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Introduction
The stories describe the theme of the mother-daughter relationship, which is relevant in todays world. Both writers try to convey that the mother is not just an important character in a childs life. The entire human psyche is formed in the early relationship with the mother. The mother is the environment in which the child is formed. Moreover, its development is distorted when that relationship is not shaped to benefit the child. The novels Girl and Why I Live in P.O. have similarities and differences.
Themes of the Novel Girl
Jamaica Kincaid has extensively portrayed the troubled relationship between mother and daughter in her works. In addition to limiting the Girls sexuality, the mothers reasoning also reinforces traditional gender roles: This is how your fathers khaki shirts are ironed, so they dont have creases on them (Kincaid para 1). In this case, the mother implies that it is the womans task to take care of the men in her life, even in the most mundane details. Similarly, the mother dictates how a respectable girl should behave, especially if a suitable bachelor is around. The mothers admonitions are saturated with prejudice, gender inequality, and stereotypes. In the story Girl, it is difficult to trace the expression of love, care, and tenderness from mother to daughter.
Themes of the Novel Why I Live in P.O.
In the piece Why I Live in P.O., Eudora Welty raises the theme of the relationship between sisters and mothers. The narrator is the familys eldest child, considered untalented and stupid: And that it was as if I couldnt learn to read until I was eight years old, and that I dont understand how I even manage to sort out mail, let alone read other peoples letters (Welty para 52). Stella-Rondo is the narrators younger sister, a spoiled brat and a real egomaniac. She came to the family home after separating from her husband and brought a child whom she claims to have adopted. This conflict is central to the plot of the story. The narrators mother, unlike the image of the mother in the first story, although she singles out one child, claims to treat them equally. She tries to understand the two sides of the conflict.
Similarities of the Novels
Both novels are written in the first person and can be considered credible because they are based on the writers experience. The stories describe the experiences of the heroines feelings. Although the girls are in different situations, they have one thing in common: a complicated relationship with their family, especially their mother. The mother admonishes, pressures, and humiliates her daughter in the first story. In the second story, although the mother is not as strict with her daughters and tries to treat them loyally, the narrator feels no love from the mother.
Differences of Novels
The main difference between Girl and Why I Live in P.O. is that in the first story, the mother figure paradoxically represents the colonizer and the colonized in a sense. In the second story, the mother tries to be kind to her children equally, though she does not succeed. In the story Why I Live in P.O., the mother is not pressured by her daughters. Even though the younger sister brought a child into the home that no one knew anything about, there is no judgment in her direction. Stella-Rondo is not blamed for her separation from her husband or judged because she returned to the family home. There is no pressure on the women in this family, and they are not assigned any gender roles.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be said that both writers have in common that they are concerned with the relationship between mother and daughter. They raise this topic in their stories to draw peoples attention to this problem. One way or another, everyone has different experiences and worldviews, so there are both differences and similarities in the stories Girl and Why I Live in P.O.
Works Cited
Kincaid, Jamaica. Girl. San Francisco Examiner, 1991.
Welty, Eudora. Why I Live at the PO. University of Mississippi, Communication and Resource Center, 1987.
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