literary analysis essay girl

A Summary and Analysis of Jamaica Kincaid’s ‘Girl’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Girl’ is a short story by the Antigua-born writer Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949). In this very short story, which runs to just a couple of pages, a mother offers advice to her teenage daughter about how to behave like a proper woman. ‘Girl’ was originally published in the New Yorker in 1978 before being reprinted in Kincaid’s collection At the Bottom of the River in 1983.

At just 650 words, Kincaid’s story can be regarded as a piece of flash fiction or micro-fiction. However, it doesn’t tell a ‘story’ in the conventional or traditional sense. You can read ‘Girl’ here before proceeding to our summary and analysis below.

‘Girl’: plot summary

The story comprises one single sentence of 650 words, and takes the form of a dialogue between a mother and her daughter. Although this is not stated in the story, the setting – as Kincaid has subsequently pointed out – is Antigua, the Caribbean island where she was born and raised, and the reference to numerous local foods, such as okra, salt fish, and dasheen, all hint at the story’s Caribbean setting.

The mother gives advice to her daughter, the ‘girl’ of the story’s title. Initially, this is practical domestic advice about washing and drying clothes, as well as cooking tips, such as how to cook salt fish. It is also parental advice along the lines of not walking bareheaded in the hot sun.

But as the mother’s advice continues, we begin to learn something about her attitude to her daughter: she tells her to walk like a lady on Sundays, rather than the immoral and unkempt woman she is determined, according to the mother, to become.

The mother tells her daughter not to sing ‘benna’ in Sunday school: a reference to benna , a calypso-like genre of singing popular in Caribbean countries and characterised by scandalous gossip and a call-and-response format. At this point, the daughter’s voice breaks in, in italics, and protests that she has sung benna in Sunday school, so she is being cautioned against doing something she already knows not to do.

The mother appears to ignore her daughter’s interjection, continuing to give her advice, including how to wear a different smile for people she doesn’t like, people she actively hates, and people she does like. She then tells her how to dress so she doesn’t look like ‘the slut I know you are so bent on becoming’. This phrase is repeated several times in the story.

The mother carries on, becoming more critical of her daughter’s attitude and behaviour. She mentions Obeah , a mystical religion with its roots in African beliefs and rituals, and tells her daughter not to judge by appearances. She also offers medical advice, including how to bring on an abortion and how to catch a fish, as well as how to catch, or attract, a man to become her husband.

Indeed, much of her advice focuses on the kind of domestic chores a wife would be expected to perform for her husband in traditional societies.

The story ends with the mother advising her daughter how to squeeze a loaf of bread to tell whether it is fresh. The daughter speaks again – only the second time she has done so in the story – to ask what she should do if the baker won’t let her touch the bread. The mother responds, is her daughter really going to be the kind of woman the baker won’t let near the bread?

‘Girl’: analysis

Kincaid’s story is about a mother passing on her wisdom to her daughter, but one of the clever things about the way Kincaid organises the story is the way she seamlessly weaves in moral advice about reputation among the more everyday, domestic knowhow she thinks her daughter needs to know.

The mother is concerned not just with ensuring her daughter becomes a good wife when she grows up, but ensuring that she is seen as a good woman, rather than a ‘slut’ (the word the mother uses several times in this short story) who is viewed as immoral and promiscuous by her neighbours and the wider community.

The title of Kincaid’s story, ‘Girl’, is significant because it becomes clear that the daughter in the story is actually a girl on the cusp of adulthood. This, then, is the mother having ‘the talk’ with her daughter, if not quite about the ‘birds and the bees’ then about how to be seen as a woman of good morals.

Kincaid hints at the girl’s adolescence through several suggestive details, such as the ‘little cloths’ she mentions early on: a reference to the girl’s underwear. This is a subtle allusion to menstruation and what the girl should do when she starts her monthly bleeding.

Given its brevity and the headlong structure of this one-sentence conversation, we as readers are not given any deeper knowledge about how the mother views the society of which she is a part. Does she approve of the patriarchal structure of her society, where women are prepared for their roles as good daughters, and then good wives and good mothers, from an early age? On one level, she is upholding this structure by uncritically presenting her recommendations as merely ‘the way things are’, we might say.

But this might simply mean that she wants her daughter to have a good life and an easy life, if not in terms of the daily grind of household chores, then in how she gets along with her neighbours and friends. By doing as the mother advises, her daughter will be thought of well by the community, and that will make her life easier.

Nor do we know whether she is right to return – as she repeatedly does – to sexual matters and the kind of young woman she fears her daughter is ‘in danger of becoming’.

The first of her daughter’s two interjections suggests that her mother may be misjudging her own daughter, since when her mother tells her not to sing benna in Sunday school, she responds that she doesn’t do that, implying this is an unfair ‘criticism’ of her behaviour.

This suggests – though it can only be inferred on our part, rather than confidently asserted – that the mother is concerned with her daughter being led astray, and her fears about her conduct and reputation may be unfounded, or at least exaggerated.

If this is so, then it only serves to underscore the traditional patriarchal structure of the Antiguan society that Kincaid is seeking to depict in ‘Girl’.

Of course, this would also be true of many other societies around the world, although assuming the story has a contemporary setting (if not in the 1970s then perhaps recalling Kincaid’s own girlhood, from a decade or so before), it implies that – assuming the mother’s attitudes are typical of the values held by that society more widely – there was still a strong sense of the importance of family in Antiguan society when the story was written. And a woman’s good reputation as a loyal wife and hard-working mother is important in upholding those values.

The story is also notable for its use of grammar: it consists of a single sentence, most of which is spoken by a mother who is giving advice to her daughter. The mother’s monologue is briefly interrupted by the girl on just occasions, but otherwise, this story consists of the mother’s words of wisdom to her daughter – about life, relationships, housekeeping, and the importance of reputation.

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Literature Analysis on “Girl” Essay

Introduction, works cited.

The narrative “Girl” is a piece written by Jamaica Kincaid concerning a mother‘s attempt to teach her daughter about a woman’s role in society. The author’s intentions are evident through her feminist activities, familial relationship as well as the structure of the narrative. This short story is a feminist critique of the contradictions and tensions inherent in womanhood development; it sets out to show how women perpetuate gender inequality.

The author –Jamaica Kincaid – is an immigrant from the West Indies who entered the United States in her teens. She had a poor relationship with her mother and despised the societal structures that caused this rift. As an only child, Kincaid enjoyed the love and attention of her mother, but this changed dramatically when three brothers came into the picture.

The mother redirected all her affections to the boys and ignored her daughter merely because she was female. It is likely that this experience affected how the author perceived gender subjugation. While the Caribbean islands were immensely patriarchal, it was the woman who was used as a tool to perpetuate oppression against her own kind (Bailey 111).

Kincaid’s choice of structure is a hint on this theme of female disempowerment by women. First, the narrative is lengthy and fluid; it appears like a monologue although the daughter responds once in a while. Kincaid wrote her piece in such a manner in order to demonstrate that it was a lecture.

Instructions are often one sided, long and do not consider the view point of the recipient. At one point, she states that “always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach;” (Kincaid 350). In this case, the mother rants continuously without pausing or asking for her daughter’s feedback.

When the girl tries to ask a question about something, the latter immediately victimizes the girls and makes it look like she is at fault. For instance, she tells the girl how to test bread in order to ascertain that it is fine. The girl asks what to do if the seller won’t let her touch it. Her mother asks her why she would have a character that is not worthy of the seller’s trust: “you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman the baker won’t let near the bread?” (Kincaid 351).

The author wanted to show how gender was constructed in this setting. Women were instruments of gender inequality because they did not even give a voice to one another. Patriarchal societies often prevent women from talking back to men or having an opinion. Sadly, this starts with women’s interaction with each other as seen through the condescension and ridicule of the mother in the story.

It is particularly interesting that the narrative contains no real male character. The mother only refers to men in general and her husband in particular. It is likely that Jamaican Kincaid wanted to emphasize women’s role in gender inequalities within her society.

One can deduce Kincaid’s inclinations from her background as an activist. Jamaica has started a group that supports President Obama because he believes in women’s reproductive right to choose. Such leanings form a basis for her rejection of gender instructions and stereotypes about women in the narrative.

Women in the narrative could not enjoy the freedoms that men did. Someone had to transmit these expectations to younger generations; Caribbean societies chose women as their tools. They taught young girls about subservience, passivity and domesticity. This theme is evident from the author’s work as a feminist activist and her relationship with her mother.

Bailey, Carol. “Performance and the gendered body in Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and Oonya Kempadoo’s Buxton Spice.” Meridians 10.2(2010): 106-123. Print.

Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” Fiction: A pocket Anthology. Ed. R. Gwynn. NY: Pearson Education, 2011. 349-351. Print.

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IvyPanda . "Literature Analysis on “Girl”." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/literature-analysis-on-girl/.

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Literary Analysis of “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

Introduction, summary of the story: personal reflection, annotations on the story, feminist critical theory, works cited.

The gender distinction and stereotypes are subconsciously nurtured into our perception of the world since childhood. The “Girl” is a short story written by Jamaica Kincaid that interprets the societal prospects regarding what a girl child advancing into womanhood should be. The protagonists of the story are both female characters, a mother and her daughter reaching the adolescent. The poem is based on the guidance the mother gives to a young girl about the deeply rooted discriminatory standards of female behavior with men. According to the cultural constructs of the time, the story was written, a girl must be subjective to men and must fend for a man’s upkeep, including her father’s. With that said, Kincaid conveys the principles of female mannerisms, values, and uprightness in the context of gender bias, feminist perspective, and women’s role defined by the society in which she lives.

Kincaid’s story provides valuable insights concerning gender stereotypes and the relative freedom it can be perceived within modern society. In “Girl,” a mother gives a set of advice to her daughter on how she should behave like a woman or rather perform the role of a woman as commonly seen by society at that time. More specifically, a mother wants her daughter to learn the widely recognized aspects of the etiquette and mannerisms about being a lady, how to behave, and generally maintain home comfort and a man’s wellbeing. However, at some point, her mother’s guidance seems terrifying and ambiguous in words “…This is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child” (Kincaid 321). This topic appears highly disturbing when teaching a young girl the moral and behavioral standards at this age and specifically at such times. Furthermore, a mother continuously mentions how disgraceful it is to become a woman of easy virtue that, in her opinion, her daughter desperately wants to become.

Considering the representation of men, the author presents them as lacking personal values, which might require some control or being careful with. Moreover, Kincaid creates a demeaning picture by suppressing the role of a girl as a future woman below any men she meets in her life. She also connotes an adverse impact on a girl regarding her behavior among men. Most importantly, her mother is vigorously biased against any possibility of gender equality concerning the life and maturing of the young girl. This can be traced to when she reminds her daughter that she is not a boy, so she is not allowed to squat down to play marbles. By emphasizing gender privileges and inequality, Kincaid’s story can be considered an example of educating gender stereotypes and limiting the girl’s freedom from the very early years of life. Therefore, the “Girl” can be examined through the lens of the feminist critical theory to adapt its main idea within a framework of modern and open-minded culture.

The basic concept of the story is built upon the relationship between the men and women within the societal norms at that time. The story concerns one of the critical tenets of feminist theory: sex and gender roles. The mother’s instructions restate and reinforce the norms and obligations forced by society upon women, to a significant degree focusing on being subservient to men, who are described as patriarchs in the story. The mother in the story gives eight instructions explicitly mentioning men or boys, and none mentioning women (Kincaid 320-321). These concern doing or not doing things for men’s sake: “this is how you iron your father’s khaki shirt [and] pants”, “…how to behave in the presence of men who you don’t know” (Kincaid 320-321). Finally, one of her last instructions is “…how you love a man, and if this doesn’t work … don’t feel too bad about giving up” (Kincaid 321). These quotes highlight the feminist views that women are marginalized and only recognized for their value to men; their role is, therefore, providing this value.

Most of the mother’s instructions in this story are related to two broad stereotypes of a woman in a patriarchal society: the angel and the whore. She condemns her daughter for being “bent on becoming [a slut]” (Kincaid 320). However, this condemnation seems to be the response to the girl displaying any kind of individuality or agency in her actions. There is, the author suggests, only one correct way for a woman to be in society: the virginal, gentle, weak homemaker figure, the angel. A significant portion of the mother’s advice concern one’s appearance and social behavior: “walk like a lady”, “you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys”, “this is how you smile” (Kincaid 320). All of these instructions are unified by the theme of maintaining a virginal, lady-like, wholly dependent impression. The maternal side of the stereotype is obvious in the instructions, as well: “This is how you sew”, “…how you sweep”, “…how you set a table” (Kincaid 320-321). Throughout the story, a picture is painted of an ideal woman, according to the patriarchal society: weak, dependent, subservient; any agency or individuality that does not conform to this picture is condemned.

Not only does this narrative expose the sexist norms that place men as a higher class of people, but it also shows how limited the agency of women should be in this patriarchal society. In general, the story demonstrates the limited and strongly restricted control over the life of the young girl, which is defined in advance, rather than her mother’s guidance and life lessons. She is ordered to live her life and be subservient to men, as well as taught the ways to please them. Furthermore, the story shows how ingrained these norms are since it is a mother teaching them to her daughter, perpetuating them seemingly on her own volition.

The advice that a girl’s mother gives genuinely relates to the mature issues that are difficult to comprehend for a young daughter. Some of it can be construed as generally benevolent guidance on housekeeping and practical skills: cleaning, cooking, sewing. However, it is not the inclusion of these topics, but the exclusion or condemnation of others that put them in a feminist perspective. Once again, the future woman’s role is defined solely by doing things that men do not, placing her as the other.

The history of feminism and the struggle for equality covers a long and challenging period that still occurs in many parts of the patriarchal world. The current reader undoubtedly questions how this piece of literature “undermine[s] the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women in terms of feminist criticism” (Tyson 83). The core principle of feminist theory implies that women are oppressed by patriarchy in “economic, political, social, and psychological terms,” which means that patriarchal ideology is the primary source by which women are affected (Tyson 83). In addition, a woman is automatically perceived as different within any domain with the patriarchy reigning. Western civilization is considered the most impacted by the leading patriarchal ideology.

However, the fundamental idea of the feminist theory lies in the fact that although our sex is defined by biology, the culture in which one grows up determines the gender and, thus, our roles. Jamaica Kincaid’s literary oeuvre is focused on the difficulties that teenage girls have to deal with during the process of growing up. Moreover, all the characters of her stories originate from her personal life experiences, specifically with her mother. Ultimately, this story explores and, by placing so many instructions in such close vicinity of one another, criticizes the culture and a woman’s supposed place in it, her inability to change anything, including herself.

Such an autobiographical background of the story undoubtedly enhances the reality of the gender roles issue and the need for a feminist approach to examine them. In the poem, a mother defines domestic values as explicitly adoptable feminine values that a girl must follow. In contrast, the depiction of men by her mother puts them at a supremacy viewpoint where things are done for them by the women, who are always in their service. With that said, the “Girl” strongly aligns with the common space in feminist theories about women being oppressed by the society with patriarchal authority and standards where a woman is constantly marginalized. A female’s role is both defined and limited by her gender but, most importantly, it was also widely accepted and followed for ages, and taught to young girls.

The grim realities of addressing gender biases and marginalization through both literature and the real world are indeed complex issues to examine. To sum up, Jamaica Kincaid incorporated the specific aspects of a young girl growing up to convey the enhanced sense of the hardships caused by the stereotypes. Such literature pieces aim to eliminate stereotypes and highlight the ongoing concern of people limiting the rights of other people and the harsh consequences. Both in 1978, when the poem was written, and in 2020, this topic is highly significant to understand and repel the stereotypically gendered roles imposed for girls by both societies. Nowadays, there is a broader spectrum of opportunities and freedom to examine the identity of oneself and others within a social context, including culture, race, ethnicity, family, and faith.

Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” The Story and its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction , edited by Ann Charters. 6 th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003, pp. 320–321.

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide , 2 nd ed., 2006.

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Analysis of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”

Jamaica Kincaid’s (1978) “Girl” illustrates a mother-daughter relationship involving biases linked to family roles, community relations, and societal norms and culture shaping personal identity and behavior. The girl represents Kincaid in her youth. The short story shows that the mother prescribes behaviors that she deems appropriate for females. She imposes these behaviors on the girl, who is expected to obey and conform. In addition, it is apparent that the child and her identity are constrained within these prescribed feminine behaviors, in contrast to masculine ones. Such a constrictive condition is a result of the parent’s dominant behavior toward the girl, and the family’s tendency to yield to social pressure. Considering Kincaid’s background and the cultural keywords used, the short story emphasizes how certain sociocultural characteristics are passed on through generations. The story touches on social problems involving the mother and her daughter and illustrates the significance of familial relationships in shaping individual behavior. Kincaid also points to social issues, such as sexism or sex discrimination, gender stereotypes, and the effects of societal pressure on personal development.

In depicting a conversation or argument between a mother and her daughter, Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” includes the following points:

• An overbearing mother
• The mother’s pessimism about the girl
• Norms, stereotypes, and biases against women
• Family as a means of perpetuating social issues through generations

An Overbearing Mother

The overbearing and controlling nature of the mother is observable in Kincaid’s short story. Most of the story reflects what the parent says about what the girl should do and not do. For example, the mother teaches her daughter to wash clothes in a certain way, and to “cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil.” The mother also tells the girl to not sing benna in Sunday school, and not “speak to wharf-rat boys.” These directions show that the mother wants to control various aspects of her daughter’s life, including how chores are done, how relationships are developed outside the family, and how the girl presents herself to the outside world.

The mother-daughter relationship characterizes the woman’s motherhood and parenting style. The text is mostly about the mother’s thoughts, ideas, perspectives, rules, and instructions for the girl. Throughout the story, it is only twice that the girl responds to her mother. The girl says that she does not sing benna in Sunday school, and asks the hypothetical question, “what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?” Kincaid’s emphasis on such a familial relationship can be seen as a reflection of a lack of healthy communication between the two females. It seems that the parent does not have the will or desire to know and accommodate the child’s thoughts and point of view. This situation makes the reader wonder about the sociological meaning of the mother-daughter relationship, and what the girl really thinks or does in her home and outside when interacting with boys, churchgoers, the baker, and other people.

The Mother’s Pessimism about the Girl

Kincaid’s short story illustrates the mother’s pessimistic or negative view of the girl. The word, “slut,” is mentioned thrice to emphasize the mother’s belief that her daughter is becoming one or has already become one. The mother also finds ways to establish this belief through assumptions and negative interpretations about the girl and her activities. For example, after telling her daughter to squeeze bread to check for its freshness, the girl replies by asking, “what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?” The mother interprets this question as an indicator that the girl will really be that “kind of woman.” This sarcastic remark is a pessimistic interpretation. The mother focuses on a supposed undesirable future of the girl, and seemingly disregards other possibilities. For instance, it is possible that the girl innocently says that the baker might not let her feel the bread, perhaps because of other reasons. The mother’s derogatory perspective tells the reader that she thinks poorly of her daughter, no matter what the girl says.

The mother’s negativity is also shown in other parts of Kincaid’s story. The mother asks if the girl sings benna in Sunday school, then lays down the rule that the girl should not do so. When the daughter says that she never sings benna in Sunday school, the mother ignores the young lady and just continues giving instructions and rules, without much consideration for the possibility that the girl actually does not sing benna in Sunday school. This part of the text illustrates the mother’s firmness in her negative perspective that the girl sings benna. In relation, the mother prescribes a way of getting rid of an unwanted pregnancy. This guidance reflects the mother’s assumption and expectation that the girl will eventually have an unwanted pregnancy. Thus, the text depicts the mother as a pessimist regarding her daughter’s life and future.

Norms, Stereotypes, and Biases against Women

The mainly one-sided conversation between the mother and her daughter shows Kincaid’s view of the norms, stereotypes, and biases in society. The short story presents what the mother thinks is appropriate, based on sociocultural expectations, customs, and traditions. For example, the parent instructs the girl that she should not squat to play marbles because she is not a boy. Also, the mother teaches the girl to “walk like a lady” on Sundays. Here, the teachings, directions, and guidance appear to be part of the girl’s training in preparation for life, as she gets older and becomes a woman. However, the same teachings, directions, and guidance inculcate not just positive or beneficial information, but also negative norms, stereotypes, and biases.

It is clear that the mother thinks that women and men should have different manners and conduct, especially when interacting with each other. Some of her directions provide positive training for the girl. For example, the mother teaches her daughter how to catch and prepare fish. However, the reader is given a picture of a society, where norms, stereotypes, and biases discriminate against women. The mother’s rants and rules show that girls should not squat like a boy; should do household chores, such as cooking, baking, setting the table, sweeping, sewing, and washing and ironing clothes; and should walk like a lady. Furthermore, the teaching on how to prepare medicine, in case the girl becomes pregnant and wants to stop it, implies that females may suffer from unsafe remedies instead of receiving safe healthcare. This maternal guidance creates a division between the sexes and discriminates against women. With such sexist training under her mother, the girl is given less freedom to do what she wants to do, relative to males.

Family as a Means of Perpetuating Social Issues through Generations

Kincaid’s “Girl” reflects the family’s role in perpetuating social issues from generation to generation. As the basic social unit, the family provides a social environment that nurtures children. However, societal problems, such as biases and discrimination, are also passed on from parents to their children. In the short story, the conversation between the mother and her daughter represents the family. In turn, this family represents a community or society that imposes pressure on individuals, such as sons and daughters, to follow sexist or discriminatory rules and social expectations.

The mother instructs her daughter to not squat like a boy, to do household chores, to “walk like a lady,” and so on. These lessons describe a society that separates men from women. It is a social environment where women are mainly limited to the home and men can go out without much restriction. This means that families set discriminatory rules that put pressure on their children. These children, then, become adults who set similar discriminatory rules for their own children in the future. This cycle perpetuates the ills of society.

Points to Ponder

The mother in Kincaid’s “Girl” symbolizes motherhood or, more generally, parenthood and its role in perpetuating stereotypes, biases, and discrimination. One might consider how this situation agrees with the saying, History repeats itself . As the mother sets an example to follow, the girl could eventually become just as gender-biased as her mother. Such similarities between generations are also alluded to in other literary works, such as E.B White’s essay, “Once More to the Lake.”

Many questions arise upon reading Kincaid’s short story. For example, how do the story’s socially constructed systems fit within ethical and moral systems? In terms of forbidding the girl to squat like a boy to play marbles, how does the mother’s instruction affect the girl’s personal development, identity, and social skills? How do the parenting style and rules in the short story reflect the mother as a teacher, a guide, and a role model for the girl? How does the mother see her daughter as a student or follower? Would the mother give the same or similar rules to the girl’s siblings? How would the familial training differ between the girl’s sisters and brothers? Is the mother’s parenting style a result of her own conformism to peer pressure, and her own obedience to her church, faith, or religion?

Kincaid, J. (2003). Girl . In A. Charters (Ed.), The story and its writer: An introduction to short fiction (6th ed., pp. 320-321). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s. (Original work published 1978)

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Summaries, Analysis & Lists

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid Analysis, Summary & Themes

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, a prose poem/short story, was first published in 1978 in the New Yorker.  It later appeared in Jamaica Kincaid ‘s first short story collection, At the Bottom of the River , and it can be read in the Amazon preview. “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is one long run-on sentence of about 650 words. It’s a popular short story for students .

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid Analysis

Although the value of a summary is limited considering the story’s length, we’ll start with one anyway just in case it’s useful. Afterward, we’ll look at themes and some questions.

“Girl” Jamaica Kincaid Summary

A mother advises her daughter about many things—how to wash clothes, not to walk bareheaded in the sun, how to cook, how to eat, how to walk, not to sing benna in Sunday school, who to avoid, not to eat fruit in the street, how to sew and iron, how to grow food, how to clean house and the yard, how to smile at people, how to set the table, how to behave around men, hygiene, how to play like a girl, not to pick people’s flowers, not to throw rocks at blackbirds, how to make medicines, how to fish, how to bully a man, how a man will bully her, how to love a man, how to spit in the air without it getting on you, how to budget, and how to check bread for freshness.

(End of “Girl” summary by Jamaica Kincaid)

“Girl” Theme: Mother/Daughter Dynamics

The dominant mother’s role depicted is of teacher. Her speech is a stream of instructions and warnings. The advice is mostly concerned with doing practical things for herself and around the home, as well as how to behave publicly.

A major takeaway from this litany is the lack of warmth. There isn’t a single word of love or encouragement anywhere. Of course, the mother could be motivated by love, at least partly, but this doesn’t come through in her communication with her daughter. The speech is didactic and critical, and expresses a very narrow view of a mother.

Indeed, the structure of the story could be interpreted as a symbol of the mother/daughter relationship. With no setting, action or exposition, the story could parallel the mother’s interactions with the daughter. All she does is preach to her and criticize her. The story’s limits seem to parallel the relationship’s limits.

“Girl” Theme: Communication

Related to the theme of mother/daughter dynamics  is the theme of communication.

Almost the entire story is one-way communication from the mother to the daughter. Its tone, discussed above, doesn’t give the impression of a close, loving relationship.

There are two instances in the story where the daughter speaks up, which are italicized in the text. The first time, she says she doesn’t sing benna on Sundays and never in Sunday school. It’s noteworthy that this is after her mother has already moved on to other subjects. The implication is that the mother talks but doesn’t care about what the daughter says. Her defense was also ignored.

The second time, she asks how to squeeze the bread if the baker won’t let her touch it. The mother turns this into a criticism, once again questioning the girl’s morals.

The story suggests the communication between the two is poor, with the mother spouting instructions, and ignoring or criticizing the daughter’s responses.

“Girl” Theme: Expectations for Females

The mother’s words cover the traditional role a woman would fill—lots of advice about keeping a home and interacting with men. Washing clothes, selecting food and cooking it, cleaning, setting a table, preparing home remedies, and knowing how to deal with men are all covered.

The tone is mainly neutral, but it’s distinctly harsh in one area—that the girl is promiscuous. Due to its repetition, it’s the part that stands out the most. It’s very important for a woman to have a good reputation in this area. The girl’s reputation doesn’t seem to be in question, though. The mother asked if it was true she sang benna in Sunday school, implying someone was talking about this. There’s no indication someone has impugned the girl’s character. The first time it’s said is particularly jarring:”. . . the s¦ut you are so bent on becoming.” It’s clear the mother strongly disapproves of any behavior that tends in this direction. The tone is even harsher considering the girl could be acting in a perfectly normal way. The story also ends with the mother accusing the girl of “being the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread,” making it the last thing we remember.

Interestingly, the kind of behavior that could get a girl in trouble isn’t uncommon. One of the things the mother teaches the daughter to make is a medicine “to throw away a child before it even becomes a child.” We can infer this is a piece of common knowledge that is passed on to girls. Not being promiscuous is one thing, but concealing it is just as important.

“Girl” Theme: Power

Kincaid has acknowledged that the power contrast between the mother and daughter is like the relationship between Europe and Antigua, “a relationship between the powerful and the powerless”, in her words.

Antigua had a small, wealthy white population and a large, poor black population. The local culture was subsumed by the British system.

Antigua was a British colony until 1967 when they became an Associated State with Barbuda; they gained full independence in 1981.

Kincaid explained that while the mother is showing the girl how to be in the world, she doesn’t really think the girl will get it right. She’s dismissive and views the girl with scorn. Kincaid explained, it’s “not unlike the relationship between the conquered and the conqueror.”

“Girl” Analysis Questions

1. why might a blackbird not be a blackbird after all.

This bit of advice expresses a belief that the blackbird might contain the spirit of a person or something else. This is consistent with the other statement about throwing back a fish so something bad won’t happen to you. The mother passes on these mystical beliefs to her daughter. These things contrast with the reference to Sunday school, where some form of Christianity is taught.

2. Why shouldn’t the girl sing benna in Sunday school?

Benna is an uptempo Antiguan music (Calypso) known for having gossip in the lyrics. It wouldn’t be appropriate to sing in a Christian setting. Again, we see the importance of appearances. The girl isn’t told not to sing these songs at all, just not when it would look bad.

3. How should the narration be taken? Is it happening in real-time?

I don’t think so. It reads like a remembrance of the things the girl’s mother had told her over a period of time, probably years. For example, “this is how to sew a button” couldn’t just be said and left at that. Obviously, the mother said that at the beginning of a demonstration, and would have explained further as she went. This applies to many of the other things said, as well.

A person would have to have a classifiable disorder to rant the story’s narrative in one sitting, without any explanations and running things together without any transitions. The presentation suggests this is how the girl remembers her relationship with her mother.

Some additional terms from the story:

• Okra: a mucilaginous, high-fiber vegetable
• Dasheen: a large-leaved root vegetable
• Doukona: a spicy pudding made from plantains
• Pepper Pot: a beef stew

For such a short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a remarkably complete reading experience. I hope this analysis of “Girl”, the summary and the look at themes has been helpful.

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid Literary Analysis Essay Example

Have you ever had a mom harshly telling you what you should or shouldn’t do? Well… Jamaica Kincaid short story’s “Girl,” the subject’s mother gives crucial advice to her daughter and is trying to help Girl steer the onerous world she’s been brought into. The mother is trying to preserve her daughter by decrying the role of female sexuality and shaping her on how to be a  “perfect” woman.  She wants to inculcate her daughter about developing and growing into a  mature, respectful woman. This story gives a wealthy illustration of what the mother wants from her daughter, from  “how to sew”, “how to cook”,  “how to clean”, etc.  This story uses punctuations to pull apart words of intelligence but frequently itself, especially because she doesn’t want Girl to become a slut.  Truly,  the mother is grating (although it may not seem like that), she believes that her helpful comprehension will not only help her from a life full of brutality and rottenness but will authorize her as a woman in a patriarchal community. 

It seems that this story was written back in the 1900s, based on its tone. “This is how you do this, this is how you do that”, in her brain she knows how a perfect young woman should act. Such as, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming”. The mother highlights this so that she will fit into the group or won't be judged by others. The mother is frightened not only because of how society will treat her but because of her culture or religion. “This is how you smile at someone you don’t like very much; this is how you smile at someone you don’t like at all; this is how you smile at someone you like completely ”.  All this comes together how to walk like a lady or how to smile, and having to be perfect even if you want to. This was important for Girl to know because back then, these little things that people think are pointless today are important. It’s important to act like a perfect lady so that everyone can accept and won’t speak negatively towards Girl. 

The mother's role was to not only teach Girl how to be a perfect woman but how to take care of the house. In the 1900s the husband would do all the jobs outside of the house, while the wife stayed back at home doing all the cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc. “Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry” or “cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil”.  Including how to sew, sweep, iron, set the table for dinner or breakfast, etc. These are good things on how to be the perfect housewife or on how to take care of the house. In her belief,  she is teaching and directing Girl on how to be the perfect caretaker of the house.

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Discussion Questions

What ideals of femininity and womanhood does the mother in Kincaid’s “Girl” impart to her daughter? Given the representation of the mother figure, how do you think Kincaid wants us as readers to view this perspective?

What effect do the intermittent Caribbean terms thrown into the text have on readers? What intended effect may Kincaid have been going for in using them?

What effect does the syntax used in the text have on the reader’s experience? How does the syntax affect the text’s message or meaning?

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Literary Analysis of the Story "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid

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Literary Analysis: Girl By Jamaica Kincaid Essay Samples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Generation , Women , Daughter , Relationships , Literature , Parents , Family , Life

Published: 03/27/2020

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There exist conflicts between the older and the younger generation, in relation to moral, cultural and behavioural presentation. The story talks about the mother-daughter relationship, in the line of perceptions and objectives of life. First, the mother is a perfectionist and cautionary towards daughter’s life. What is more, the conservative nature of the mother raises conflicts the modern generation. On the other side, the daughter adopts contemporary way of life and resigns to the mother’s wrath on ideal living. The chronological structure of the story addresses stages of human development among women. The study aims at extrapolating on the structure, the use of similes and moral lesson from the "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid. In terms of structure, Jamaica Kid presents the story in a chronological manner of events. The daughter acquires information from the mother in various matters of life. The mother starts by highlighting the duties and responsibilities of the daughter as a child. These include household chores such as cleaning the house. As the story progresses, the mother addresses the daughter on mannerisms and etiquettes. The mother educates the daughter on how behave at dinner time and how to socialize with the opposite gender. This depicts sense of maturity in the side of the girl who is still young to experience real life. Later in the story, the mother introduces advice on independence and responsibilities to the daughter. This is through stating that the daughter should acquire life skills such as sewing and ironing clothes. This depicts pre-teenage hood advice to the daughter. What is more, the mother advises the daughter on relationships, which depicts entry into adulthood. This is through providing social interaction skills, which aim at improving daughter’s behaviour towards the other people. In addition, the mother presents to the daughter the qualities of an ideal family woman, in relation to home-making and association. Consequently, the structure reveals the themes of sexuality, conservatism and resignation. The mother represent older generation, who is yet to conform to the modern lifestyles. The lack of daughter-mother relationship depicts resignation. According to the mother, the baker and the bread represent social life of the daughter. The mother worries that the society will be refuse her daughter immoral actions in the future. Similarly, the structuring and the use of similes provide the hidden meaning to the reader. The mother directives to the daughter depict aspects of feminism, in the contemporary world. The daughter must obey and behave well in the presence of male-figures. The reader also acknowledges the generation gap between the mother and daughter, in relation to the outlook of issues. In addition, the reader pinpoints themes of conservatism, society and feminism. Conclusively, the story depicts the authoritative nature of the mother to daughter. It is evident that the daughter may not apply the advice of the mother, but will adopt modern way of life. The suspense in the story depicts unending conflicts, which will occur between the mother and daughter. The generation gap will contribute to the occurrence of such conflicts. The story advocates for holistic and interactive way of addressing life issues in families.

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• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

• An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
• A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
• A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

• Who is telling the story?
• How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

• Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
• Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
• Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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Hope Jahren

Everything you need for every book you read..

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Hope Jahren's Lab Girl . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Lab Girl: Introduction

Lab girl: plot summary, lab girl: detailed summary & analysis, lab girl: themes, lab girl: quotes, lab girl: characters, lab girl: symbols, lab girl: theme wheel, brief biography of hope jahren.

Historical Context of Lab Girl

Other books related to lab girl.

• Full Title: Lab Girl: A Story of Trees, Science, and Love
• When Written: 2010s
• Where Written: Hawaii
• When Published: 2016
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Memoir, science writing
• Setting: United States and Norway
• Climax: Jahren finally sets up the very first Jahren Lab in Atlanta.
• Antagonist: Sexism in the sciences
• Point of View: First person

Extra Credit for Lab Girl

Manicure Monday. In November 2013, Jahren made a bold statement about women in science simply by posting a photo of her hands on Twitter. Seventeen Magazine posted a hashtag, #manicuremonday, requesting that young women post images of their manicured hands; Jahren posted a photo of her hands—clean but not manicured—holding a beaker in her lab. She used Seventeen’s hashtag, of course, but added that her goal was to “contrast real #Science hands against what @seventeenmag says our hands should look like. All nails welcome.” Her rebellion against this traditional image of femininity prompted many other women to post images of them working with their hands, manicured or not.

More Than Just a Lab Girl. In addition to writing a bestselling novel, Hope Jahren is one of the most respected scientists in the United States. She is one of only four people—and the only woman—to receive two Young Scientist Awards from the Geological Society of America. She has received three Fulbright fellowships for her research, and in 2016, she was named one of Time Magazine ’s 100 Most Influential People.

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12.14: Sample Student Literary Analysis Essays

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• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

The following examples are essays where student writers focused on close-reading a literary work.

While reading these examples, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the essay's thesis statement, and how do you know it is the thesis statement?
• What is the main idea or topic sentence of each body paragraph, and how does it relate back to the thesis statement?
• Where and how does each essay use evidence (quotes or paraphrase from the literature)?
• What are some of the literary devices or structures the essays analyze or discuss?
• How does each author structure their conclusion, and how does their conclusion differ from their introduction?

Example 1: Poetry

Victoria Morillo

Instructor Heather Ringo

3 August 2022

How Nguyen’s Structure Solidifies the Impact of Sexual Violence in “The Study”

Stripped of innocence, your body taken from you. No matter how much you try to block out the instance in which these two things occurred, memories surface and come back to haunt you. How does a person, a young boy , cope with an event that forever changes his life? Hieu Minh Nguyen deconstructs this very way in which an act of sexual violence affects a survivor. In his poem, “The Study,” the poem's speaker recounts the year in which his molestation took place, describing how his memory filters in and out. Throughout the poem, Nguyen writes in free verse, permitting a structural liberation to become the foundation for his message to shine through. While he moves the readers with this poignant narrative, Nguyen effectively conveys the resulting internal struggles of feeling alone and unseen.

The speaker recalls his experience with such painful memory through the use of specific punctuation choices. Just by looking at the poem, we see that the first period doesn’t appear until line 14. It finally comes after the speaker reveals to his readers the possible, central purpose for writing this poem: the speaker's molestation. In the first half, the poem makes use of commas, em dashes, and colons, which lends itself to the idea of the speaker stringing along all of these details to make sense of this time in his life. If reading the poem following the conventions of punctuation, a sense of urgency is present here, as well. This is exemplified by the lack of periods to finalize a thought; and instead, Nguyen uses other punctuation marks to connect them. Serving as another connector of thoughts, the two em dashes give emphasis to the role memory plays when the speaker discusses how “no one [had] a face” during that time (Nguyen 9-11). He speaks in this urgent manner until the 14th line, and when he finally gets it off his chest, the pace of the poem changes, as does the more frequent use of the period. This stream-of-consciousness-like section when juxtaposed with the latter half of the poem, causes readers to slow down and pay attention to the details. It also splits the poem in two: a section that talks of the fogginess of memory then transitions into one that remembers it all.

In tandem with the fluctuating nature of memory, the utilization of line breaks and word choice help reflect the damage the molestation has had. Within the first couple of lines of the poem, the poem demands the readers’ attention when the line breaks from “floating” to “dead” as the speaker describes his memory of Little Billy (Nguyen 1-4). This line break averts the readers’ expectation of the direction of the narrative and immediately shifts the tone of the poem. The break also speaks to the effect his trauma has ingrained in him and how “[f]or the longest time,” his only memory of that year revolves around an image of a boy’s death. In a way, the speaker sees himself in Little Billy; or perhaps, he’s representative of the tragic death of his boyhood, how the speaker felt so “dead” after enduring such a traumatic experience, even referring to himself as a “ghost” that he tries to evict from his conscience (Nguyen 24). The feeling that a part of him has died is solidified at the very end of the poem when the speaker describes himself as a nine-year-old boy who’s been “fossilized,” forever changed by this act (Nguyen 29). By choosing words associated with permanence and death, the speaker tries to recreate the atmosphere (for which he felt trapped in) in order for readers to understand the loneliness that came as a result of his trauma. With the assistance of line breaks, more attention is drawn to the speaker's words, intensifying their importance, and demanding to be felt by the readers.

Most importantly, the speaker expresses eloquently, and so heartbreakingly, about the effect sexual violence has on a person. Perhaps what seems to be the most frustrating are the people who fail to believe survivors of these types of crimes. This is evident when he describes “how angry” the tenants were when they filled the pool with cement (Nguyen 4). They seem to represent how people in the speaker's life were dismissive of his assault and who viewed his tragedy as a nuisance of some sorts. This sentiment is bookended when he says, “They say, give us details , so I give them my body. / They say, give us proof , so I give them my body,” (Nguyen 25-26). The repetition of these two lines reinforces the feeling many feel in these scenarios, as they’re often left to deal with trying to make people believe them, or to even see them.

It’s important to recognize how the structure of this poem gives the speaker space to express the pain he’s had to carry for so long. As a characteristic of free verse, the poem doesn’t follow any structured rhyme scheme or meter; which in turn, allows him to not have any constraints in telling his story the way he wants to. The speaker has the freedom to display his experience in a way that evades predictability and engenders authenticity of a story very personal to him. As readers, we abandon anticipating the next rhyme, and instead focus our attention to the other ways, like his punctuation or word choice, in which he effectively tells his story. The speaker recognizes that some part of him no longer belongs to himself, but by writing “The Study,” he shows other survivors that they’re not alone and encourages hope that eventually, they will be freed from the shackles of sexual violence.

Works Cited

Nguyen, Hieu Minh. “The Study” Poets.Org. Academy of American Poets, Coffee House Press, 2018, https://poets.org/poem/study-0 .

Example 2: Fiction

Todd Goodwin

Professor Stan Matyshak

Advanced Expository Writing

Sept. 17, 20—

Poe’s “Usher”: A Mirror of the Fall of the House of Humanity

Right from the outset of the grim story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe enmeshes us in a dark, gloomy, hopeless world, alienating his characters and the reader from any sort of physical or psychological norm where such values as hope and happiness could possibly exist. He fatalistically tells the story of how a man (the narrator) comes from the outside world of hope, religion, and everyday society and tries to bring some kind of redeeming happiness to his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who not only has physically and psychologically wasted away but is entrapped in a dilapidated house of ever-looming terror with an emaciated and deranged twin sister. Roderick Usher embodies the wasting away of what once was vibrant and alive, and his house of “insufferable gloom” (273), which contains his morbid sister, seems to mirror or reflect this fear of death and annihilation that he most horribly endures. A close reading of the story reveals that Poe uses mirror images, or reflections, to contribute to the fatalistic theme of “Usher”: each reflection serves to intensify an already prevalent tone of hopelessness, darkness, and fatalism.

It could be argued that the house of Roderick Usher is a “house of mirrors,” whose unpleasant and grim reflections create a dark and hopeless setting. For example, the narrator first approaches “the melancholy house of Usher on a dark and soundless day,” and finds a building which causes him a “sense of insufferable gloom,” which “pervades his spirit and causes an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an undiscerned dreariness of thought” (273). The narrator then optimistically states: “I reflected that a mere different arrangement of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression” (274). But the narrator then sees the reflection of the house in the tarn and experiences a “shudder even more thrilling than before” (274). Thus the reader begins to realize that the narrator cannot change or stop the impending doom that will befall the house of Usher, and maybe humanity. The story cleverly plays with the word reflection : the narrator sees a physical reflection that leads him to a mental reflection about Usher’s surroundings.

The narrator’s disillusionment by such grim reflection continues in the story. For example, he describes Roderick Usher’s face as distinct with signs of old strength but lost vigor: the remains of what used to be. He describes the house as a once happy and vibrant place, which, like Roderick, lost its vitality. Also, the narrator describes Usher’s hair as growing wild on his rather obtrusive head, which directly mirrors the eerie moss and straw covering the outside of the house. The narrator continually longs to see these bleak reflections as a dream, for he states: “Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building” (276). He does not want to face the reality that Usher and his home are doomed to fall, regardless of what he does.

Although there are almost countless examples of these mirror images, two others stand out as important. First, Roderick and his sister, Madeline, are twins. The narrator aptly states just as he and Roderick are entombing Madeline that there is “a striking similitude between brother and sister” (288). Indeed, they are mirror images of each other. Madeline is fading away psychologically and physically, and Roderick is not too far behind! The reflection of “doom” that these two share helps intensify and symbolize the hopelessness of the entire situation; thus, they further develop the fatalistic theme. Second, in the climactic scene where Madeline has been mistakenly entombed alive, there is a pairing of images and sounds as the narrator tries to calm Roderick by reading him a romance story. Events in the story simultaneously unfold with events of the sister escaping her tomb. In the story, the hero breaks out of the coffin. Then, in the story, the dragon’s shriek as he is slain parallels Madeline’s shriek. Finally, the story tells of the clangor of a shield, matched by the sister’s clanging along a metal passageway. As the suspense reaches its climax, Roderick shrieks his last words to his “friend,” the narrator: “Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door” (296).

Roderick, who slowly falls into insanity, ironically calls the narrator the “Madman.” We are left to reflect on what Poe means by this ironic twist. Poe’s bleak and dark imagery, and his use of mirror reflections, seem only to intensify the hopelessness of “Usher.” We can plausibly conclude that, indeed, the narrator is the “Madman,” for he comes from everyday society, which is a place where hope and faith exist. Poe would probably argue that such a place is opposite to the world of Usher because a world where death is inevitable could not possibly hold such positive values. Therefore, just as Roderick mirrors his sister, the reflection in the tarn mirrors the dilapidation of the house, and the story mirrors the final actions before the death of Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” reflects Poe’s view that humanity is hopelessly doomed.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 1839. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library . 1995. Web. 1 July 2012. < http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PoeFall.html >.

Example 3: Poetry

Amy Chisnell

Professor Laura Neary

Writing and Literature

April 17, 20—

Don’t Listen to the Egg!: A Close Reading of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

“You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir,” said Alice. “Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem called ‘Jabberwocky’?”

“Let’s hear it,” said Humpty Dumpty. “I can explain all the poems that ever were invented—and a good many that haven’t been invented just yet.” (Carroll 164)

In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass , Humpty Dumpty confidently translates (to a not so confident Alice) the complicated language of the poem “Jabberwocky.” The words of the poem, though nonsense, aptly tell the story of the slaying of the Jabberwock. Upon finding “Jabberwocky” on a table in the looking-glass room, Alice is confused by the strange words. She is quite certain that “ somebody killed something ,” but she does not understand much more than that. When later she encounters Humpty Dumpty, she seizes the opportunity at having the knowledgeable egg interpret—or translate—the poem. Since Humpty Dumpty professes to be able to “make a word work” for him, he is quick to agree. Thus he acts like a New Critic who interprets the poem by performing a close reading of it. Through Humpty’s interpretation of the first stanza, however, we see the poem’s deeper comment concerning the practice of interpreting poetry and literature in general—that strict analytical translation destroys the beauty of a poem. In fact, Humpty Dumpty commits the “heresy of paraphrase,” for he fails to understand that meaning cannot be separated from the form or structure of the literary work.

Of the 71 words found in “Jabberwocky,” 43 have no known meaning. They are simply nonsense. Yet through this nonsensical language, the poem manages not only to tell a story but also gives the reader a sense of setting and characterization. One feels, rather than concretely knows, that the setting is dark, wooded, and frightening. The characters, such as the Jubjub bird, the Bandersnatch, and the doomed Jabberwock, also appear in the reader’s head, even though they will not be found in the local zoo. Even though most of the words are not real, the reader is able to understand what goes on because he or she is given free license to imagine what the words denote and connote. Simply, the poem’s nonsense words are the meaning.

Therefore, when Humpty interprets “Jabberwocky” for Alice, he is not doing her any favors, for he actually misreads the poem. Although the poem in its original is constructed from nonsense words, by the time Humpty is done interpreting it, it truly does not make any sense. The first stanza of the original poem is as follows:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogroves,

An the mome raths outgrabe. (Carroll 164)

If we replace, however, the nonsense words of “Jabberwocky” with Humpty’s translated words, the effect would be something like this:

’Twas four o’clock in the afternoon, and the lithe and slimy badger-lizard-corkscrew creatures

Did go round and round and make holes in the grass-plot round the sun-dial:

All flimsy and miserable were the shabby-looking birds

with mop feathers,

And the lost green pigs bellowed-sneezed-whistled.

By translating the poem in such a way, Humpty removes the charm or essence—and the beauty, grace, and rhythm—from the poem. The poetry is sacrificed for meaning. Humpty Dumpty commits the heresy of paraphrase. As Cleanth Brooks argues, “The structure of a poem resembles that of a ballet or musical composition. It is a pattern of resolutions and balances and harmonizations” (203). When the poem is left as nonsense, the reader can easily imagine what a “slithy tove” might be, but when Humpty tells us what it is, he takes that imaginative license away from the reader. The beauty (if that is the proper word) of “Jabberwocky” is in not knowing what the words mean, and yet understanding. By translating the poem, Humpty takes that privilege from the reader. In addition, Humpty fails to recognize that meaning cannot be separated from the structure itself: the nonsense poem reflects this literally—it means “nothing” and achieves this meaning by using “nonsense” words.

Furthermore, the nonsense words Carroll chooses to use in “Jabberwocky” have a magical effect upon the reader; the shadowy sound of the words create the atmosphere, which may be described as a trance-like mood. When Alice first reads the poem, she says it seems to fill her head “with ideas.” The strange-sounding words in the original poem do give one ideas. Why is this? Even though the reader has never heard these words before, he or she is instantly aware of the murky, mysterious mood they set. In other words, diction operates not on the denotative level (the dictionary meaning) but on the connotative level (the emotion(s) they evoke). Thus “Jabberwocky” creates a shadowy mood, and the nonsense words are instrumental in creating this mood. Carroll could not have simply used any nonsense words.

For example, let us change the “dark,” “ominous” words of the first stanza to “lighter,” more “comic” words:

’Twas mearly, and the churly pells

Did bimble and ringle in the tink;

All timpy were the brimbledimps,

And the bip plips outlink.

Shifting the sounds of the words from dark to light merely takes a shift in thought. To create a specific mood using nonsense words, one must create new words from old words that convey the desired mood. In “Jabberwocky,” Carroll mixes “slimy,” a grim idea, “lithe,” a pliable image, to get a new adjective: “slithy” (a portmanteau word). In this translation, brighter words were used to get a lighter effect. “Mearly” is a combination of “morning” and “early,” and “ringle” is a blend of “ring” and "dingle.” The point is that “Jabberwocky’s” nonsense words are created specifically to convey this shadowy or mysterious mood and are integral to the “meaning.”

Consequently, Humpty’s rendering of the poem leaves the reader with a completely different feeling than does the original poem, which provided us with a sense of ethereal mystery, of a dark and foreign land with exotic creatures and fantastic settings. The mysteriousness is destroyed by Humpty’s literal paraphrase of the creatures and the setting; by doing so, he has taken the beauty away from the poem in his attempt to understand it. He has committed the heresy of paraphrase: “If we allow ourselves to be misled by it [this heresy], we distort the relation of the poem to its ‘truth’… we split the poem between its ‘form’ and its ‘content’” (Brooks 201). Humpty Dumpty’s ultimate demise might be seen to symbolize the heretical split between form and content: as a literary creation, Humpty Dumpty is an egg, a well-wrought urn of nonsense. His fall from the wall cracks him and separates the contents from the container, and not even all the King’s men can put the scrambled egg back together again!

Through the odd characters of a little girl and a foolish egg, “Jabberwocky” suggests a bit of sage advice about reading poetry, advice that the New Critics built their theories on. The importance lies not solely within strict analytical translation or interpretation, but in the overall effect of the imagery and word choice that evokes a meaning inseparable from those literary devices. As Archibald MacLeish so aptly writes: “A poem should not mean / But be.” Sometimes it takes a little nonsense to show us the sense in something.

Brooks, Cleanth. The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry . 1942. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1956. Print.

Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-Glass. Alice in Wonderland . 2nd ed. Ed. Donald J. Gray. New York: Norton, 1992. Print.

MacLeish, Archibald. “Ars Poetica.” The Oxford Book of American Poetry . Ed. David Lehman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. 385–86. Print.

Attribution

• Sample Essay 1 received permission from Victoria Morillo to publish, licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ( CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 )
• Sample Essays 2 and 3 adapted from Cordell, Ryan and John Pennington. "2.5: Student Sample Papers" from Creating Literary Analysis. 2012. Licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported ( CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 )

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Journal of Credit Risk

1744-6619 (print)

1755-9723 (online)

Editor-in-chief: Linda Allen and Jens Hilscher

Impact Factor: 0.880

First Published: January 2005

Credit risk management: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis

Payal kedia and lokanath mishra.

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Need to know

• 774 research papers in the field of credit risk are analyzed.
• The authors identify significant work and outline the intellectual framework of credit risk research.
• The study aims to assist institutions and researchers to identify pertinent areas that require further research.

Credit risk has long been a problem attracting attention and the subject of discussion worldwide. Credit risk officers and financial experts have taken a number of measures to control and manage their credit risk. It is therefore important to explore the research trends in the area of credit risk management. Our study thoroughly searches the Scopus database and examines 774 publications from between 1990 and 2022. We identify significant work and outline the credit risk management field’s intellectual framework using a variety of tools, including publishing trends, the citation network, methodological analysis, content analysis and keyword analysis. Bibliometric analysis was performed using R software. This study will assist banks, financial institutions, policy makers, regulators and academic researchers in understanding the fundamentals of ccredit risk management and pinpoints pertinent areas that require further research.

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