Reading JAMAICA KINCAID (b. 1949)

\"Girl\"

Raised in poverty by her homemaker mother and car- penterstepfather on the small Caribbean island of Antigua, Elaine PotterRichardson was sent to the United States to earn her own living atage seven- teen, much like the protagonists of her first novels,Annie John (1983) and Lucy (1990). Working as an au

pair and receptionist, she earned her high-school equivalencydegree and studied pho- tography at the New School for SocialResearch in New York and, briefly, Franconia College in NewHampshire. Returning to New York, she took the name of a characterin a George Bernard Shaw play, at least in part out of resentmenttoward her mother, with whom she had once been very close. After ashort stint as a freelance journalist, Kincaid worked as a regularcontributor to the New Yorker from 1976 until 1995, in 1979 marry-ing its editor’s son, composer Allen Shawn, with whom she wouldeventually move to Bennington, Vermont and raise two children.“Girl,” her first published story, appeared in the New Yorker in1978 and was later republished in her first collection, At theBottom of the River (1983). Subsequent novels include TheAutobiography of My Mother (1996), paradoxically the leastautobiographical of her books; Mr. Potter (2002), a fictionalizedaccount of her efforts to understand the biological father shenever knew; and See Now Then (2013). Kincaid’s equally impressivenonfiction includes My Brother (1997), a mem- oir inspired by heryoungest brother’s death from AIDS, and A Small Place (1988), anessay exploring the profound economic and psychological impact ofAntigua’s depen- dence on tourism. Divorced in 2002, Kincaid iscurrently Professor of African and Afri- can American Studies inResidence at Harvard.

2. May he rest in peace (Latin).

Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap;wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clotheslineto dry; don’t walk barehead in the hot sun; cook pumpkin frittersin very hot sweet oil; soak your little cloths right after you takethem off; when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, besure that it doesn’t have gum on it, because that way it won’t holdup well after a wash; soak salt fish overnight before you cook it;is it true that you sing benna1 in Sunday school?; always eat yourfood in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach; onSundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slot (replace owith u) you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in Sundayschool; you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to givedirec- tions; don’t eat fruits on the street—flies will follow you;but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sundayschool; this is how to sew on a button; this is how to make abuttonhole for the button you have just sewed on; this is how tohem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to preventyourself from looking like the slot (replace o with u) I know youare so bent on becoming; this is how you iron your father’s khakishirt so that it doesn’t have a crease; this is how you iron yourfather’s khaki pants so that they don’t have a crease; this is howyou grow okra—far from the house, because okra tree harbors redants; when you are growing dasheen, make sure it gets plenty ofwater or else it makes your throat itch when you are eating it;this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a wholehouse; this is how you sweep a yard; this is how you smile tosomeone you don’t like too much; this is how you smile to someoneyou don’t like at all; this is how you smile to someone you likecompletely; this is how you set a table for tea; this is how youset a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for dinner withan important guest; this is how you set a table for lunch; this ishow you set a table for breakfast; this is how to behave in thepresence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way theywon’t recognize imme- diately the slot (replace o with u) I havewarned you against becoming; be sure to wash every day, even if itis with your own spit; don’t squat down to play marbles—you are nota boy, you know; don’t pick people’s flowers—you might catchsomething; don’t throw stones at blackbirds, because it might notbe a blackbird at all; this is how to make a bread pudding; this ishow to make doukona;2 this is how to make pepper pot; this is howto make a good medicine for a cold; this is how to make a goodmedicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child; thisis how to catch a fish; this is how to throw back a fish you don’tlike, and that way something bad won’t fall on you; this is how tobully a man; this is how a man bullies you; this is how to love aman, and if this doesn’t work there are other ways, and if theydon’t work don’t feel too bad about giving up; this is how to spitup in the air if you feel like it, and this is how to move quick sothat it doesn’t fall on you; this is how to make ends meet; alwayssqueeze bread to make sure it’s fresh; but what if the baker won’tlet me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you arereally going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let nearthe bread?

Help with these questions:

1. Describe the focus or focalization in \"Girl.\" Do we see whatone person sees, or observe one person in particular? Describe thevoice of the narrator in \"Girl.\" Who is the \"you\"? How do the focusand voice contribute to the reader's response to the story?

2. Look closely at the indications of time in the story. Whatactions take place at certain times? Does any event or actionhappen only once? Is there a plot in \"Girl\"? If so, how would yousummarize it?

3. The instructions in \"Girl\" have different qualities, as ifthey come from different people or have different purposes. Why aretwo phrases in italics? Can you pick out the phrases that are morepositive from the girl's point of view? Are there some that seemhumorous or ironic?

4. What genre is “Girl”?  Is it a short story, essay,or something else?  Classify the text and justify youranswer.  Use third person to answer all four questionsand quote and/or paraphrase as necessary.