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Analysis Of Lucy By Jamaica Kincaid

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In Lucy, Jamaica Kincaid explores the disillusionment faced by the eponymous character upon immigrating to the United States. The novel's style of narration allows Lucy’s thoughts and emotions to remain hidden. Despite this intense privacy, Lucy's disillusionment is clear. She had hoped that moving around the globe would solve her problems but she still struggles with homesickness and her relationship with her mother. Her move is disappointing. The erasure poem And Coldest also engages disillusionment. The poem suggests the speaker has become disillusioned by observing the world, and indicates their plan to be “shut tight.” The poem inspired me to consider the causes of Lucy’s disillusionment, and her failure to address her own emotions. As a recent immigrant, the causes of Lucy’s disillusionment are somewhat obvious. More enigmatic is her self-avoidant, “shut tight” attitude. In this paper, I argue that Lucy’s disillusionment causes her to avoid the discomfort that comes with self-reflection.
Lucy’s experience in the United States is dissatisfactory from the moment of her arrival onwards. She describes her first night as “gray-black and cold” and notes that no one told her January would be cold (Kincaid 3-5). This comment marks the intensity of Lucy’s transition. And Coldest, too, opens with an unforgiving winter. The first lines, “cold, and coldest,” reflect not only the season but Lucy’s experience of it - she has never experienced a night so cold. The unfamiliar season

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