Narrator’s View of Her Mother in Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl
Girl by Jamaica Kincaid is a poem that depicts tough conversations and lessons between a Kincaid and her mother. The narrator describes the mother as a harsh person by the way the literal work is presented. The dramatic monologue provides an in-depth description of her expectations of Kincaid’s behavior, especially in church. Each line in the poem gives a perception of how the mother views the world, her anticipations, and what seems right in her eyes. Throughout the poem, the narrator tries to explain why people have varying discernments on peoples’ behavior and the manner in which the society and family expect from them. The mother seems to give Kincaid advice about how she should grow as a young girl. The poem brings out the possibility of the child’s promiscuity. Kincaid’s mother perceives that a girl should behave in a particular way to create the right image. This theme is seen throughout the poem. At one point, her mother emphasizes that she should not play marbles because she is not a boy. Elsewhere, she does not want Kincaid to sing “Benna” in Sunday school since this music style is believed to promote gossiping and promiscuity.
Narrator’s View of His Brother in Sonny’s Blues
The narration in Sonny’s Blues tells the reader about the relationship between him and his brother. From the beginning of the poem, the older brother views Sonny as an irresponsible person who cannot harbor his music industry ambitions. However, Sonny sees this accusation as a misunderstanding. The narrator views his life through the lenses of Harlem, whose environment is associated with poverty, crime, and drug abuse. Throughout the piece, Sonny’s brother is fully aware of his community’s dark side, and he tries to protect him from evils that may affect him emotionally by preventing him from pursuing his music career. The narrator cares for Sonny, but he seems adamant about accepting his ability to influence change. From a tender age, the narrator reveals that Sonny has been haunted by poverty and being bound by the confines of his community’s social order. He tries moving from Harlem to free himself but instead ends up in prison, making him captive. The narrator describes him as a caged animal attempting to relinquish the effects of imprisonment and the impact of drug abuse that led to his incarceration.
Comparison
The narrator’s tone in Jamaica Kincaid is highly subjective and told from a personal viewpoint. In most parts of the short story, it is seen as bitter and sarcastic. The mother kept accusing the girl of her inclination to promiscuous behavior. However, Kincaid defends herself by saying, “I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school.” I empathize with the young girl because her mother’s sediments do not reflect on her behavior.
On the other hand, the narrator’s tone in Sonny’s Blue is compassionate and caring. Despite the fact that he seems to lean on Sonny’s case, his intentions were aimed at the right place in the end. I side with the narrator because he wants to protect his brother from succumbing to the dark side of Harlem. He cares about his brother’s sufferings and tragedies that have affected most of his life and aims to help him by trying to understand his disappointments.