What Means What Essay, Research Paper

Rudy Yurkovich

Who Said What Means

Ask yourselves these questions before you read Kincaid’s “Girl”, Do you know what a housewife is, being a student or child, getting advice from an elder, and being called something that you are not? What is this story’s about is it a story at all or just a poem in essay form? What kind of mood are you in right now to decipher this story in your own words? The story depends on the mood you are in and change the whole perception of this story. Then again, isn’t that what writing is about to begin with? Interpret the story as Mr. Hass told us to do, I did, but I analyzed it as a poem looking for an underlying meaning. There had to be much more than what there than what was told to us. I had a totally different perception. After the discussion, it seemed relevant for me to understand the story in a different way. But, I thought it was a mother to daughter talk. The “daughter talk” (my interpretation of the narration) was commands that her mom was saying. The advice told to her was not to become a slut, which was repeated several times in this story. But the question I ask you is, this present situation in the girl’s life, or was it a recollection of one that she had before with her mother?

Is this story taking place in present time or in the past? It could be in the present with a young girl but I also came to the conclusion that this could be in the past and the italicized words could keep repeating in her mothers forgotten speech. Now is when she needs her mothers comfort and not only that what she wished at the time of the talk. In the other perspective though it could be in the present time and just be recalled by the narrator to opens one’s imagination to make them draw their own conclusions.

Is story a poem or is it a story, isn’t this story just a page with sentences making thoughts about a person to another person. Well that is what I got out of it and now I can only get more confused thinking of it, the story is so broad anyone’s interpretation could be perceived as correct. Not only that the story can change with each person, it also changes with the readers mood at that point time, not only that try to analyze it and your mind just wonders with the choices that Kincaid gives you. Besides that interpret it after all the thoughts thrown around in class.

After reading the story I thought about it, and all the statements that were discussed. I sat back and tried to figure it all out. I came to the conclusion that the mother was upset at something that the girl had done. It could have been the first time the girl had a boyfriend, or maybe it was something a little more serious. For instance it seems like the mother is real hyper and frustrated at something. She keeps reprimanding the girl and saying, “Don’t become a slut and don’t become a troublemaker, especially singing your music in church” (Kincaid p. 430). But, the girl defends herself in the first italicized print saying “I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school” (p. 430). Saying, “No mom I do not do what you might think I do ever and never in the house of God” (p. 430). This could be related to religion but I don’t think religion has anything really significant to do in the story. There is a sentence in the story that makes me feel the way I do about it.

Religion might or might not be relevant in the story. I am leaning towards not being relevant because it is such a broad subject for such a short story. I just wasn’t to touch on something like sex, which is all over the bible with premarital sex and with being sinners in general. Meaning nothing more than what common man is sinners and that is bringing her mother not to become something that will be regretful and can’t be taken back. Meaning that whatever she does do she might look back at it and not have the same feeling like she did before whatever she did at that time. It is more just good parenting on the mother’s side than anything else might be. Showing that tender loving care that a parent should have but with the sterness to make her think twice in the event of a situation brought upon her. Knowing what the mother has said and the outcome of the story I think strongly that she will think righteously.

In closing the girl seems not to be what the mother makes her out to be. I believe the ending has a double meaning with a sexual connotation in it dealing with the baker and the baker’s bread. My interpretation, the daughter will uphold her mother and father’s honor. In summary the mother is reprimanding the daughter for something that wasn’t actually done. The daughter says something at the end to the mother. The mother is stunned with the reaction, giving the daughter a cleared name and New Hope. With the final conclusion ending up being that mother is narrating the story. Leaving the story so braid the interpretations is one’s own personal view and also one’s mood that day. This story is one that I can strongly say everyone can relate to with your parents lecturing on some subject either it is for the good or for the bad it is hard to tell. You can tell me your interpretation on the narrator and or the daughter situation. It would maybe shed more light on the confusion that I have in this story. Having all the different choices you and I could make between the narrators who in it what they are trying to say and what they mean when they say what.