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Madeline Vanegas

Leah Kaminski

Writing 37

31 October 2017

Female Struggles

"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid exemplifies the personal essay genre aspect of form and style.

From the angle of repetition, Kincaid "takes us closer to the heart of the matter," strongly

focusing on the subject of a woman and her soul duties (Lopate). Kincaid displays such a strong

emphasis on repetition throughout her story which ties into her big strategy. Her purpose lies

within her repetition, eliciting her cultural responsibilities through these phrases/commands. Her

style choices of organization and structure: it being one long continuous paragraph/sentence

filled with semicolons while providing the sense of tone and mood. Her style choices coincides

with her strategy. Through a strong force of repetition, Kincaid is able to stress her purpose of

giving the audience insight of how her life is due to being a girl.

She repeats "this is how" numerously throughout the text, including other relative phrases

such as "make sure, you mustn't, be sure, and don't." They come out as commands on how and

what to do: "this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house...etc." Reading

this is how numerously throughout the essay creates a rhythm and affects the purpose of

Girl. Kincaid is able to stress the importance of her cultural responsibilities and share a small,

but vivid part of her antiguan life. Not only is she describing the duties of a girl but also

introducing her culture through her repetition. For example: dont sing benna in Sunday

schoolWhen you are growing dasheen, make sure it gets plenty of water. She begins to take
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us closer and closer to the duties that make up a woman in Antigua. She wants us to know how

stereotypical her life is, all because shes female. These responsibilities and expectations were

given to her from birth, right from the very start just like any other girl that lived in the

Caribbean. Kincaid wants to do more than just give us some insight into her life, but truly bring

these commands to our attention and stress how her life was as a young teen. In the Odyssey

article: A Powerful Look At Girl, the author states Jamaica Kincaid has not given exclusive

details on how she felt betrayed by her mother, however, she did say this on BBC I don't know

if having other children was the cause for our relationship changingit might have changed as I

entered adolescence, but her attention went elsewhere. But then I got more of things I didn't

have, like a certain kind of cruelty and neglect. Kincaid is able to demonstrate this feeling of

cruelty and neglect by actually breaking the repetition.

Kincaid surprisingly, but intentionally breaks the rhythm of repetition by including a

conversational matter with herself and the reader: but I dont sing benna on Sundays at all and

never in Sunday school. The author even italicizes her thought process, creating a huge effect

on the flow of repetition. Were able to notice that strong interruption in her essay because it

comes to show how Kincaid reflects on her experience as a teen as she enters adolescence

(Kincaid). It plays perfectly into her purpose because she wants to share this experience with her

readers and provide that important and life changing experience. Notice how Kincaid gives us a

small, but detailed viewpoint on her culture, on her priorities and expectations of being a girl

through the constant repetition. Given the impression that these phrases are commands, it comes

to show us her traditional and cultural values. By using repetition Kincaid develops her purpose

of giving the audience an impactful perspective on her culture and duties. Connecting to the tone

and mood of the personal essay, this rhetorical strategy of repetition creates a forceful and strict
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tone, creating a relationship with the purpose of her essay. Her mother is giving her these

commands, showing an authoritative tone, but the tone and mood changes for a quick second

when Kincaid inputs her questions.

The constant this is how creates a strong emphasis on the mood. The style choice is

intentional, the amount of repetition contributes to the sentence structure of it being commands.

Going off these focused commands the mood comes off as restless, going on and on about how

to do this and what not to do. Yet, when it comes to her italicized sentences, she sparks a sense

of reflection and confusion. Kincaid creates a indecisive tone when questioning herself. She

always starts off with but. In her first sentence of uncertainty she says but I dont, and in the

second matter of reflection she says but what if. Kincaid even creates a small amount of

repetition within these italicized sentences, stressing the importance of her tiny input surrounded

by the numerous phrases of this is how. The fact that even this quick second of change in tone

and mood, lunges out to the readers demonstrating a sense of vulnerability.

By focusing on this mood, structure, and style, Jamaica Kinacids Girl partakes in

values that justify the genre of personal essay. She shares her monumental experience, a piece of

who she is through her cultural and traditional female values. Clearly, in her repetition she gives

us a taste of her personal experiences, of course through a different format structure. She shows a

bit of honesty, confession and privacy when we read: on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not

like the slut you are so bent on becoming. Again going back to the repetition she states: to

prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming. This piece

from Girl, comes on very strong and shows a vulnerable side of Kincaid. To be told this by

someone very dear to you can leave an emotional and mental impact. The title is Girl, but

when reading the last phrase: you mean to say that after all you are really going to be that kind
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of woman who the baker wont let near the bread, the word woman speaks so loudly because

it elevates the definition and priorities of a woman because she is no longer a girl.

Her style leaves a strong effect on the reader because it leaves you reflecting on her

personal essay. Kincaids rhetorical strategy of repetition set the tone and mood of the personal

essay while also connecting to her overall purpose. In order to spark a conversation with the

audience and build that relationship and trust, she strategically uses repetition to her advantage.

Many readers can relate to her personal essay, having gone through the same experience and

maybe even hearing the exact same commands.

Works Cited Page

A Powerful Look At Girl by Jamaica Kincaid. The Odyssey Online, Odyssey Media

Group, Inc, 11 Sept. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/girl-by-jamaica-kincaid.

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Lopate, Phillip. The Art of the Personal Essay: an Anthology from the Classical Era to

the Present. Doubleday, 1995.

The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. Jamaica Kincaid. Encyclopdia Britannica,

Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 28 Jan. 2016, www.britannica.com/biography/Jamaica-Kincaid.