RRB: Girl

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

Girl is written as one long continuous sentence and, although is not a story in the conventional sense, weaves an interesting account of the lessons associated with the progression towards, and throughout, womanhood. This lack of punctuation acts as a signpost, indicating how to read the text, and how to make sense of that which could easily become incoherent. This unconventional narrative does not have a beginning, middle and end, nor problem and subsequent ‘resolution’ elements. It does, however, offer a model of the world and the instructions that govern a woman’s transition from girl to ‘lady’. 

Once I started reading Girl, I believed the text to be a ‘stream of consciousness’, and that it appeared similar to an interwoven series of conversations. To me, the text seemed to be like a list of instructions the narrator is reciting in her head, following discussions with her mother, or other female authority figure (grandmother, aunt, elder sister, etc). The text also reminded me of a Shakespearean soliloquy in which a character is runnning through all the advice they have been given, and is evaluating its usefulness. To me, there appeared to be two distinct ‘voices’ – that of the advising, authoritative mother and the replies of the submissive daughter.  Initially, I felt that I could identify with the main ‘character’ in the way that we (as young-ish females) are instructed and taught to become ‘ladylike’. I could wholly associate with - and most certainly relate to - being told how to behave like a ‘lady’ and the knowledge of being expected to follow instruction. I believed this familiarity to come from similar middle-class, conservative backgrounds and the comparable ‘niceties’ that were drummed into my own head. 

After talking with a larger group, I discovered that I had actually made many assumptions about the ‘girl’ - and had in fact jumped the proverbial gun. During the discussion, we considered the background of the character; her demographic, race, ethnicity and the surroundings we imagined in our own minds. Once we had all started to discuss more specific elements - such as the khaki clothing, benna, and okra - it was clear that Girl was not written from a middle class ideology. These details had been glossed over by a large majority of the class and, after reflection of my own response to the text, I realised it was because they did not fit neatly into my framework for the characterisation of the narrative. I became aware that Girl was instead from a lower-class perspective - one that had ‘aspirations’ of a higher class. Suddenly, specific phrases that I had not initially acknowledged came to the forefront, and I noticed how strange it was, from my own personal history, to provide instruction on spitting into the air and how to “move quick so that it doesn’t fall on you”. Regardless, I do still have a close understanding of the advice the character is given, as I feel I have had the same experiences, to some extent, and that it is not ideologically dissimilar so as to feel completely removed from my own, different but comparable, life experiences. 

How not to be a lady

My own lack of knowledge of other cultures had limited my reading of Girl and the deconstruction activities really helped to clarify how little I really knew, as opposed to what I anticipated and pictured. The discussion of the language I had glossed over made it clear how much I had ignored within the narrative. I think it was a great way to illustrate how we as readers use familiar ideas and our own knowledge, to fill in the textual gaps and silences we observe. The ‘what helps and what hinders your understanding’ activity particularly demonstrated how my reading had been shaped by my personal history; I believe it would be beneficial as a teaching strategy, to become aware of the aspects that students are missing, and those valuable details within a text that indicate a difference, or similarity. Also, because there is no conclusion to the story, I felt more conscious of the fact that the narrative was a construction and could be read in a variety of ways. Perhaps, depending on your perspective, she could very well turn out to be “the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread.”