Summary

The story Girl, by Jamaica Kincaid, is a dialogue between a mother and daughter, though the long and list-like form of the narrative implies that perhaps the guidance the mother is providing is actually a memory. The mother is the primary speaker, based on the volume of her comments, but it is clear that the daughter is the protagonist; the story is written in such a way that the reader responds along with daughter to the mother's comments, which take the form of a series of lessons; the point of the lessons, according to the mother, is to teach her daughter to behave properly and not to act, as she terms it, like a slut. Each series of orders concludes with a follow-up question or negative statement in which the mother shows her disapproval toward her daughter.

The first set of...