When the mother instructs her child on the household rules of behavior, it demonstrates her inquisitive character. She understands how to cooperate with others. She demands the attention of her family members and the rest of the population. She loves her child and advises her not to be irresponsible with her sexual identity (Kincaid). The mother chastises her daughter whenever she mentions something out of the ordinary. She is an active part of various topics, both at individual and community levels.
Antiguan folk tunes represent eroticism, a subject about which the mother thinks her child already understands too much. Traditionally, native Antiguans sang benna to disseminate sensational whispers and conversation under the nostrils of the unknowing British. Singing benna at Sunday school implies non-compliance and wicked, prohibited information that cannot be publicly spoken in public, let alone in church. Even if the child does not consciously associate benna with sexuality as her mother does, her protests indicate that she is fully aware of benna’s magnetic force, mystery, and prohibited attributes (Rosenberg and Vitez). In reality, the girl’s persistent, almost frantic protestations may even imply that she had sung benna with her friends in Sunday school, an indicator of her burgeoning interest in males as well as evidence of her growing frustration with her mother’s counsel and incursions into her private life.
Various terms, such as cuisines, are scattered throughout the narrative in the mother’s directions. Such culinary analogies not only have sentimental overtones but also demonstrate an awareness of the setting, implying to the observer that she is speaking about something very intimate (Jayasree). Food is a highly particular component of culture and nationhood; therefore, discussing it emphasizes culture as a vital section of the story.
Works Cited
Jayasree, K. “Linguistic-Literary Camouflage in Jamaica Kincaid’s” Girl. ” IUP Journal of English Studies 13.2 (2018).
Kincaid, Jamaica. Girl. San Francisco Examiner, (1991).
Rosenberg, Naomi, and Michael Vitez. “Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and the Challenge of Growing Up in Medical Training.” JAMA 322.13 (2019): 1238-1239.