How Did Jamaica Kincaid Obtain Independence From Colonialism

From a young age, our interactions with our parents play an instrumental role in how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid exhibits the relationship between an Antiguan mother and her daughter in a patriarchal society where the list of rules and regulations for women is exhaustive and almost never-ending. By analyzing the unique and often tense dynamic between the mother and daughter, “Girl” showcases the direct influence mothers have on their children, and how traditional and patriarchal customs can influence that relationship. The main themes are represented by the subjects the mother spends the most time on as well as the overall tone of the piece and how it relates to the mother-daughter

In Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl,” the narration of a mother lecturing her daughter with sharp, commanding diction and unusual syntax, both affect the evolution of a scornful tone, that her daughter’s behavior will eventually lead her to a life of promiscuity that will affect the way people perceive her and respect her within her social circle. As well as the fact that it emphasizes expectations for young women to conform to a certain feminine ideal of domesticity as a social norm during this time and the danger of female sexuality.

It’s hard to imagine someone’s personal experience without actually being the one enduring it; however, Jamaica Kincaid’s use of language contests other wise.Through intense imagery and emotional response, Jamaica Kincaid utilizes rhetorical appeals such as logos, pathos, and ethos, which successfully convinces her audience by creating a conversation between herself and the reader. Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place is an expression of her inner feelings on the transformation her hometown, Antigua, and the everlasting postcolonial impact that occurs. Kincaid reacts to the feelings she had as a young girl and compares that mindset to the opinions she holds today as an adult. Kincaid’s piece evaluates the foreignness, race, and power that consumes Antigua. While she descriptively explains the circumstances she faced in Antigua, Kincaid incorporates historical background which provides logical support to her purpose. Notably, the author’s first hand experiences gives her credibility, ethos, and allows the audience to clearly understand the context from her perspective. Not only does Kincaid effectively describe her experiences, but she also makes her audience feel as though they are looking through her eyes. Her purpose demonstrates the difficulty and impossibility of returning to origin after crucial influences. A Small Place proves that the effects of racism and racial inequality are long term and culture cannot simply return exactly how it once was in that specific culture,

She feels that the Britishers showed their power everywhere and did not do anything that benefitted the Antiguans. For example, a library which was very near and dear to the author was not well-maintained by colonialists. She mentions in her book that there is a sign that says, “REPAIRS ARE PENDING” (Kincaid 9), and how there has been nothing done to repair the building. As the government was very corrupt, they were caring for themselves. Kincaid also mentions that due to racial segregation, she was very stressed and mentally weak. She describes how the natives should be treated equally without any racial discrimination and desires to be a tourist. She mentions, “Every native would like to find a way out… every native would like a tour”(Kincaid 18). This quote explains on how the natives will never get the feeling of being free, how they will never sense the feeling of luxury, and how they will always be in poverty. Jamaica Kincaid reveals that she lacks an actual culture to live up to. She always says that the English ruined it for her. As Hirsh and Schweitzer wrote, “Kincaid lacks a real homeland”. Kincaid also writes about the reason she changed her name, was wanting to express her cultural identity. In an interview with Hirsh and Schweitzer, she said that she renamed herself “Jamaica Kincaid”, because it suggested her West Indian

Cultural values and expectations are at the root of the tensions between mothers and daughters in Kincaid’s work , among which are the preference for the male child, the stress on housework as opposed to education, and the sexual repression put on

Kincaid, Jamaica.“Girl”. In The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 541-542. Print.

Elaine Potter Richardson, more famously known as Jamaica Kincaid, is recognized for her writings that suggest depictions of relationships between families, mainly between a mother and daughter, and her birth place, Antigua, an island located in the West Indies. She is also familiarized with Afrocentrism and feminist point of views. Kincaid’s work is filled heavily with visual imagery that produces a mental picture in readers that helps them connect stronger to the reading. An example of this really shines through in her short story piece, “Girl.” This short story describes the life of a lower class woman living in the West Indies, and also incorporates thick detailing between the relationship between her and her mother. Jamaica Kincaid structures the story as if her mother is speaking to her. She writes broad, but straight to the point, allowing readers to imagine to picture her experience. Kincaid uses visual imagery and repetition consistently throughout “Girl” to reveal the theme and tone of the story; conflictual affair between a mother and daughter.

The effect of imperialism on small colonies is sometimes intrusive and constrained. Jamaica Kincaid devotes her essay, Seeing England for the First Time, to her profound mysticism she has towards England as she grows up on the island of Antigua before it becomes an independent country. With descriptive language, Kincaid reveals her frustration for England within the classroom and at her home through use of imagery and satire.

Jamaica Kincaid’s success as a writer was not easily attained as she endured struggles of having to often sleep on the floor of her apartment because she could not afford to buy a bed. She described herself as being a struggling writer, who did not know how to write, but sheer determination and a fortunate encounter with the editor of The New Yorker, William Shawn who set the epitome for her writing success. Ms. Kincaid was a West-Indian American writer who was the first writer and the first individual from her island of Antigua to achieve this goal. Her genre of work includes novelists, essayist, and a gardener. Her writing style has been described as having dreamlike repetition, emotional truth

The mother-daughter relationship is a common topic throughout many of Jamaica Kincaid's novels. It is particularly prominent in Annie John, Lucy, and Autobiography of my Mother. This essay however will explore the mother-daughter relationship in Lucy. Lucy tells the story of a young woman who escapes a West Indian island to North America to work as an au pair for Mariah and Lewis, a young couple, and their four girls. As in her other books—especially Annie John—Kincaid uses the mother-daughter relationship as a means to expose some of her underlying themes.

Annie John, written by Jamaica Kincaid, is a novel about the childhood of a young woman living in Antigua of the West Indies. It focuses on the evolution of Annie John’s relationship with her mother. Slowly, Annie grows out of favor with her mother and loses one of the only sources of affection in her life. We see the beginning of the ruin of their relationship in the second chapter of the novel. In this chapter we see the ways in which Annie and her mother express their love to each other. Annie and her mother enjoy a very intimate relationship with each other in her youth.“As we sat in this bath, my mother would bathe different parts of my body; then she would do the same to herself” (2.14). The connection between Annie and her mother was one that was both physical and emotional in being. In her young age, she was able to share moments with her mother that were not in a sexual manner. The significance in Annie’s life of the absolute love and intimacy with her mother is made very clear in this chapter. It illuminates the innate desire to be both loved and embraced, and how significant the end of that relationship is in Annie’s life. It explains the personal devastation of losing this love from a parent and how it affects one’s life.

Yet an explicit affirmation of this hatred is not necessary; the reader is quick to appreciate the irony and utter absurdity of her situation and that of Antigua. Kincaid makes us want to condemn the imperialistic attitudes which fostered this indoctrination of English values and also the supposition that this culture was somehow inherently superior to any other. By putting her readers in her own position, and by appealing to their sense of the absurd, Kincaid is very effectively able to elicit sympathy.

The eight chapters or stories that compose the text follow young Annie from the age of ten till she leaves Antigua at the age of sixteen, and recounts her maturation as a bittersweet process of alienation and loss. [...] Kincaid invites us to read in Annie’s physical maturation – her breasts develop, she begins to menstruate – and emotional growth – depicted primarily through her struggles to separate from her mother – a mirror to her island’s movement from colonialism to independence (29-31).

Jamaica Kincaid, The Autobiography of My Mother (1996) is written based on fundamental premises that reflect upon basics of human rights as a promotion of human 's right culture and relations. Most notably, the self-fashioning recounting has provided one of the most important channels for revealing the human who is subject to human rights. Kincaid in her book appreciates the authority of power; while on the other hand, she tries to cut links with authentic traditions (Bernard, pp. 116). She applies textuality in her book while recounting her personal experiences while paying little attention if any of general categories. Kincaid explores the sexuality of Xuela the main narrator in the book, who has a father who is half African and half

Jamaica has gained its independence on august 6th 1962.this was during the time when the world 's oil prices were steadily and causing trouble for many nations.after struggling for many years through this as a new independent country,by 1973 jamaica had hit the end of it economy stability.This would spark the unfriendly relationship between the international monetary fund,more commonly known as the IMF and jamaica