Marxism and "The Girl"

Hegemony as defined by Gramsci is how a certain class comes to power, through either coercive control or consensual control. Coercive control being done by force and consensual control by accepting a group is in control.

I believe Kincaid’s Girl is the most useful of the “Marxist readings”. By interpreting the reading through a Marxist lens we are able to better understand the class struggle between poor and rich, but also the social constraints they pose. This being the thought of the story’s Mother, thinking her daughter is determined “to be a slut”.

The most interesting thing about the text is the relationship between the Girl and her Mother. This being how the mother teaches her child the ways of sex and how a woman may go about having an abortion. We are able to associate that sex is a form of labor, just as doing the laundry would be. But this leads to the Marxist idea of the working class holding jobs that can effect their social position.