After reading the interview with Jamacia Kincaid on page 1483-1484, please respond to the following question(s). Please use examples from the text to back up your reponses.
How is the conflict between the mother and the girl in "Girl" able to be connected to today's society? Do you think that there are still specific skills that a woman, or a man, are expected to possess? Do you think the mother is being oppressive or just trying to prepare her daughter for the real world?
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Michele Nemec
ReplyDeleteIn the story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, The mother is telling the daughter how it is she should act. I believe that the mother is trapping her daughter into becoming what she wants her to be and doesn't give her a chance to become her own person. The mother assumes automatically that if she doesn't do everything exactly like she does she wont become a good person. For example, the mother says," this is how you hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming." Her saying this is making it seem like the mother thinks if she does not do all these things she is going to become a slut. You can connect this to today's society because every parent has some sort of expectation for their kids. I know the one of the expectations my parents have for me is to graduate college and to use what i learned to make a living. It may not be the same kind of expectations the mother had for the daughter but it is still the same idea. In today's society i believe that to it really depends on the person if you believe their are specific skill that a woman, or a man are expected to possess. In my opinion i think that it is expected of both men and women to be able to do things for themselves as they grow up and not to have to rely on anyone to do it for them, such as laundry or cooking. I believe in the mothers mind she thinks this is helping prepare her daughter for the real world. The way i see it as some of the things she tells her daughter are preparing her for the real world, but she goes to far with the stuff. For example she shows her daughter how to sew a button on, how to iron clothing.Some of the things the mother tells the daughter are oppressive, such as not eating fruit on the street and just the way she says everything makes her seem oppressive.
Marty Noenickx
ReplyDeleteIn the story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid the mother and the daughter are in a conflict. The mother is telling her daughter how to act and behave. Its the manner she talks to her daughter that makes tension. Today parents still do this. They cant help it, they only want the best for their children. A parents worst fear is that their child makes the same dumb mistakes they had made. On page 723 when the mother says " you mustn't speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions," That simply a mother trying to tell her daughter to stay away from bad boys. But the mother also makes irrational demands like when she tells her not to eat fruit because flies will follow. Men and women are expected to hold specific skills. Its just a simple part of life, both women and men hold different roles. In society women and men are expected to act cetain ways that can be completely different from the other sex. So our parents try to teach us the right way to act. The mother was trying to explain how to be a respectable girl. I dont agree with the way she had said it. The tension she made by not listening to anything her daughter had to say made her obressive.
Cassie Nelson
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely conflict between the mother and the girl in “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the conflict is brought on by the mother telling the girl a list of things to do. It is also brought on by the way that she is talking to the girl and not letting her get a word in. Their conflict is relatable to today’s society by the girl’s mother trying to help her grow up into what her mother views as a good woman; her mother is not letting her be herself. The list is what her mother thinks makes a woman successful look good and not like a “slut” or someone of low class. Her Mother Has expectations for her, and she shows this by saying, “this is how you set a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest”. Parents have expectations of all sorts for their children in today’s society. Some parents just expect their children to get through life and be happy, and other parents expect their children to grow up and go to school and be doctors and get married and have three kids. Although, their ways of going about it may be good or bad all the parent wants is what they think is best for their child. I think there are some things that a man or woman are expected to be able to do these days and if not people are surprised. For example, I think most men are expected to be able to change a tire, and if they do not people are surprised. On the other hand, most women are expected to be able to clean and cook. While most things have become that both men and women are doing them there are still some things that lean a little more towards one side or the other. I think that in some ways the mother was trying to prepare her daughter for the real world by teaching her how to sew and how to cook. But in other ways she was being oppressive by telling her daughter how to act and not to eat fruit in the street. I think she wanted the best for her daughter and did not want her daughter to be looked down upon, but was going about it the wrong way, and by going about it the wrong way she became oppressive.
Janine Hull
ReplyDeleteThe conflict of the mother and girl in this story "Girl" can easily be connected to society these days. I think everyone out there has had a fight with their mother at least once, and knows exactly what that is like. The conflict between the mother and girl can also be other people, like bosses and employees, or teachers and students. Everyone had some sort of conflict with some one, and thats how the conflict of the mother and girl relate to society. I think these days men and women don't have certain skills that they possess any more. It seems the years have changed a lot over the years and more women are working. I think there are men out there who work, but come home and cook dinner or maybe clean while their wife is out working. However there are still some families out there who the women and men have specific skills they possess. I also don't think its fair that the mother treats her daughter like she is the only woman in the house and makes her do all the ironing, cleaning, sewing, cooking and much more around the house. Her daughter is not the only one woman in the house, and she could have helped her out. I think the mother is mainly doing all of this stuff to her daughter out of oppression. In other ways I think that the mother is teaching her some life skills like cleaning, cooking and sewing. But all the other things like telling her how to act, and not "act like the slut she is" is just wrong and she is doing it out of oppression
Joey King
ReplyDeleteIn the story “Girl” By Jamaica Kicaid, the conflict between the mother and the girl can easily be connected to today’s society because there are always people trying to tell you what you need to do. Parents, friends, teachers, doctors, politicians, and the media are always telling you what’s best. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re not, and the other times somewhere in between. There are definitely certain expectations of men and women in our society. The men are expected to provide for the family, and the women are expected to take care of the household. I feel that it’s silly to expect it to be this way. Obviously, there are things such as paying the bills, cooking, and cleaning that all need to be done, but as long as they get done, it doesn’t matter who does it or how it’s done. I think the mother was trying to be helpful, but was just going about it wrong. Her intent was good, but I’d imagine that the girl finds her to be quite oppressive and probably even unpleasant as a result. If the mother tried a different approach maybe it would be more effective.
Aaron In the story "Girl" the mother seems to be teeling her daughter what to do and not really letting her experience things on her own. The mother might be trying to protect her daughter from what might happen if she acts differently but in some cases people need to learn on their own and I think the daughter should be able to do just that. This is connected to todays society because people not just mothers and fathers tell you what to do. Sometimes it can be good because they are guiding you but in other cases its bad cause it is almost like they are telling you how to make your every move and sometimes you need to make moves on your own. I don't think that there are any specific skills a man or woman should possess I just think men and women do certain things because that is what they were always told. In the story I think the mother is just trying to prepare her daughter for the real world. If the mother doesn't explain this to her daughter who will? It seems as if the mother is comeing off hard, but I think she is just trying to get her point across to her daughter in the best way available. I think that maybe the mother could have did it another way such as by example instead of comeng off so hard.
ReplyDeleteLinda Palushaj
ReplyDeleteThe short story "Girl", by Jamaica Kincaid is a story of a mother trying to tell her daughter what to do and how to do it. The big conflict in the story is that the mother tries to control the daughter and not even let the daughter have a chance to say something. The girl in the story only said two lines and when they were said, the mother completely ignored the expressions and kept giving demands on what she expects her daughter to do. She even commented on how she should act. For example, the mother says, "this is how you smile to someone you don't like; this is how you smile to someone you don't like too much; this is how you smile to someone you don't like at all... (723)". I believe this is too much and the mother is being over controlling (or oppressive). I don't think a mother should be telling her daughter how to smile and teaching her different ways of smiling. The mother also said "this is how you love a man". I thought she shouldn't teach her daughter how to love a man because the girl should be able for herself to know when she is in love with a man. I think that love is one of the specific skills that a women is expected to have. I believe someone shouldn't have to be taught on how to love someone they should have feelings and just know when they are in love. The mother might have been trying to prepare her daughter for the real world by teaching her lessons such as cooking, cleaning and washing clothes. But the mother took it way too far when she got into trying to teach her daughter exactly how to act; things such as smiling, loving and just other actions. These actions should be learned by the girl herself. The girl should be able to love and smile how and when she wants to. Even though the girl's mother in "Girl" controlled her daughter and demanded her how to do certain things, the girl might be connected to people in today's society. In today's society, many might feel that their parents expectations are too high as the girl from the short story may have felt. Parents may interfere in their child's lives a little to teach them some things but not to the extent that the mother in "Girl" has. The mother of the story just put way too much pressure on the girl by telling her how and what to do. In today's society parents may put some pressure on children but not as the mother did to the girl. Parents of today's society many just push and pressure their children to get good grades, study hard, get a good job, etc. So yes the short story can be connected in today's society in some ways.
Marisa Simpson
ReplyDeleteIn the short story "Girl" the mother is just giving off a list of what she should or shouldn't do. The conflict between the mother and the girl is still a conflict that happens today. Some parents put a lot of pressure in their children telling them what to do, what career they should pursue, what they shouldn't do, and other things. The author, Jamacia Kincaid, says that the relationship between the mother and daughter is powerful and powerless. The mother is powerful and the daughter is powerless. For example, as the mother is talking the girl says "but I don't sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school." But the mother doesn't even acknowlegde that the girl said anything and continuted on with her list of do's and don'ts. I think there are certain skills that men and women are expected to posses but it's not as strict as it used to be. I do not think the mother was trying to be oppressive. She was probably just trying to prepare her child to enter the world. If it had been my mother telling me all those things, I would have found her controlling. I would not have liked my mother telling me what i could or couldn't do and not even letting me get a word in. I think if the mother had tried having a conversation with her daughter instead of just talking at her it would have been better.
In the story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, I think the conflict between the girl and her mother is a typical predicament that arises at one point in a young girl’s life. Although it may not be the same argument, it follows along the same lines as an argument would today. A parent is always looking for their child to have the best of the best no matter what, and I think the mother believes she is looking out for the girls best interest but is not showing it in the most compassionate and expressive way that a young girl would understand. It seems as she is trying to repress her daughter and limit her full potential. I believe she is not trying to do this on purpose but she doesn’t recognize that although that is the way she lives her life, her daughter might not want to live in that lifestyle as well.
ReplyDeleteMarshall Rose
ReplyDeleteThe conflict between the mother and the girl in "Girl" are connected to our modern day society in many aspects. One major aspect is the act of "enslavement" put on the daughter by the mother. The way she demands the daughter to act, or perform certain tasks, echo into reflections of how we enslave eachother in todays society. Another aspect is how parenthood, is expressed, in relation to today. The mother dishes out tasks, demands, and expectations, in order to try and teach her daughter a way of life. This is in direct correlation to how children are brought up in our modern day society. As far as specific skills men or women are expected to possess, each are expected to have a different set of skills. For example, a woman may be expected to know how to clean, cook, wash, and do chores in and around the house; while the man will be expected to know how to support for his family, fix things, and take care of the more physical labor. When it comes to whether the mother is being oppressive, or not i believe it is an overall mix between the two. In one way she is trying to prepare the daughter for the real world by doing chores and teaching her what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. However, in another way she seems a little on the strict side, and refuses to let her daughter enter any input into how she feels about the situation.
Heather Feenan
ReplyDeleteThe story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a mother being oppressive, thinking she is preparing her daughter for the real world. And a daughter learning the how not to be “the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread”. The mother is teaching her daughter the dos and don’ts of being a young lady and how to not look like “the slut [she] knows [she is] so bent on becoming” I believe in every society there is gender role one must play. Women are to look presentable, act nice, to have skills to care for a home and a family. Were men are to be providers, by working and doing things that require physical labor. Much like society today the mother is trying to make sure the daughter is ready for the “real world”. The mother is just doing what she feels is best. She might not being going about it the right way, but as a young adult I can relate to the girl more than the mother. I feel like if the girl had agreed more the mother wouldn’t have been so mean sounding. The mother would have felt like she was listening more. The two lines the girl had, were defensive lines, the mother probably felt like the girl wasn’t listening so the mother felt like she had to make sure she knew everything from how to eat right (which she probably already learned) to not eating fruit on the streets. Even though the mother had most of the lines you can hear the girls voice. She is innocent. With her last line about the bread, she was asking a serious question. She is just a young lady.