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Jamaica kincaid essay on england
Analytical essay on jamaica kincaid
Analytical essay on jamaica kincaid
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In Jamaica Kincaid’s , On Seeing England for the First Time, she presents the audience with the implied idea that imperialism and colonization disrupt a land’s established culture, and is disadvantageous for the colonized land
2. Kincaid’s work is directed towards colonizers, specifically the English. She would like them to know the permanent marks England has left on her, because of colonization. Additionally, she aims to open their eyes to the difficulties of colonization.
3. Throughout her childhood, Kincaid recalls seeing “Made in England written on everything, and to her, “those three words were felt as a burden” (3). In this quote, Kincaid compares the words “Made in England” to a burden. Prior to this statement, Kincaid mentions how
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Thinking back to lessons taught to her in school, Kincaid recalls “[seeing] England in history. I knew the names of all the kings of England. I knew the names of their children, their wives, their disappointments… I knew the dates on which they were born and the dates they died… I knew their conquests… I knew their defeats” (5). Kincaid’s schooling primarily revolved around England, and its history. The use of anaphora helps the audience understand the priority given to England's history. Additionally, the repeated phrase “I knew” draws the audience’s attention to the fact that all she was taught had to do with England, which in turn highlights the fact that her own country’s history is obviously absent from her history lessons. Furthermore, Kincaid wants the audience to see that England's invasion took over her education as well. “I knew” does not show the reader she is proud to have learned this, but rather she resents having learned this. It becomes clear to the audience that her culture and history were thought of as lesser than England. In this example, Kincaid shows how her history was taken away as a result of colonization because she never learned it. Colonization left her with the lasting feelings that her country was inferior to …show more content…
Kincaid talks about the places England has encroached, such as “in jungles, in desert, on top of the highest mountain, on all the oceans, on all the seas, in places where they were not welcome, in places they should not have been” (1). In this quote, Kincaid exaggerates the size of England’s expansion; it had not colonized the whole world, as the quote implies. This hyperbolic statement illustrates that Kincaid’s world is Antigua, so to her, England has taken over her whole world. Although not literally all over the world, this hyperbole also helps show that England has colonized many places, and “they were not welcome” in any of them. Kincaid wants the audience to understand that from the view of those colonized; colonization strips their land of all that belongs to them. They lose their way of life and this happened all over the world, therefore Kincaid expresses her idea that colonizers should stay in their country and not ruin other
Our history books continue to present our country's story in conventional patriotic terms. America being settled by courageous, white colonists who tamed a wilderness and the savages in it. With very few exceptions our society depicts these people who actually first discovered America and without whose help the colonists would not have survived, as immoral, despicable savages who needed to be removed by killing and shipping out of the country into slavery. In her book, The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity, Jill Lepore tells us there was another side to the story of King Philip’s War. She goes beyond the actual effects of the war to discuss how language, literacy, and privilege have had lasting effects on the legacy that followed it.
The short story, What I Have Been Doing Lately by Jamaica Kincaid, in my perspective was a representation of two cultures. This story focuses on the two cultures that Jamaica Kincaid came from and also the change in location. What I Have Been Doing Lately, I believe, is a story about how Jamaica feels about the change of scenery when she moves from Antigua to Vermont. The story talks about how the cultures are different but it also captures what it feels like to be homesick.
By satirizing the “greatness” and arrogance of England, Kincaid criticizes England’s imperialistic, choking grip on Antiguan culture. Kincaid displays this harsh criticism when she describes England as a “special jewel”, alluding to the Crown Jewels, to indicate the extent of the false impressions that were bestowed upon the young author (4). Kincaid includes a simile comparing England to Jerusalem, “the place you will go to when you die but only if you have been good” which reveals her deep disgust of the ridiculous perspective the Antiguans held of England (22-23). Her sharp satire cuts both ways; she criticizes England’s “greatness” but also criticizes the Antiguans for their unresistant
In the reading of A Calm Address to our American Colonies, Wesley analyses all the arguments the colonies have to be upset with England and counter argues them. In the beginning, he addresses the fact that they say they can't be taxed without representation, yet he himself also has no representation in the government but still pays taxes. Another point he makes is their hypocrisy in saying they are slaves without votes when the real slaves are the ones at their sides getting whipped who truly do not have any rights and are considered property.
In all, Tademy does a great job in transporting her readers back to the 1800s in rural Louisiana. This book is a profound alternative to just another slave narrative. Instead of history it offers ‘herstory’. This story offers insight to the issues of slavery through a women’s perspective, something that not so many books offer. Not only does it give readers just one account or perspective of slavery but it gives readers a take on slavery through generation after generation. From the early days of slavery through the Civil War, a narrative of familial strength, pride, and culture are captured in these lines.
Post-colonialism is a discourse draped in history. In one point in time or another, European colonialism dominated most non-European lands since the end of the Renaissance. Naturally, colonialists depicted the cultures of non-Europeans incorrectly and inferior. Traditionally, the canon has misappropriated and misrepresented these cultures, but also the Western academia has yet to teach us the valuable and basic lessons that allow true representations to develop. Partly in response, Post-colonialism arose. Though this term is a broad one, Post-colonialists generally agree on certain key principles. They understand that colonialism exploits the dominated people or country in one way or another, evoking inequalities. Examples of past inequalities include “genocide, economic exploitation, cultural decimation and political exclusion…” (Loomba 9-10). They abhor traditional colonialism but also believe that every people, through the context of their own cultures, have something to contribute to our understanding of human nature (Loomba 1-20). This is the theme that Lewis prescribes in his, self described, “satirical fantasy”, Out of the Silent Planet (Of Other 77).
History can significantly influence the ways in which a place, along with its community, evolves. Now considered postcolonial, not only are Hawaii and Antigua heavily defined by their colonial pasts, but they are also systematically forced into enduring the consequences of their unfavorable histories. Through their unconventionally enlightening essays, Jamaica Kincaid and Juliana Spahr offer compelling insights into how the same idea that exists as a tourist’s perception of paradise also exists as an unprofitable reality for the natives who are trapped in their pasts yet ironically labeled as independent. The lasting impacts of colonialism on the history of Antigua and Hawaii can be noted through their lasting subservience to their colonizing
As Kincaid starts with describing one of the strongest memory she had about her childhood ,which was her teacher pointing out to the map of England , she reveals that she had no connection with it , and that she doesn't feel that she belong to this place , although the institutions in her society force her to feel so , and she emphasise on the great pressure that her society put in her to feel like she is a part of England ,as she pointed at “when my teacher had pinned this map up on the blackboard , she said, “this is England”_ and she said it with authority , seriousness , adoration , and we all sat up (332)” , even more the pressure to love this new culture was in her house from her family, she observed how much her father is holding on England culture “my father ...
I would suggest that this reversal of focus also leads the reader to address the idea of euro-centricity, which the text actively fights with its depictions of the history of Jamaica. Moreover, this is exactly what Shelly Bhoil points out in her article “The Politics of Language, Style and Theme in Raja Rao’s Kanthapur.” She states “Rao has whetted the colonizing master’s own tools such as the English language to dismantle the master’s “euro-centric” house and to renovate it so as to have space for the “natives” who are “othered” to the margins of the mainstream world-consciousness” (82) I believe that this is exactly the same idea that Cliff brings to Abeng. She does this in her rewriting of history to downplay the importance of the white settlers, while still holding onto the significance of her culture. This idea also continues into her adoption of Patois in the novel, that she can dismantle the euro-centricity by including other dialects in order to remove the centralization on formal
Without being educated, slavers endure dehumanization and the control of their slaveholders. As a result, Douglass is motivated to get literate with ingenious strategies. He constantly bribes the “little white boys” and the “poor white children” who live closely with him to teach him reading with extra bread (Douglass 62). His writing lessons are from the boys who can compete with him in writing letters, Master Thomas’s book, and ship-yard. Along with his reading’s improvement, he comprehends the injustice between slaves and slaveholders from the books. A book “The Columbian Orator”, which provokes him the critical thinking about slavery and freedom. Through reading the Sheridan’s speeches that are from the same book, he claims, “[w]hat I got from Sheridan was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights” (Douglass 62). Sometimes he listens the discussion of abolition even though he does not really understands it. Until he gets a city paper that allows him to pray for “the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia” (Douglass 63), he understands the meaning of abolition. Being literate helps him understand the extensive knowledge, which is ready for
She points out how white tourists think that the establishments and systems left behind from colonization are things that the natives should be thankful for. White tourists think that the natives “are not responsible for what you have; you owe them nothing; in fact, you did them a big favour, and you can provide one hundred examples.” (10) Ironically, while they seem to think that the natives should be thankful for certain remnants of colonization, white tourists refuse to take responsibility for the actions of their ancestors that caused former colonies to be in the state they are in now. In thinking that the “West got rich not from the free …and then undervalued labour” (10), but instead through the “ingenuity of small shopkeepers in Sheffield and Yorkshire and Lancashire, or wherever”, white tourists refuse to acknowledge that it was the oppression of these former colonies that led to the growth of their own race whilst attributing to the decline of these colonies. In believing in their own superiority and refusing to acknowledge this, white tourists continue to willingly take part in a system that oppresses natives of formerly colonized islands because they see no wrong in doing
Imagine your culture being thrown aside and a new one was all that was taught to you? How would you react to it? In this story the author, Jamaica Kincaid, is talking about how she reacted to this and what happened to her. The author grows up in a place where England colonization had taken place. She grew up in Antigua, a small island in the Caribbean. She is taught all her life about England, a place she has never seen. At an early age she started to realize that the English had taken over her culture. After many years of hating this country she had to see the place that had taught her a different culture and ideas. When she arrives there the hate for the country tripled and she starts to pick apart the entire place and everywhere she goes. As she moves through the countryside her feelings of hate start to show them self’s in her thought and words. The feeling of deja vu, she has been there before, starts to come in after all of the years of maps and description of the foreign land.
Historical novels written by authors who experience the history are great sources for a more first hand account of history that is often one sided and simply based on facts. Historical fiction can make the history more personal and enjoyable to the reader reading it, but it can also be deceiving if the reader is not already at least vaguely familiar with the history. God’s Bits of Wood and No Longer at Ease express and explain colonization and the way that it affected those who were colonized in a way that textbooks often cannot. When comparing the two novels, differences in the nature of the ruling and similarities in the impact it has on various social classes and generations are evident. Though historical novels are a great source, it must be kept in mind that they are novels and should not be relied on for one hundred percent factual evidence.
...xtent will this essay bring about a change in Antigua? The Antiguan scene can only be modified by the government choosing to run the country in a more manner that will benefit everyone associated with Antigua, especially its natives. The native’s behaviours are related to their jealousy of tourists, and of the tourist’s ability to escape their own hometown to take a vacation. While a tourist can relate to the idea that the exhaustion felt after a vacation comes from dealing with the invisible animosity in the air between the natives and themselves, having this knowledge is almost as good as not having it, because there is nothing that the tourist, or the reader, can really DO about it! If Kincaid’s purpose is solely to make tourists aware of their actions, she has succeeded. If Kincaid’s purpose is to help Antigua, she may not have succeeded to the same magnitude.
Postcolonial authors use their literature and poetry to solidify, through criticism and celebration, an emerging national identity, which they have taken on the responsibility of representing. Surely, the reevaluation of national identity is an eventual and essential result of a country gaining independence from a colonial power, or a country emerging from a fledgling settler colony. However, to claim to be representative of that entire identity is a huge undertaking for an author trying to convey a postcolonial message. Each nation, province, island, state, neighborhood and individual is its own unique amalgamation of history, culture, language and tradition. Only by understanding and embracing the idea of cultural hybridity when attempting to explore the concept of national identity can any one individual, or nation, truly hope to understand or communicate the lasting effects of the colonial process.