Jamaica Kincaid

been a common theme. Forming an identity is imperative to the writers we have studied. Identity in relation to genetics, family, and overall lineage is something closely connected to Caribbean literature. Michelle Cliff, Edwidge Danticat, and Jamaica Kincaid all left their respective Caribbean homelands to settle into new environments. The writings include a deep search for a strong identity. These identities often take root in lineage, or a thematic link to genetics stemming from homeland.…

“Our perceptions are influenced by our surroundings.” The environment is the sum total of all surroundings of living people, which provides conditions for development and damage. We as people choose how our lives are going to be and the environment plays a huge factor in our decision. The things we surround ourselves with can either better us or worsen us. It all depends on what you contribute to in the environment. It also depends on what you believe and think in. In other words your culture,…

In both Kit Tsui’s story A Chinese Banquet and Jamaica Kincaid’s story Girl the elder women were oppressing the younger women. In A Chinese Banquet the mother oppresses her daughters’ sexuality and makes her feel the need to hide that part of herself. In Girl the elder woman oppresses the younger woman’s…

Despite their differences, isolation and belonging actually have a connection. Two short stories, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, showcase characters that are isolated. The characters are very different from their peers and do not fit into society. However, despite the isolation of these characters, they still have a sense of belonging. Throughout the stories it becomes clear that the differences of isolation and belonging are irrelevant when…

In the essay “The Ugly Tourist” written by Jamaica Kincaid, she expresses that when people are surrounded by others who are similar they are comfortable and normal and once they leave their habitat to visit others as a tourist they become “ugly”. In “Shooting an Elephant” written by George by Orwell, he illustrates what it is like to be a white man who is against the oppression yet he works for the same people that oppresses them. He gets a better perspective on imperialism when he is faced a…

Sonny’s Blue and Girl. Based on my options and opinions I decide to select these two topics: (“Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin’s and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid’s). I’m going to do a compare and contrast about these two fabulous stories that are based in teens daily struggle life. Both stories could be real situations of all of us in today’s days. In the characterization of " Sonny’s Blues” we Have: (the older brother, Sonny: "The minor brother of the" the main character, Isabel:…

of women being weak and worth to punish. People of the Ibo culture don’t spend much time with their wives and rather work on their fields. In the short story “The Glasshouse” by Jamaica Kincaid. Kincaid describes men as “men who have sworn to forsake the company of women and have attached themselves to other things”. Kincaid tells us how men don’t want the company of a women like in the Ibo culture because they are looked as weak and useless in the tribe. Most men in the tribe do not spend time…

However, in “The Farmer’s Bride” Charlotte Mew indicates that systemic sexism divests women of their human characteristics, as men treat them like objects and animals instead of people. Consequently, in “Girl,” Jamaica Kincaid demonstrates that both men and women contribute to the preservation of oppressive societal expectations as men manipulate women into compliance and silence any opposition to their unmerited privilege. Ultimately, social stratification justifies…

In the short story, Jamaica Kincaid writes from the perspective of the mother who displays a sort of illusion of society in which the female is submissive to the male. For example, multiple times throughout the short story the mother mentions the phrase “the slut you are bent on becoming” when addressing the daughter or girl in the story (Kincaid “Girl”). It appears as if the mother uses the “slut” comment as a way to control the girl…

common theme has stood out. In most of the reading there were gender roles that were examined and portrayed to the author’s interpretation of their own experiences dealing with the gender roles society has exposed us to. In the story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and in the poem, “A Certain Lady” by Dorothy Parker, the societal views of each time period and gender roles are exposed to the reader and are critical in order to see that these gender roles are still present in our own society today.…