Essay about Contrast of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and John...

Contrast of Jamaica Kincaid’s â€Å"Girl† and John Updike’s â€Å"AP† â€Å"AP† and â€Å"Girl† both symbolized the protagonists’ oppression by an older, more experienced generation. However, Kincaid’s â€Å"Girl† was artistic with an undercurrent of selfless love and hope while Updike’s â€Å"AP† was uninspiring with selfishness and lust. The protagonist of â€Å"Girl† discouraged her daughter’s dreams out of love. The protagonist of â€Å"A P† encouraged the antagonists’ out of a selfish desire for self-promotion. The short story â€Å"Girl† by Jamaica Kincaid was a bittersweet warning from a mother to her daughter. The reader is experiencing the viewpoint of the protagonist through the soliloquy of her mother’s instructions that batter her like bugs smacking the†¦show more content†¦He describes the girls’ bodies in terms of the physical features most notable by first glances, including a reference of one girl being overweight with a large, but attractive rear end (Updike 561). I was thoroughly disgusted when he compared a woman’s empty mind with a buzzing bee in a glass jar (Updike 561). The girl referred to as â€Å"the queen† is the object most attracted by his affection and his roving eyes. â€Å"There was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except her†¦it was more than pretty† (Updike 561). At the end of the story, the narrator refers to the â€Å"Big Tall Goony-Goony† as â€Å"not bad for raw mater ial† (Updike 564) and while taking the money, compares Queenie’s breasts to raw scoops of vanilla ice cream (Updike 563). When he loudly announces his intentions to quit his job, the narrator is upset that the girls don’t seem to notice or appreciate him and he seems disappointed to find â€Å"his girls† gone from the parking lot and his life without noticing his martyrdom (Updike 564). I was offended as I imagined this was a stand easily taken by many man for pretty girls. I wanted to run home and smack my boyfriend on the head with a rolled up copy of Vogue. Looking at the contrasting opinions of the two stories of societal oppression, it’s obvious that my sympathies are biased towards women and that I’m revealed for