What I Have Been Doing Lately By Jamaica Kincaid

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Recommended: Literature and different cultures

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.
The author of the story, Jamaica Kincaid, was born and educated in Antigua in the West Indies and now she lives in Vermont. In the story, the setting is described as a Caribbean island. The climate and landscape describe is cloudless skies, monkeys, and flowering trees. In the story the narrator says, “…I saw tall flowering trees. I looked up to a sky with no clouds…” With these descriptions I can tell that it is a similar description to Antigua, which is where the Author used to live. This story reflects on when the author moved, it shows that both cultures were different. In my opinion it was different because she was used to being around people whom she shared the same culture with, and now she …show more content…

Ever since the move the story reflect that she now feels lonely, and perhaps separation from where she came from and who she was. The first part of the story I believe was before she moved. It was the narrator being back where she felt at home and like she belonged. The first part of the story she was in control and comfortable. For example the story stated talking about how she saw a figure coming towards her and that she was not frightened of it. To me this shows that she was in total control of that dream because she was comfortable with where the dream lead her, back to Antigua. The second story showed the narrator likes the people from Vermont but it is harder to be comfortable around them because they come from a different culture than

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