Girl – Rhetorical Analysis

In this seemingly never-ending list of rules from Mother to Daughter, Jamaica Kincaid portrays the expectations a girl must follow to be ‘Normal’ or ‘Acceptable’ The mother goes from simple rules like separating clothes by color, how to cook and clean to a more extreme cautionary rule on how to avoid being a slut. Her rule, no, commands to her daughter reflect the patriarchal society that is present then and even today. By using semicolons instead of periods, tone, and repetition Kincaid is able to inform us of the conformity many women are expected to achieve the image of normalcy. 

From the very beginning, there is no “Hello” or “I love you, my daughter”, she just starts spewing out command after command. At the end of this text, you will find it does not end with a period or include any periods at all. By using no periods, Kincaid creates a sense of unrest or the inability to collect thoughts or fight back against the authoritative mother. We see only two instances of the girl asking questions, in other words, questioning her authority. She doesn’t even acknowledge or answer her questions but continues to spit out more commands. This is a run-on sentence. We can infer that she is far from done from listing more commands. As the girl gets older, it is likely she will be heavily scrutinized. Kincaid perfectly utilizes this strategy to convey the suffocating expectations a little girl would have to face in the patriarchal society.    

‘This is how’ is used consistently throughout ‘Girl.’ The mother uses it to introduce a rule. She might briefly explain why she must but no more than that. As if she expects it to be embedded into her autonomy or mentality. Kincaid uses ‘This is how’ to reinforce the idea of image or perception of the girl. In society, the way a girl is raised reflects directly onto her mother. She not only annoyingly repeats these rules to her daughter to protect her but to protect her image as a mother. The rules she is teaching her daughter domesticates her into being the perfect normal image of a woman. Kincaid utilizes repetition to ingrain the idea into the young girl but also to ourselves. Perhaps to reflect on how generations of women, maybe even our own mother, had to undergo this scrutiny. 

As mentioned before, tone is a huge factor in how ‘Girl’ gets the message across.The tone goes from authoritative, to protective, to accusatory. We see an instance of her accusation on a Sunday. Where the mother says “try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming” First of all, derogatory term and shocking to even consider your YOUNG daughter to be a slut. This may reflect her internalized misogyny. To accuse women who are not seen as normal to be a slut or a whore. She has been so conditioned to follow the norm that even her daughter isn’t safe from her judgemental eye. However, the text as a whole does come from a place of concern. She wants her daughter to be normal to save her from the scrutiny of others. This reflects the complex and heartbreaking relationship between mother and daughter in society. 

Using these strategies, Kincaid brings to light the impact societal expectations have on not only a young girl but a mother. We see the confusing relationship between the two. From wanting her daughter to conform to belittling her when she acts differently. Kincaid also critiques society for these rules. Society associates womanhood with domesticality which isn’t what being a woman is about.  

Her audience is targeted towards women in Caribbean society. However many women can relate to the feeling of pressure to conform to society so I would say women in the modern day since ‘Girl’ was not written in 2024 but in the 1970’s but the problem is apparent today as well, Perhaps feminist or people interested in the flaws of society, young girls today who might experience or are experiencing these rules first hand, girls who want to break the cycle of domesticality. 

Kincaid most definitely reaches her purpose like what, hello, I wanted to slap her mother.