Comparison of Themes Between Kincaid’s “Girl” and “Yellow Woman” by Silko Essay

Introduction

Authors explore pertinent issues within a particular setting and bring relevant matters in those societies to the audience through literary devices like characters, symbols, and themes. Every work in literature provides a history and the cultural behavior of a particular culture in handling issues like gender, marriage, and roles. The two stories, ‘Girl’ and ‘Yellow Woman,’ have standard literary devices, and at each level, the author intends to pass a particular message to the readers.

Discussion

The first story, ‘Girl,’ written by Jamaica Kincaid, is about a mother advising her daughter on how a woman should carry herself in society and behave to be perfect in the community. The second story, ‘Yellow Woman’ by Leslie Silko, is about a woman, referred to as a Yellow Woman, who finds herself in a strange sexual encounter with a strange man by the name of Silva. Although the Yellow Woman has a family she left behind, the excitement of being with a man at that moment makes her forget about them and end up in his house. Both stories have similar themes, and this paper compares the similarities between the pieces of bravery, change, and gender roles at both levels.

To begin with, the theme of change is evident in Kincaid’s story, where at some point, the girl will transition from being a girl to a woman. The mother advises her daughter on how to behave as a woman because soon she will be married, and she is expected to act like a perfect woman. “…be sure to wash every day, even if it is with your spirit” (Kincaid 260). The girl dealt with the challenge by listening keenly to her mother as she gave her advice.

On the contrary, in Silko’s story, time changes, and old cultures become absolute. The author indicated that it had come a time for society to further from existing norms and that the Yellow Woman was unlike the Yellow Woman from the Pueblo legend (Silko 58). Like the girl, the Yellow Woman dealt with her challenge by running away when she got a chance to and not condoning the legend stories of abduction where women were stuck with men. The theme of change is essential to every reader as it teaches one that there is a transition in every society, and with time, things do change.

In addition, the theme of bravery is portrayed in both stories. In Kincaid’s narrative, the girl shows courage when she tries to tell her mother about her not singing benna on Sundays and never in Sunday school, ‘…but I do not sing benna on Sundays and Sunday school” (Kincaid 259).

Despite the mother spitting out words and reminding the daughter how to be a perfect woman, the girl occasionally interrupted the mother defended herself, and reassured her mother that she was acting as expected. On the other hand, the Yellow Woman portrays her bravery by running away when she gets the chance to escape when Silva and the white man are confronting each other about the stolen livestock, “… I didn’t stop until I reached the ridge where the trail forked” (Silko 61). The characters’ bravery portrayed is a crucial aspect that the author has utilized to influence the authors.

Lastly, the two stories portray the theme of gender roles in every society. Every gender in every community is believed to have specific responsibilities and duties, and every norm is to adhere to irrespective of where someone is. In both stories, women’s roles revolve around house chores and nursing children in most societies. From Kincaid’s story, it is evident that the functions of a woman include cooking, cleaning, and doing all other house chores, “…wash the clothes and put on the stone heap” (Kincaid 259). The mother advises her daughter on how particular tasks are done and how a perfect woman should behave. The girl listens keenly to her mother’s advice because she understands that as a woman in society, she must act like an ideal woman.

Silko’s story, after the Yellow Woman got to Silva’s house, Silva showed her the stove, and she started frying potatoes. Even after getting to Silva’s place, the Yellow Woman fries the potatoes even if it was not in her house, which portrays that no matter where a woman is, she must accomplish her duties and responsibilities, “…there are some potatoes and the frying pan” (Silko 57). From this theme, the author has perfectly illustrated how duties and responsibilities in society are done. Every reader who reads a book understands the duties and responsibilities of men and women in every community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, every author intends to pass a message to their audience in every story. Authors give stories using different literary devices that a reader must understand to understand the news being passed by the author. Both narratives show that lessons about responding to challenges and opportunities are different and can benefit the audience in situations that require them to choose. The aspect of bravery, change, and the protagonists’ portrayal of gender roles teaches the audience to act when caught up in similar situations—the two stories illustrated how the characters could utilize the opportunities given the chances they had.

Works Cited

Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” The New Yorker, 1978. Web.

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Yellow woman. Rutgers University Press, 1993, pp. 53-64.