Girl

"Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry;..."

Girl, a short story by Jamaica Kincaid, was originally published in the June 26, 1978 issue of The New Yorker and subsequently included in the short story collection At the Bottom of the River in 1983.

The story deals with the teachings and duties that a dominant mother tries to instill in her daughter, focusing on the significance of familial relationships in shaping one's individual behavior.

Jamaica Kincaid (1949-) is an Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer. She was born in St. John's, Antigua (part of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda). Among her most celebrated works are A Small Place (1988), Lucy (1990), and Annie John (1985).