Language in Jamaica Kincaid's Autobiography of My Mother Essay

One artistic aspect of the book is that Stockett chose to tell the story from three different women’s perspectives. Using this stylistic technique helps keep the reader more engaged in the book. Each woman, whether it be Aibileen, Minny, or Skeeter, uses a

Although Xuela never clearly addresses her contempt for the British "conquerors," her distaste for the British finds expression in many passages throughout the book. Xuela remarks that "A man proud of the pale hue of his skin cherishes it especially because it is not a fulfillment of any aspiration, it was not his through any effort at all on his part; he was just born that way, he was blessed and chosen to be that way and it gives him a special privilege in the hierarchy of everything" (181). She continues by comparing such a man to herself, who "owns nothing" (182).

Currently, there are over 6,000 living languages spoken in the world. Even with these many languages spoken, people are still discriminated in America. Language is a part of many cultures and daily life, for example in Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue", Tan says "I've heard other terms used, 'limited English,' for example. But they seem as bad, as if everything is limited, including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker." Language should not be a border where people today are still treated as "broken".

Likewise, the language the author uses also clarifies the tone and the theme of the novel. In many positions in the novel, languages such as grief, despair, hate, and revenge

People who are different are consequently viewed differently. It is human nature to judge others by the stereotypes that have been ingrained into our minds for however long. Stereotypes, however, may not encompass the whole story. Sometimes, you are only getting the discriminatory side of the story--a single story. Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” focuses on the discrimination towards broken English compared to Standard English and the stereotypes that evolved from such discrimination. Similarly, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” presents the idea that the “single story” is the reason for biased stereotypes that, more often than not, are untrue. Tan’s life in America was seemingly difficult due to the fact that her life and education were dependent on the language barrier between English and her “mother tongue”--the latter being seen as inferior and embarrassing. She initially felt that her mother’s fragmented English was something to be ashamed of since that was the “single story” that her peers have been spoonfed their whole lives. Adichie, however, denies these views by explaining that such stereotypes are incomplete and do not relay the person at hand’s true identity. In both “Mother Tongue” and “The Danger of a Single Story,” the speakers express how a person’s native language influences their identity through rhetorical devices such as ethos, diction, and metaphors.

There are numerous bilingual and multicultural individuals on the planet today. For some, decisions of which language they utilize, and how they utilize it, relate to what social or social group they have a place with. Amy Tan, a Chinese American writer, depicts this well in her short exposition “Mother Tongue”. Tan experienced childhood in two unfathomably unique universes utilizing diverse English’s. The primary world, which comprises of her nearby family, she talks what we may call “broken” or “constrained” English. The second world, which is her business and expert world, tan talks and composes culminate standard and scholastic English.

For example in The Noble Experiment it shows the genre of Autobiography. One of the main reasons why it’s an Autobiography is because of how the story addresses Jackie Robinson. According to the text it states “I sat and watched him, not knowing what to until he began tearing at one hand and with the other - just as if he were scratching his skin off his hand with his fingernails. I was alarmed. I asked him what he was trying to do to himself.” Throughout the text it has key words that signify the P.O.V of the text is first person this manifests that this is an Autobiography because in Autobiographies is shows the inner feelings of the subject and it uses first person words to really materialize that. A second example in the story is how the

Life is hard when you are forced to move to a new country, and follow the rules of a new culture. As a person growing up in Canada I am thankful my parents moved here, but hearing their stories of struggle makes me feel sorry, and lucky that I didn’t have to go through the same. Being a first generation Canadian, I think that Canada does make it hard to adapt, but at the same time, they are very accepting of other cultures. As Canada continues to become a cultural mosaic, and different races, beliefs, and cultures live together as one, some may feel left behind. The stories Why My Mother Can’t Speak English by Garry Engkant, and Growing up Native by Carol Geddes show a mix of hardships and acceptances that people from different cultures go through to adapt to European/Canadian cultures that have been present in the past, and are present now. I feel as a whole, Canada does a good job at preaching multiculturalism and inclusion, and doing things to help immigrants, but there are many cases in which people still feel left behind in the past, and now, because this is a culture in which communicating “our way” makes things easier, unfortunately.

In their articles, Chang Rae-Lee and Amy Tan establish a profound ethos by utilizing examples of the effects their mother-daughter/mother-son relationships have had on their language and writing. Lee’s "Mute in an English-Only World" illustrates his maturity as a writer due to his mother’s influence on growth in respect. Tan, in "Mother Tongue," explains how her mother changed her writing by first changing her conception of language. In any situation, the ethos a writer brings to an argument is crucial to the success in connecting with the audience; naturally a writer wants to present himself/herself as reliable and credible (Lunsford 308). Lee and Tan, both of stereotypical immigrant background, use their

Jamaica Kincaid is able to distinct herself from most essays in “The Ugly Tourist” by using a paradoxically haphazard sentence structure, repetition of certain words, and the use of second person. When first reading this essay sentences seem unbalanced and unstructured; for example, many sentences begin with conjunctions and one sentence almost covers a whole page. Kincaid decides to use such a unique, almost haphazard sentence structure to separate herself and her writing style from other writers. The reason paradoxically haphazard could be used to describe her sentence structure is because at first it appears to be a mess, but one can also see how she adeptly and frequently uses literary devices, such as parallel sentence structure, to

Unraveling the Rose of Motherhood: A Painful Pleasure The Autobiography of My Mother written by Jamaica Kincaid is not an authentic autobiography of Xuela’s mother, but a novel which forms the life of a child growing up without her parent. The first thorn Xuela is pricked by occurred when she lost her mother during childbirth.

She confronts taboos and questions figures of authority through the process of domestic scenes and of abuse, in both word and line drawings. Acting as a witness herself she questions the relationships she has been in including that of her parents. Even in the sections "the loving" and "the breaking," she is not yet secure in herself. She continues to struggle to find her own worth and looks to others to give her power. In "the loving," she is consumed by love, or what she thinks is love.

The topic of dialects is one which linguistic anthropologists have spent much time studying. Distinctions made between an actual language, a sub-standard variety of that language and an actual dialect are often unclear and the topic of much debate. Recently in the United States there have been many discussions about Ebonics, or Black English. It has been argued that Ebonics is simply a sub-standard form and degradation of English, while others feel that it should be recognized as an African influenced English dialect. One of the most recognizable forms of African-influenced English is that spoken by the people of Jamaica. Linguists and sociologists alike have studied

The tears in Aunt Madeline’s eyes fall to the floor. There is a long pause and I wonder if this is how my mother felt when her mother discovered she was pregnant with me. I wonder if she felt that she could not breathe only to realize she had forgotten to while waiting for something to fill the deafening silence. I wonder if she felt that the entire world had frozen and wondered if life would ever go on. I wait for whatever she is going to say next and part of me thinks that I may not want to hear it.

There are many bilingual and multicultural people in the world today. For many, the choices of which language they use, and how they use it, correspond to what social or cultural community they belong to. Amy Tan, a Chinese American novelist, portrays this well in her short essay "Mother Tongue." Tan grew up in two vastly different worlds, using different "Englishes." The first world, which consists of her close family, she speaks what we may call "broken" or "limited" English. The second world, which is her business and professional world, Tan speaks and writes perfect standard and academic English. Having to "shuttle" between these two communities with very different languages has had many different positive and negative effects on