Student Question
Who is likely giving and receiving the commands in "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, and were they likely given all at once?
Quick answer:
The narrator is an older woman giving a teenager girl commands/directions. The girl feels that she is constantly being given these commands, though the narrator may only have given her some of them at certain times.
In "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, the reader can assume that a middle-aged or older woman is giving these commands to an adolescent girl. The older woman could be the girl's mother, her grandmother, her aunt, another relative, or some other figure of authority in her life. She evidently knows the details of the girl's day-to-day existence fairly well and has a clear idea of the future mapped out for her, whether the girl agrees or not.
The question of whether these commands were all given at once is an interesting one. In reality, they probably would not have been, since there are so many of them and they cover such a diverse range of subjects. However, the narrative constructs an emotional and psychological reality that might be at odds with the literal truth. In this reality, the girl feels that a torrent of overbearing advice on every...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
subject imaginable is breaking over her head. This is the situation conveyed by the narrative, even if it only occurs in this way in the girl's imagination.
In "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, who is giving and receiving the commands?
We can assume the source of all the commands in "Girl" is the mother in a growing girl's life. We can assume the recipient of the commands is now an adult woman who is recounting in roughly chronological order what she remembers learning from her mother from early childhood into her teen years when she was on the cusp of adulthood.
For example, the earlier directions are appropriate for a younger child, containing such commands as "soak your little clothes when you take them off" or directions as to how to make a pumpkin fritter. Later, the directions hint at adolescence, telling her to not walk "like the slut you are so bent on becoming." They eventually become advice for a young woman on the cusp of marriage, informing her, "this is how to love a man" and "this is how to make ends meet."
We can assume the mother has led a very traditional and restricted life of marriage, child rearing, and homemaking in a society that is unforgiving toward girls and women who transgress the norms. The mother is trying to transmit what she thinks is the vital information her daughter will need in life.