Response to Girl by Jamaica Kincaid by Kristine Long
Sit still. Stand straight. Keep your head up. Keep your knees together. Keep your hands away from your face. What goes on this house stays in this house. Shirley Temple was never shy. It hurts to be beautiful. Finish your plate, there are people starving in India. Money doesn’t grow on trees. This is the way you set the table; this is the way you iron a shirt; this is the way you wash the dishes; just leave them sit to dry. This is the way you clean the toilet; be sure to clean the rim at the outside bottom of the bowl where your brothers drip. Keep your elbows off the table. Chew your food. Don’t open your mouth when you chew. Bring your food to your mouth not your mouth to your food. Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise. Always buy good shoes; it’s important to be comfortable on your feet. Be modest. Be honest. You look like a ragamuffin. Yes, you have to keep your dress on all day. Don’t go out without clean underpants; What would people think of your mother if you went out there dressed like that?; Young girls don’t wear black. Here is the secret to mashed potatoes. Here is the secret to scrambled eggs. Can’t means you don’t want to. If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all. Never marry a drunk. Never marry a man who raises his hand to a woman. It’s just as easy to love a rich man. “She always speaks well of you, Kris.” Don’t interrupt when adults are talking. Who died and left you boss? What do you care if everyone else is doing it? Would you jump off the Brooklyn Bridge if everyone else did it? Because I said so that’s why. Because I’m your mother that’s why. Do you talk to the sisters in school this way? You kids ought to be lawyers; you always have an argument. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Someday you’ll have kids of your own and then you’ll know. Brush your teeth and say your prayers. It hurts to be beautiful. You know what this is, don’t you? This is the way you wrap it up. Be sure to change it every two hours. No more football in the street; you’re a growing girl. You can’t be Miss America with skinned knees. (But I don’t want to be Miss America)