“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid hints at the character of a caregiver to a young woman. In her attempts to teach the girl the ways of womanhood, she shows herself to be old-fashioned, strict in principle, and set in her views of gender roles. These qualities demonstrate her preferences. Little details in her lecturing show glimpses of her past like the fact that she knows how to grow crops, sew clothes, and run a household. She is savvy about interactions with men, has loved, has fallen out of love, and has given up on love. These qualities demonstrate her history. Her flaw is her suspicion of the girl. She cannot imagine that the girl is not making all the same mistakes she made. And with so much emphasis on avoiding the appearance of impropriety, it is surprising that she has possibly had an abortion (Kincaid).    

The unique writing style of this piece develops the character in a manner that only gives a slice of information and entirely through dialogue. The reader must infer character traits and piece her story together with clues from her speech. This method does not permit as much character development as one might prefer and provides no physical description of the character. Enemies are vaguely hinted at as men who have bullied her and fake smiles given to people she doesn’t like. The story leaves one wanting more with no means of satisfaction. When I write characters, I hope to capture the voice and traits as well as Kincaid, but provide more physical descriptions and consider alliances during development.

Bonus Note: The woman accuses the girl of singing Benna in Sunday School and I laughed so hard when I looked it up on line. “Sexually suggestive, call and repeat style, telling scandalous gossip”…definitely not appropriate Sunday School music, but so funny to picture either one of them giving it a shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOIlA9s6QxE

Works Cited

Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” At the Bottom of the River, Farrar Straus Giroux, 1983, pp. 3-5.

MadTGuans. “Benna (Antigua Soca 2014) Showcasing Beautiful People Mas Band”, YouTube, 11 August 2014, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOIlA9s6QxE

“Writing Dynamic Characters: A Checklist”. NY Book Editors, 2020, nybookeditors.com/2013/10/dynamic-characters/