Girl and Great Falls
All cultures, seemingly without exception, foster gender role differentiation. Codes of male vs. female behavior guide the way parents raise their children, the ways children relate to each other, and the way individuals view themselves. In many cases, sex-differentiated adult gender roles, social norms, and expectations are constructed painfully. The painful, chaotic, and even violent process by which gender role differentiation occurs is captured by both Jamaica Kincaid and Richard Ford in their respective short stories, "Girl," and "Great Falls." These short stories show how gender as a sociological phenomenon can disrupt inner peace and fracture the soul. In her terse tale "Girl," Jamaica Kincaid recounts her internalized authoritarian voices: a list of "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots" that have, for better or worse, constructed the narrator's sense of identity. In addition to the poignant impact of the narrator's internal dialogue, "Girl" shows how one woman was taught the behavioral norms of females. The short story starts with the telling phrase, "Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap," (Kincaid 476). Girls' chores consist mainly of laundering and kitchen duties. Moreover, the narrator describes the proper demeanor for a young woman: behaviors that prevent her from being perceived as a "slut." The tyrannical voice, which could easily be her mother's, grandmother's, aunt's, or mentor's, directly and unavoidably shapes the narrator's self-image. Similarly, in Ford's "Great Falls," Jackie's self-image is shaped by his same-sex role model, his father. Jackie's reticence and his inability to fathom his mother's behavior illustrate the great divide that separates male from female in any and all societies. Ford's "Great Falls" and Kincaid's "Girl" both represent the painful acquisition of sex-differentiated adult gender roles in three main ways: through parent-child interaction; through gender-based social rituals; and through sexuality.
Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" is more than a short story; it is a recollection of an authoritarian voice that has become internalized in the...
The internalized voice is most likely the narrator's mother, although the voice could just as easily belong to any other female role model. "Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; don't walk bareheaded in the hot sun; cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil," (Kincaid 476). These are the things that girls do in the narrator's world. The language and diction that Kincaid employs, most notably the use of the imperative verb forms, demonstrates that "Girl" summarizes the rules and regulations that guide gender identity formation. These rules are formed by her culture and society and imparted to her by her female role model. Therefore, "Girl" demonstrates that gender identity formation occurs primarily through the acquisition of ideals and norms, ideals and norms that are imparted through parental figures.
The most salient feature of Kincaid's "Girl" is its description of mundane gender rituals. These rituals, which center on domestic chores like cooking, cleaning, and serving, show that the narrator's notion of female social roles centers on domestic chores and subservience. Her detailed description of how to properly launder clothes, how to "set a table for lunch," and how to sew all denote social rituals. Unlike religious rituals, the social rituals predict human relationships. When the rituals are performed as they are supposed to be according to instructions, no one will say a word. When the rituals are ignored, the individual risks exclusion, isolation, or ridicule. To ignore the rituals results in social stigma. Kincaid describes the social stigma mainly in terms of female sexuality and female sexual behavior.
Sexuality plays a major role in the gender identity formation of the narrator of "Girl." The word "slut" peppers the story, and the authoritarian voice tells the narrator how to act and how not to act in front of men. Proper behavior ensures that members of the opposite sex will view her as a decent lady, whereas improper behavior will cause her to be labeled a slut. Moreover, the…
