Gender Criticism Analysis

My critical analysis
Girl
　
　
In my analysis of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid I will be using the Gender Criticism
Theory that we have discussed in class. I would like to start by describing the attitude of
the narrator’s point of view, which seems to be a voice of an authoritative such as a
mother figure of sort. The narrator’s point of view is not scolding the girl in this short
story but merely shaping her into how a well behaved young women should act. I feel this
sets the tone of the short story, the simple structures of a growing women is becoming the
women she is supposed to be in the authoritative figures eyes. All the how to do this and
that and what not to do and what she should be doing. The whole tone sets the setting for
me it is a year of conforming to be a good little women by learning to sew and cook like
women should be. However this is not the case in today’s society. Also in this story there
is a pattern, a repeating of the words “this is how you” preparing the girl for and or
training her as if she were involved in an arranged marriage. And through out the short
story there seems to be a very interesting style and it builds up the entire theme of the
narrator’s point of view. Some general examples of how a real lady should behave with
proper mannerism and grace would be when stick guidelines were given to girls to sit up
straight, ware skirts below the knew and not to chew gum because it wasn’t lady like.
It reminds me of private school, I never attended but was often treated like I was
by my grandmother, she would always tell me to pull my hair back so that it wouldn’t get
in my food on my plate. She picked out clothes for me that only she would ware and
made a big deal when I became a woman. I guess I would have to say that there are
positive and negative impacts due to some of the text. Like the narrators’ point of you
always nagging on the girl, could cause for the girl to rebel and not enough guidance
could cause her to become the girl she is not supposed to be. Overall I feel that the tone
sets the theme and the setting for both the written and the video, I watched it and it was
interesting but very different from the actual text it’s self. by Jamaica Kincaid