Girl

Girl depicts gender roles of males and females in todays society and in the past. It is shown throughout the whole short story, the mother is talking to her daughter and trying to tell her how to act. She does this because she did not want to be embarrassed and wants her daughter to marry a good, wealthy man. The mother refers to gender stereotypes about women cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry, while the male or husband of the family goes out and makes the money.

"this is how you sweep a whole house" (line 18)

"soak salt fish overnight before you cook it" (line 6)

Her other also describes that if she wants to act a certain way, that no one should know or see because nobody wants a woman that does not act how they are "supposed" to act. In the end she says, "you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?" This quote describes how the mother feels like if she doesn't act in the ways she is saying that a man won't love her and support her while she stays home and is a housewife.

We see these types of stereotypes in society. My own parents take on roles close to these stereotypes. My dad has the higher paying job that supports my family. My mom cooks, cleans, and does the laundry. But she also has a job of her own that just doesn't pay as much. My dad was the one who went to college to get a good paying job and my mom didn't go to college. My father also does the yard work or working on the cars in my household as well. These types of characteristics show that they play a part in the stereotypes we see in the story "Girl."