“Girl” is a great work that shows how women are brought up to meet certain expectations in some societies. What makes this work great is that it is really simple and fathomable to see such events happening. The use of the mother to show the former generation passing on such beliefs to the daughter is a great example of how these notions survive.
Something I found interesting about this story was the line “don’t throw stones at blackbirds, because it might not be a blackbird at all.” It suggests the belief that they might not be birds at all but in fact are evil spirits. I found this interesting because although I have heard some peculiar stories from my parents who are also from the Caribbean, they haven’t heard of such traditions. I’ve heard from them of things such as “mal de ojo” or simply “the evil eye” but nothing really came close to what Kincaid mentioned. It was intriguing to witness that difference. Overall, I think this was interesting to read because of it’s portrayal of how culture can bind people to certain beliefs.
