Lucy, A Short Novel By Jamaica Kincaid

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines gutsy as “marked by courage, pluck, or determination; having a strong or appealing flavor ("Dictionary and Thesaurus | Merriam-Webster"). It may be common to associate this adjective with a skydiver or daredevil, but what about an eighteenth century columnist named Fanny Fern? Fanny Fern, or as her birth certificate would state, Sarah Willis Parton, lived in the mid to late 1800s and wrote famously about controversial issues that are still prevalent in the twenty first century. Fern wrote with whimsy and liveliness, making issues like gender inequality in marriage and women’s reform seem funny and lighthearted, although looking closer, we can see that (through the use of several tropes) she was anything but. With cuts such as a woman’s cult of domesticity disguised as a relatable entry about silly husbands, we can look back at Fern’s work today and admire her courage to write without compromising her beliefs, as well as her ‘guts’ and determination. Fanny Fern famously used a witty mix of sarcasm, pun, and metaphor in her eighteenth century writing to critique and challenge her highly oppressive patriarchal society.

When a young author from New York City decides to take a trip to the southern city of Savannah, he finds himself falling in love with the town and ends up renting an apartment. He encounters many different characters, including Danny Hansford and Jim Williams, that gives the reader a good look into the aura of Savannah. The main conflict in the book occurs when a murder happens in an old mansion located in the town. The book follows the progression of the trial and the outcome following the court’s decision.

Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl allows Harriet Jacobs, speaking through the narrator, Linda Brent, to reveal her reasons for making public her personal story of enslavement, degradation, and sexual exploitation. Although originally ignored by critics, who often dismissed Jacobs ' story as a fictional account of slavery, today it is reported as the first novel narrative by an ex-slave that reveals the unique brutalities inflicted on enslaved women. Gabby Reyes

Strangers in the Land of Paradise by Lillian S. Williams explores the settlement of African Americans in Buffalo in the time of the Great Migration. In this book, Williams discusses the process in which migrants from the South made their own black communities in Buffalo while bringing their beliefs and traditions with them, and having those beliefs evolve over time in a new setting. Her work sheds light on the experiences of blacks in Buffalo during a time where many changes were occurring; the Civil War had just ended and the Industrial Revolution was underway. She also speaks on how Buffalo was unique in that it became the final point for those escaping the racism and violence in the South, since it was the last point before crossing into Canada. In her own words, “the book examines the growth and development of Buffalo, the movement of European immigrants and African American migrants into the city, and their ability to secure an economic foothold. It tests the extent to which family and friendship networks for blacks were a significant force in their migration and acculturation. It also describes the establishment of institutions that African Americans created to shape their modern, urban community" (p. xiv).

In ‘Lucy’ the character Lucy, an immigrant girl, leaves her home in the West Indies to come to America in order to reinvent herself and to discover her own identity. Her struggles for personal freedom and independence would require her complete disconnection from her family especially her mother. To do so, Lucy not only had to let go of her former identity, but she also has to void herself of the self-destruction and loneliness. Lucy’s liberation from the past is the key element to her finding her new self. That too will require her to mentally recolonized her past and present in a way she feels comfortable. The novel places Lucy at a cross road of culture and identities Antiguan and American. Upon arrival to America to work as an au pair for an

It also informs people about how society reacted to someone outside the norm. This novel relates to women and men today. The novel would help women value their selves more and know their worth. It will also help women to make wise choices. “No female, whose mind is uncorrupted can be indifferent to reputation it is an inestimable jewel, the loss of which can never be repaired. While retained, it affords conscious peace to our own minds, and ensures the esteem and respect of all around us” (Webster 919). Lucy opinion focuses on male or female, young or old, by articulating the main value women had -their virtue. Their virtue was to be guarded, celebrated, and relinquished only in the confines of

The poem “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” is quite compelling though a bit baffling at first glance. The writer of this poem is Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose an American poet and playwright. Millay was born in Maine into a poverty-stricken family. Her mother was a fan of classic literature varying from William Shakespeare to John Milton and would read these poets’ works to her daughters. Ultimately, inspiring Millay into becoming a poet herself. In 1923, Millay won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry being the third female to win this award. In the poem, “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, an explanation of the poem’s meaning, form, and pattern will be made in order to understand this writer’s work.

The simplistic plot of the novel and the overall theme of love allows the author to span the lives of the main characters. The reader sees the span of the life of two of the main characters, Sidda and her mother

Lucy, by Jamaica Kincaid, is an interesting novel with memorable and relatable characters: Mariah - a humble first class woman who strives to take advantage of any situation in life to capture joy, Lucy - an outrageous character who rebels against every possible constraint and observes her surroundings very well, Lewis – a typical representation of men who fails to see the value of his wife, Lucy’s mom – a decent, controlling and ethical woman who fits the ideal good person. The fact that the novel is narrated from Lucy’s perspective makes the work that much engaging, as readers get to see the inner thoughts of Lucy which they would have not otherwise. Throughout the novel, Lucy searches for freedom, love, comfort, intimacy and acceptance,

Lucy is clearly the most sexual female of the female characters and this description leads to the reader understanding the inappropriateness of the women being overtly sexual and in some ways them understanding the threats the ‘New Women’ possess. When dying Lucy is described as having a “voluptuous mouth” and her body to be “withering and quivering” once again the ‘New Woman’ is referred to as being very sexual and confident,

Instead of being a “normal” nuclear family Lucy’s family contained a very Cuban, Spanish speaking, hot-headed husband, and her best friends Fred and Ethyl Mertz. She lived in the city with no white picket fence, she and her husband shared one king bed, they kissed and touched each other in romantic ways often, and she was constantly on the hunt for an opportunity to make money and be famous. Her headstrong attitude sat in evident contrast to June Cleaver. Lucy and her crass and bumbling physical comedy proved that women could be more than just pious and conservative, they could be funny and more importantly they could be real. Lucy was one of the pioneers of comedy for women and validated that a woman could deliver a punchline as well as any man.

While Ishiguro’s seminal novel Never Let Me Go explores relationships, notably friendships and romance, Duffy’s collection of poetry in The World’s Wife contains multiple perspectives, voices and views of love, friendship, revenge and sex. In terms of relationships between the sexes, the presentation of women as objects or stereotypes is one that Duffy challenges in her poetry. Both interestingly are written from the female’s perspective allowing the reader to experience a deep insight into the female eye. Ishiguro focuses on retelling a childhood through the character of Kathy. Duffy on the other hand focuses often on the deterioration of relationships. Also from Duffy’s collection, all the poems are written from the women’s perspective

Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. In the novella, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino lives with his wife, Juana, and his child Coyotito. The family lives in a small village in a town where the Spanish colonized. Coyotito goes through something striking and in order to fix it, Kino finds something life changing. Throughout the story, Steinbeck shows that materialism and greed left unchecked can lead to immoral behavior shown through the unnamed trackers, the doctor, and the main character Kino himself.

In The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, take place in La Paz, Mexico, where a pleasant family composed of Kino, his wife, Juana, and their son, Coyotito. One day, their son is bitten by a scorpion and Juana and Kino go see a local doctor, who refuses to treat Coyotito. Kino, a pearl diver, finds a pearl with immense value which he believes will pay for the treatment. However, the pearl brings great misfortune upon the family. As the novel progresses, Juana disagrees that the pearl will help her family. Here, Steinbeck defies his usual stereotypical portray of women, and takes a compassionate stance of women such as Juana. Juana, whom the author endows with unique wisdom and common sense juxtaposed to the foolishness and competence of Kino. Thus, these qualities make Juana a far more stronger and superior person than her husband in a patriarchal society in which women have no say.

Lucy Honeychurch lives in a world in which actions are more often than not dictated by politeness and social cues, rather than real emotion. She’s a bright young lady, but she still can’t quite figure out how to negotiate the boundaries of society. The longer she stays in Italy, where things are evidently more straightforward and less uptight than they are in England, the more she realizes that she has questions that her former way of life don’t answer. This initial stage ends when George kisses her amongst the violets, an event that sends her into a whirlwind of action as she attempts to regain control of her unruly life.