Character and Point of View by Tiye Walker [STUDENT]

Thesis

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 20:41:57 UTC

In "Lucy" by Jamaica Kincaid, the narrator is away from home for the first time and has to navigate the differences she faces, and the disinterest she now has of being in a big city, surrounded by things that she has never experienced before, while longing to go back to the Caribbean to where her family is, even though she had previously dreamed of escaping and coming to a "better" place. Kincaid represents this in her writing using metaphors and symbolism.

Who is she?

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 20:58:06 UTC

In "Lucy", the narrator is a woman whose name we don't know. This woman has moved to a new environment, originally excited to experience something other than what she's known in her life and once longed to be in this new and "better" environment, but now hates it and wishes to be home. We know that the narrator comes from the Caribbean, where she hasn't ever had technology, a refrigerator, or ever used an elevator. I can infer that she can be quick to judge someone based on how quickly she stated that she would be annoyed with someone who wanted to be somewhere better than where she was, but then wanted to go back to what they had before. I can also infer that she can sympathize with people because she experiences that same feeling of wanting to go somewhere that is better than the life that she had left, but now wants to go back to what she had prior. The narrator is a Caribbean woman who has strong feelings and connections towards her home.

Quote 1:

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 21:00:10 UTC

"...I felt cold inside and out, the first time such a sensation had come over me."

Quote 2:

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 21:01:18 UTC

"In the past, the thought of being in my present situation had been a comfort, but now I did not even have this to look forward to."

Quote 3:

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 21:02:42 UTC

"I did not know that the sun could shine and the air remain cold; no one had ever told me."

Quote 4:

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 21:05:06 UTC

"...so I lay down on my bed and dreamt I was eating a bowl of prink mullet and green figs cooked in coconut milk, and it had been cooked by my grandmother, which was why the taste of it pleased me so..."

Quote 5:

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 21:09:42 UTC

"...my unhappiness then made me happy now just to think of it-the other my future, a gray blank, an overcast seascape on which rain was falling and no boats were in sight."

Quote 6:

tiye1981567 — 2024-10-01 21:11:04 UTC

"A person would leave a not very nice situation and go somewhere else, somewhere a lot better, and then long to go back where it was not very nice. How impatient I would become with such a person..."