A Comparative Girl Jamaica Kincaid Analysis of Two Short Stories

The poor stories The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gil universe and Girl by Jamaica Kincaid sh ar the third estate theme of wo reachs who are portrayed as frail beings. In both(prenominal) literary selections, women are depicted as dependent on men and other(a) family members, and who must deal with so many restrictions.Their limitations are by design foisted on them by their immediate kin or spouse. On the other hand, the women portrayed in the short stories also hurdle challenges they themselves have created or brought upon themselves.In The Yellow Wallpaper, for example, the author presents the protagonist as weak or on the brink of a nervous breakdown. In the beginning of the study, when the protagonist is brought to a country home, she appears in control of her mental faculties.She even opines, Personally, I guess that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good (Gilman, 2008, p. 2). Her husband, however, confines her to the upper tier of the house and prohibits, albeit in his loving and gentle manner, anything that may tax her mentally. The cleaning charrs craving for social interaction and stimulus becomes more sound out as the days pass, yet she allows her husband to direct all her actions.The womans dismal future is reflected in the way she sees the wallpaper in the house where she is confined to recuperate It is a dull yet shameful orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tincture in other (Gilman, 2008, p. 5).The woman then begins to imagine things and becomes neurotic. This emphasizes how, when placed downstairs repressive circumstances, the fairer gender may fall apart. In an ironic bow at the end of the story, though, the husbands fainting spell and the womans movement of creeping over him denotes that women can have the upper hand over her male counterpart if she wills it.The other literary selection, Girl, Jamaica Kincaid, likewise illustrates how women are expected to follow so many rules and conform to what tra dition and auberge dictate. Just like in The Yellow Wallpaper where the main fiber indicates a feeling of tiredness at being manipulated and repressed, the protagonist in Girl who is a young misfire receiving countless reminders answers back her puzzle for berating her every move, but ends up being castigated more.In The Yellow Wallpaper, the husband-wife congress is amiable. In fact, the husband has the best intention for his wife, but the worst wound results from it unknowingly sends her spiraling out of control by confining her. In contrast, Girl uses the sustain- young lady tandem to illustrate the common practice adopted by most cultures of ingraining good manners, blind obedience, and prescribed roles to female members of the family.In Kincaids Girl, the daughter is admonished by her mother to move and behave in ladylike manner. Her movements from the way she walks and carries herself, to the household chores she is expected to perform, to how to smile to certain peopl e, to reacting to a mans bullying and even loving a man are all dictated to her.Offhand, it is a typical scene of a mother giving numerous pieces of advice to her daughter, but the story presents the parent treating the young girl with a condescending attitude. The mother keeps interjecting that the girl is bound to become the plug she is so bent on becoming (Kincaid, 2005, p. 257) if the proper rules of conduct and frugality are not followed.In a sense, the mother portrayed in the story is depicted as the judgmental type who does not allow her daughter free creative expression. Kincaid dwells on the singular theme of just how powerless women were centuries ago.Women back then had no voice of their own and were confined to doing tralatitious tasks like keeping the home neat and orderly and being squared-toe and proper or acting in a refined manner. In both Girl and The Yellow Wallpaper, the suppressive societal attitude towards women of a bygone era who are seen as meek and su bservient individuals otiose to chart their own destinies is clearly presented.Upon closer analysis of two contrastive selections, readers find authors employing a variety of creative techniques that help them dissect antithetical perspectives and gain much clearer understanding of the theme and other key messages.ReferencesGilman, C. (2008). The yellow wallpaper. Forgotten Books. Retrieved May 3, 2010, from http//www.amazon.com/Yellow-Wallpaper-Forgotten-Books/dp/1606802380.Kincaid, J. (2005). Girl. In X.J. Kennedy & D. Gioia (Eds.), Backpack literature an launch to fiction, poetry & drama (p. 257). Pennsylvania Pearson/Longman.