Deal Me In Challenge: Girl by Jamaica Kincaid (1978)

Card Drawn:

"Dukona" or Duckunoo is a traditional Jamaican dessert often with sweet potato, raisins and lots of sugar wrapped in banana leaves.

Now here is something that I have never come across before: a short story written in a single sentence! After reading the magnificent novella A Small Place, I have been eager to read more of Jamaica Kincaid's work and "Girl" is a masterful display of her literary talents. Not many writers would be able to pull this off with such precision, lyricism and depth. It is a crying shame that she is not more widely read or discussed (this is just my general impression but perhaps she actually does have a huge following unbeknownst to me) and I think that "Girl" should be essential reading for anyone interested in the creative power of the short-story.

This is a fascinating text structured around ambiguity and therefore open to much interpretation. One of the few aspects that we can claim with any certainty is that the narrative involves a dialogue between a mother and her daughter. Tone is very important here and we get a sense of an imposing mother figure based on the specific use of language, and general inflections of speech. She is speaking to her daughter in both a condescending and loving manner; offering motherly advice with a litany of "do's and dont's" with only two interjections from the daughter that are italicized. The brilliance of this story is that these two female characters are never explicitly identified by name or race but Kincaid drops various clues to suggest that they are indeed Black Caribbean women belonging to the working class. Firstly, the speaker's emphasis on a woman's customary domestic role (cooking and cleaning) is strongly suggestive of the gender construct within a postcolonial context. Secondly, food is inextricably linked to cultural identity and the many references to distinct Caribbean cuisine further re-affirms this connection. 

Also, pay attention to Kincaid's particular use of Caribbean vernacular ("wharf-raft boys") and cultural references ("Dukona", "benna", "soak salt fish overnight before you cook it"). Western readers might not immediately pick up on these nuances and it almost feels as if she is highlighting the effacement of black female voices within a Eurocentric literary context while paradoxically asserting black female empowerment through the technique of stream-of-consciousness. Presumably, the mother is providing her young daughter with important life lessons and moral instruction to become a strong independent black woman. A black feminist critique reveals that Kincaid is implicitly challenging prescribed gender roles and dominant patriarchal norms. Notice that the mother is overly concerned about her daughter's feminine virtue and sexuality. The word "slut" is repeated twice and she seems overly concerned that the daughter will fall into ruin if she is not careful. However, she also provides advice on how to carry out an abortion if necessary. The re-claiming of black female autonomy and the performance of gender is an important subtext. Despite it's short length, this is a major achievement and no mere gimmick. 

You can read this story HERE.