|
Sample Student final exam answers 2019 (2019 final exam assignment) Part 3: Model Research Reports |
LITR 4340
|
 |
Kristen Hoover
Jamaica Kincaid
The Afro-Caribbean narrative is one that
often frightens students and gets left unexplored. Many students have a
difficult enough time with dealing with African American culture by itself but
throw in the Caribbean culture and they become at a loss for what to do. With
that being said though, I am choosing to dive head-first into research about an
Afro-Caribbean writer. For my research project I decided to learn more about
Jamaica Kincaid’s life, her writing, and her questionable status as an immigrant
writer. I chose to learn about her specifically because I read her poem
Girl and found myself able to relate
to her conflict within the poem. Her background gives so much flavor to her
writing and has become increasingly intriguing to me since I first learned about
her.
Kincaid has written a diverse collection of material. In
her collection she has everything from politics, gardening, and the Caribbean.
Even though she chose to leave the Caribbean, the memories she has are with her
every day and are a major influence in her writing. When she sits down to write,
she never knows what she will be writing about and claims that “[she] can only
know after [she has] written it, and it is no longer a part of [her]” (Johnson
pg. 2). Along with not knowing what she will be writing, Kincaid never has a
particular audience in mind when she is writing her pieces. When writing,
Kincaid puts her soul into each work she does and plans to continue writing
until she no longer has the ability. She asserts that she does not know whether
or not she is a great writer and chooses to keep it that way. With that being
said, she has not read any books that are about her or her writing. With so much
diversity in her work, the question of her status as either an immigrant or
minority writer becomes harder to answer.
By taking a look into her past, we can see how she shares
the title as both and immigrant and minority writer. Elaine Potter Richardson
was born May 25, 1949, to Annie and father. Shortly after her birth, her
biological father abandoned his wife and children. Not long after, her mother
remarried a man named David Drew, who Elaine would call her father. Her mother,
Annie, was a political activist and dedicated homemaker. At the age of three her
mother taught her how to read and write and she was also enrolled in the
Moravian School. She was later enrolled into two other schools before becoming
an apprentice to a seamstress. At the age of nine her younger brother, Joseph,
was born. After his birth, Elaine’s mother had less and less time for her. This
shift in her life began to make her critical of her homeland with its battle
wounds from colonization and inequality of gender relations. After many years of
seeing the turmoil in Antigua, Elaine, newly sixteen, packed her bags and headed
towards New York.
Upon her arrival in Scarsdale, New York,
Elaine become an au pair. The family that she worked for were generous but
patronizing at times. However, they gave Elaine the freedom to discover New
York, which lead to her leaving her first family to work with a wealthy family
in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. While here, Elaine realized the importance
of continuing her education. She took an interest in photography but was drawn
into the world of publishing when she got a job at
Art Direction. She was soon fired
from this job for writing a controversial article about black American
advertising. She then went to work for
Ingenue, where she wrote about celebrities’ lives between the ages of
fifteen and seventeen, which got her truly started in her writing. With this new
career, Elaine chose to legally change her name to what we now know, Jamaica
Kincaid. This “process of renaming appears throughout [her] works, often used as
a metaphor for conquest and colonial domination” (Edwards pg. 2). Her name
helped connect her to roots, while giving her the anonymity to write about her
personal story and other topics.
Kincaid’s title as both minority and
immigrant writer can be traced back to her feelings for her homeland and
America. She left her homeland of Antigua to escape the tyranny and corruption
caused by the colonial domination. Not only this, but she saw the inequality
that there was between women and men. After coming to America though, she
realized it “can only offer opulent ignorance
and is permeated by racism” (Literature).
Her move from the Old World to the New World for a better future is what makes
her a immigrant writer. However, her refusal to assimilate to the dominant
culture, and the historical nature of her heritage tracing back to Africa, give
her the title of a minority writer.
Kincaid’s
reference and meaning behind using a mother figure also emphasizes the fact that
she has strong ties to her immigrant nature and minority status. In many of her
works, Kincaid overtly works her mother’s characteristics into the plot. In her
poem Girl, she recounts many of the
things she heard growing up as a child. Though these accusations and stereotypes
are part of the reason she left, they also gave her the ability to be a fiercely
independent thinker while trying to navigate her journey in America. As
Gabrielle Bellot put in, “I have come, to my surprise, to be defined by my
mother” (How Jamaica Kincaid Helped Me
Understand My Mother). Kincaid’s mother helped her define who she was and
what she was trying to escape when she left Antigua. But this determination and
strength helped her ward off assimilation and still hold true to many of the
things she learned from Antigua.
Jamaica
Kincaid’s writing can best be described as making something great out of
something not good. Though she felt she was forced to flee her native land of
Antigua, she took the lessons she learned there to help give her courage and
strength in her life in America. The abuse and ignorance of America helped her
to value and hold on closer to her life in Antigua. Though it is uncertain that
she will ever be able to hold the title of either immigrant or minority writer,
the world is still blessed to have such insight and creativity available to
read.
Bellot,
Gabrielle. “How Jamaica Kincaid Helped Me Understand My Mother.” Literary
Hub, 29 Mar. 2019,
lithub.com/how-jamaica-kincaid-helped-me-understand-my-mother/.
Edwards, Justin D. Understanding Jamaica
Kincaid. The
University of South Carolina Press, 2007.
“Jamaica
Kincaid.” Literature,
1 Jan. 1970, literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/jamaica-kincaid.
Johnson, Kerry. “Writing Culture, Writing Life: An Interview with Jamaica
Kincaid.” Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies,
vol. 1997, no. 16, 1997, pp. 1–5., doi:10.17077/2168-569x.1220.
