Jamaica Kincaid On Seeing England For The First Time

In The Colonizer and the Colonized, Albert Memmi presents his arguments on the benefits and problems of assimilation of the colonized. According to Memmi, bilingualism of the colonized is a benefit and a problem for the colonized. In addition, he illustrates how self-rejection, self-hate, and shame are problems of assimilation by the colonized. After providing evidence of Memmi’s arguments, I will analyze whether the arguments he provides on the answer of assimilation in his book still hold up in modern society. Although Memmi provides pros and cons to assimilation being the answer to colonization, there really is no benefit if it means that suffering is the root cause of one choosing to assimilate to the oppressors.

The author John Smith, a pilgrim who arrived to the Americas, wrote a description of the new land in his book “ A Description of New England ”. In this book Smith shows a wonderful world of vast food and pleasure. Also, William Bradford another pilgrim who arrived to Plymouth on the coast of Massachusetts, wrote a book called “ Of Plymouth Plantation ” in which he describes what really happened, how the pilgrims actually lived. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast both authors and their books. John Smith wrote about the wonderful place the New World was, on the other hand, William Bradford wrote about the realities and difficulties of the New World.

In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, we have a mother conveying important life advice to her daughter in order for her to adapt to cultural customs and most important to learn the rules of social behavior. Her mother's advice is not only intentionally told in order for her to become the proper antiguan woman she believes in raising, but is also told to criticize her actions and everyday doings. Her mother makes it very clear, in order to live a proper antiguan life, there are many rules that one must follow. With deeper interpretation of Kincaid’s work we come to the realization that her overall message suggests the idea that women as a whole should be domestic and should behave a certain way in our society in order to avoid being viewed as a promiscuous woman.

In The Colonizer and the Colonized, Albert Memmi’s essential argument is that the collapse of colonialism is inevitable. According to Memmi, there are only two answers for the colonized to disrupt the system of oppression. The two possible “solutions” are assimilation and revolt. In response to the marginalization of the colonized, both answers carry a high price. In Memmi’s eyes, neither will work in the end. The first of two answers on the road to collapsing colonization is assimilation. Imitation and compromise are not the answer to decolonizing, for neither the colonized nor the colonizer.

Jamaica Kincaid successfully convinces her audience that post colonial impact still remains. Through the use of rhetorical appeals such as pathos, logos and imagery she successfully explains her claim. Through this novel she gives an insightful explanation of what antigua is like from a person who comes from that area. Kincaid being born in antigua, she gives us a view from her eyes on what antigua is really like while going through post colonial impact. Kincaid incorporates historical background in text to convince her audience that this impact is holding back antigua from the good and enjoyable place it can really be. She develops a connection with the audience when she makes them feel like the tourist that is figuring out what's going on in the background of antigua. This connection serves as pathos as it makes the audience feel the emotion of anger and disappointment for not knowing what mess is really going on in this small island. This demonstration shows how cultures everywhere are affected by postcolonialism and how there is a negative global commonality between tourist and natives.

The reader gets a rare and exotic understanding of a totally foreign and ancient culture experiencing the growing pains of colonial expansion during the British domination

Throughout history, we see various forms of colonialism that have happened in the world. Multiple groups of people were affected by this act of colonizing. An example of the groups that were affected would include the Cherokees and the Mayans. Both of these groups of people experienced colonialism in similar ways, either by adaptation or resistance nevertheless they still had their differences.

The essay discusses from the story “From the generall histroy of Virginia”, by John Smith, a histrorical narrative is about the landing and the discovery of Virginia in 1607 at a place called Jamestown, this was the first permanent english settlement in the new world, the americas. Also “From of Plymouth plantation”, by William Bradford, a historical account, is about when 13 years later about 100 settlers went on the big fancy ship called the Mayflower and landed in Massachusetts at a place they named Plymouth. With these two colonies, english settlements in north america were born. They both had some similarities and also the colonies had differences to.

Repetitively, the authors announce the King’s crimes against the common man. The colonists cite him and his temperament as one of the grounds for which the want to separate. According to the authors, the King’s governance neglects an entire segment of his subjects -- the colonists. The authors showcase the King’s inability to cooperate with

It is possible to perceive that England was torn apart by religious revolution as a consequence of the public risings in the response to the changes. After their introduction, the country suffered

Britain’s colonialism caused many problems for natives and natural born British who lived in the colonies. The illusion of patriotism shattered as conflicts of race, class, and gender equality took light.

Many times throughout history it has been shown that people are shaped and molded into what society calls, “perfect people.” Jamaica Kincaid is the author of the short story titled, “Girl.” In her story there are two characters, an authoritative mother and her young daughter. Throughout the story, the mother expects so much of her daughter in various ways. She teaches her how to cook, what to wear, how to behave, and many other attributes she views to be significant for her daughter’s role in society. Kincaid elaborates the theme of how to be the “ideal,” or “flawless” woman in a society, along with being respected through the literary elements of diction, imagery, and mood.

It was turbulent times for England during the 17th and 18th century. England was in an unquenchable thirst for more power. “During the 17th and 18th century, England was determined to subdue all lesser countries, especially Ireland” (Stevenson, 28). At the time, England was the dominating country, looking to expand their influence across the world. War broke out constantly as the conquest for more land continued. Moreover, war was constant with the three kingdoms, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Revolts in each kingdom also affected the country’s ability to participate in the war. As

"It's shit being Scottish! We're the scum of the fucking earth! Some people hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We're the ones what were colonised by wankers. We couldn't even pick a decent bunch of people to be colonised by."

In “A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid, Kincaid explicitly describes the effects and consequences that imperialism had on Antigua, while implicitly condemning imperialism for the effects and consequences indigenous people endured through allegory. Examining the results of imperialism in a cultural aspect provides a deeper connection for the audience to fathom the struggle people of Antigua experienced. Kincaid illustrates herself as the main protagonist who directly speaks to the audience as if they are the ignorant tourist. Through the utilization of the second person perspective, she immerses the reader emotionally, which through the experience proves to be more captivating.