Imagery In Jamaica Kincaid's 'Annie John'

14-15). The narrator’s reverence is emphasized through the use of words such as “so” and “even” highlighting that it is unusual and extraordinary of a child of five to be “so” physically confident. The narrator is not the only one who looks up to Gail, “Other little girls might admire the ringlets and the dresses with smocking on the yokes, and the white socks that stayed up…” (ll 22-24). In the second paragraph we read that the narrator eventually becomes friends with Gail, “In fact, she did become my very best friend, years later,” (ll 9-10).

Although the daughter’s shame in her mother is evident, she is also prideful of her as well. The strong love that the mother and daughter share is pervasive throughout the story. The story is being told by the daughter after she is all grown up. The fact that Jones uses such vivid detail on the mother’s preparation for her daughters first day of school shows that the daughter loved her mom and all that she did for her. The daughter recalls that her mother spent a lot of time preparing her when she says, “My mother has uncharacteristically spent nearly an hour on my hair that morning, plaiting and replaiting so that now my scalp tingles.” (Jones) She also remembers that her “pale green slip and underwear are new, the underwear having come three to a plastic package with a little girl on the front who appears to be dancing.” (Jones) The daughter having remembered details like these illustrate that she has an immense love and takes pride

"I have only one major theme for my work, which is the destructive impact of society on the sensitive non-conformist individual (Williams Netscape)." Symbols help to show the dreams and desires that the characters long for and also the restrictions that

“Girl” is a short story in which the author, Jamaica Kincaid, unofficially presents the stereotypes of girls in the mid 1900s. Kincaid includes two major characters in the story “Girl”, they are the mother and the girl. Although the daughter only asks two questions in this story, she is the major character. The mother feels like her daughter is going in the wrong direction and not making the best decisions in her life. The whole story is basically the mother telling her daughter what affects her decisions will have in the future. The mother believes that because her daughter isn’t sitting, talking, cleaning, walking or singing correctly it will lead her to a path of destruction. “Girl” is a reflection of female sexuality, the power of family, and how family can help overcome future dangers.

Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John talks of a young, developing girl and her relationships with those around her. The novel elaborates on Annie’s efforts to compensate for the attachment she once held for her mother. Her society implements strict expectations for women, consequently influencing her mother’s personality and actions. As she values attention highly, yet doesn’t receive an adequate amount from her mother, Annie struggles to maintain the same relationship with her. She looks for ways to “replace” her role, taking on an ambitious pursuit due to this. Annie establishes a connection with Gwen in order to gain affection and attention, resources which her mother provides less frequently as she tries to develop Annie’s own independence and womanly traits.

So I am going to introduce about some interesting symbols that I found in the book to write about. First of all, George and Lennie's dream farm. This imaginary farm is basically what pushes the whole story line since the whole story is about George and Lennie working while achieving their dream which is

Before interment, the girl was a curious, active character but throughout the story, and her prolonged isolation, her self-identity and personality undergo many changes. For example, in the beginning when her mother reminds her they have to leave their home, taking only what they can carry in their arms, the girl declares, “ ‘I already know that’... She wore a white cotton frock with tiny blue anchors and her hair was pulled back in two tight braids. She tossed her books on the sofa and told the woman [her mother] that her teacher, Mr. Rutherford, had talked for an entire hour about prime numbers and coniferous trees” (12). This quote demonstrates how

Another symbol in the book is the chair that Jefferson had to be sat in near the end of the book. This had given off certain vibes to many others in the book, such as those who fear what the society has become, to those who seem to think the man who

Another example of imagery in the story is when the author used it to describe Emily when she ask for poison to the druggist.“still a slight woman, though thinner than usual, with cold, haughty black eyes in a face the flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eyes ockets as you imagine a lighthouse-keepers face ought to look”. The author makes emphasis in Emily’s face and eyes meaning that she is lost in her own world and foreshadows that Emily would use the poison for something wrong.

There are more significant symbols in the novel such as The Boy. The Man and Boy fight to survive many hardships, but through the darkness there is light, The Boy. He is very mature and cares for every stray person they pass. One person he cares for is a man named Ely, an old man with nothing but the clothes on his back, until he meets The Boy and his father." 'You should thank him you know, I wouldn’t have given you anything' "(McCarthy 173). The Boy wants everyone to survive and is willing to share his supplies even if it means he won`t have all the things he needs to live.

Sometimes her mom would make her help with cutting onions or peeling peaches and as soon as she was done she would run out the door when her mom’s back was turned. She viewed the chores inside the house was endless and depressing and would much rather work outside. She hears her mother stating that she can’t wait till the son, Laird gets bigger so he can do the chores outside and the girl can do the chorus inside with her. The mother states, “I just get my back turned and she runs off. It’s not like I had a girl in the family at all.” At this point the girl feels like she can’t trust her mother, she knows her mother loved her yet she feels like her mom is always plotting against her to keep her from working with her father. She didn’t expect her father to really listen to what her mother was saying, Laird, in her mind wouldn’t be able to do the job as well as she does. Looking at her father’s bloody apron she reminds that reader that the foxes were feed horse meat, other farmers whose horses will get old or injured would call her father and him and henry would go kill it and butchered it. However, if they already had a lot of meat they would keep them for a while. The winter she turned eleven they had two horses, Flora and Mack. It was this winter where she heard her mother go on more about her helping in the house. She states that she no longer feels safe because the people around her who thought the same way. She stated, “The word girl had formerly seemed to

In literature, authors use a certain image or collection of images in order to produce a particular effect, eliciting a response from the reader’s senses. Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” utilizes the imagery of the train station in order to produce the effect of transition between the characters, both in terms of physical location and emotional mindset. Much like Hemingway, James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” takes a similar approach, using Sonny’s passion for music to expose his deepest insecurities. Though their approaches are different, both authors use imagery to create a pathway to the character’s internal thoughts.

In “A Red Dress 1946”, a short story by Alice Munro, uses the significance of color imagery throughout the story. The color red represents nonconformity, standing out or being unique This is because of the narrator’s unwillingness to be a unique girl. However, the color blue represents conformity, being able to blend in with society, and the ability to be like everyone else due to the narrator’s lack of courage to be unique and to be herself. Both of these colors point out different aspects of the narrator's inner self and show how much she desires to hide her unique red self and appear blue. Color imagery is used throughout the short story, “A Red Dress 1946” in order for the author to demonstrate the inner thoughts of the narrator.

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.

In lines 5-7 she begins to show an insight in her personal life of why she will paint her nails red. She wants to paint them “Because I can admire them in traffic jams”, we wonder where she is going that makes her paint her nails red- party, school function, or work? Then in line 6 she gives another reason why she will paint her nails red “Because my daughter will say ugh”. Her daughter may be a teenager, who understands about make-up and dressing up. She is saying “Ugh” because it is her mom, and he sees her mom as an old person who should not paint nails a bizarre, bright color like red. The woman obviously has a significant other, but we do not know who, the gender, or the age. She wants to paint her nails red “Because my lover will be surprised”- she wants to paint her nails red because her relationship maybe dull, she wants to spice it up.