"girl"

Kincaid throughout "Girl" has the idea of commodification. In my British literature class we are studying about women's rights, and when I was reading this I actually picture a man talking to the "girl". There has been this stereotypical idea that women do not have a mind of their own, that men think for them. Also that as a whole women are only good for their body, and to be used as slaves. When I was reading this I picked out the words that were commands such as, cook, wash, sew, sweep, make, hem, soak, don't, grow, smile, set a table, and even love. She is not taught to be an individual person. their is nothing that makes her stand out.

The repetitiveness of "girl" also proves the point that women do not have a mind. For example, "This is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it doesn't crease; this is how you iron your fathers khaki pants so they don't have a crease" the "girl has been show how to iron a khaki fabric, but she needs to be shown again, and again. Her whole life is spent preparing herself to be sold to a man for a marriage and nothing more. She needs to prove herself in society, and to do so she needs to be a mindless idiot who can be taken advantage of.