Mothers generally have their children's best interests at heart, guiding them through life in an attempt to prevent their offspring from repeating their own mistakes. In the short story "Girl", Kincaid depicts her teenage years after her mother gives birth to Kincaid's three younger brothers in succession. The psychological perspective of this story raises many questions from critics as to whether the mother's mindset and outlook changed after the birth of her three sons. Kincaid's story amplifies the importance of cultural norms, gender roles, sex, and behaviors of Caribbean women. Throughout the story, the speaker introduces herself as the mother and gives her daughter advice in several areas of life, which greatly confuses Kincaid. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay According to Kincaid, in Caribbean culture, there can be more reinforced, stricter, and stricter expectations of gender roles. In the story, Kincaid's Caribbean mother reinforces these ideals by making it clear that she is trying to help Kincaid achieve this standard that the mother herself likely grew up with. The mother mentions her childhood standards by stating, "Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the rock pile," and continues to ask her daughter to wash the colored clothes on Tuesday and let them dry on the clothesline (Kincaid 95). One critic, Carol Bailey, also claims that "Girl" implies that there are certain standards for young Caribbean women. Bailey criticizes how the speaker in Kincaid's story is repetitive when she mentions "the slut you are so determined to become." Carol Bailey explains: "Variations of this phrase recur throughout the text and may be one of the seemingly obvious lines that suggest the speaker's complicity with the system and illustrate her efforts to fashion a woman who carries out the script of chastity appropriately” (109). .The oppression of gender roles can also restrict a woman's ability to manage sex and sexuality. In the text, Kincaid's mother states that her daughter walks like a "slut" suggesting, "On Sunday, try walking like a lady and not like the slut you are so determined to become" (Kincaid 96). Kelly Falla criticized this topic, saying: “The mother thinks her daughter has already prepared herself for a life of promiscuity. The mother even goes so far as to teach her daughter “how to make medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child.” It is a clear concoction to remedy an unwanted pregnancy” (Falla 3). The repeated appearance shame and its connection to promiscuity show that the mother had internalized issues regarding her own gender's ability to be sexual. The fact that Kincaid's mother knew an abortion recipe confirms that she may have used it herself before. Throughout the short story, the girl does not seem to completely understand her mother's instructions on how to behave. The girl reiterates that she doesn't understand by speaking in the text. She asks, “but what happens if the baker doesn’t let me touch the bread?” (96). Kincaid ends the story with the mother's vague response to her daughter's question about touching the bread: "[D]o you say that after all, you're really going to be the kind of woman the baker won't let not go near the bread? » (96). According to Kim Becnel, "the most obvious meaning of the mother's question is the implication that the daughter will indeed become a ".