so the language may match her personal and community experience.Second, though, pounding away on that same word over and over has a stylistic function: the language becomes a way of showing that the mother and daughter aren't really communicating, but are caught up in...

In "Girl", why did the mother keep on using the word...

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:25:01 PST

In "Girl", why did the mother keep on using the word "slut" when she could have used another word?

Next week I am planning on working with this story to talk about Point...

Sat, 3 Jan 2009 13:25:12 PST

Next week I am planning on working with this story to talk about Point of View, Theme, Characterization, Setting, and Conjecture - not sure if you'd consider these literary terms or not, but they are some ideas.

Can you identify 5 literary terms for this work?

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:43:34 PST

Can you identify 5 literary terms for this work?

The dictations of the mother towards the daughter waver between...

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:02:50 PST

The dictations of the mother towards the daughter waver between being didactic and critical in this short narrative poem. She tells her adolescent daughter how to take care of everything from the household to a man, but she also criticizes her daughter's behavior, accusing her of singing benna, playing with boys, and - overall - behaving in a way that will lead her to become a slut. If we place the narrative in the mouth of the mother,...

I need to know if anyone found any playfulness in the exchange in...

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:07:05 PST

I need to know if anyone found any playfulness in the exchange in "Girl" or did it just sound harsh?

As portrayed by the young protagonist in this first person short shory,...

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:10:47 PST

As portrayed by the young protagonist in this first person short shory, men are dominant to women but women are controlling of men. Weird irony, huh? She has learned from her mother that women must always be virtuous and not "sluts". Boys can play on the streets, but girls must never play with them, or else the girls will be considered sluts. However, the mother also teaches how to love a man, how to take care of a man......

According to the speaker in "Girl", what roles are men and...

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:50:54 PST

According to the speaker in "Girl", what roles are men and women supposed to play?

1. Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap;...

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:51:34 PST

1. Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry2. cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil3. soak your little cloths right after you take them off4. when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, be sure that it doesn't have gum on it, because that way it won't hold up well after a wash5. soak salt fish overnight before you cook it 6. always...

Seven instructions given in the story addressing different aspects of...

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:06:40 PST

Seven instructions given in the story addressing different aspects of the girl's life include:- "wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap" (housekeeping)- "don't walk barehead in the hot sun" (health)- "cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil" (cooking)- "soak your little cloths right after you take them off" (hygiene)- "when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse,...

Instructions in "Girl"

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:44:26 PST

Name 7 instructions that are given in "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid?

It is basically a comprehension question where you are supposed to answer what the speaker is trying to give 7 types of different instruction on.

The story is ironic because Jamaica Kincaid writes from a mother's...

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:41:49 PST

The story is ironic because Jamaica Kincaid writes from a mother's perspective giving her daughter information on how she is to live her life. The daughter rejects the information as being too confining and is determined to act rebellious.Kincaid, from the Caribbean Island of Antigua, had a very conflictual relationship with her mother. She left the island at age 17 partly to escape her mother and the lifestyle.The author writes a story...

What is the irony in "Girl," by Jamaica Kincaid?

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 21:36:25 PST

What is the irony in "Girl," by Jamaica Kincaid?