Jamaica Kincaid, born on May 25, 1949, is renowned for her poetic language use. Her use of rhythm and repetition in both her short tales and novels gives them a mesmerizing, poetic character. Her childhood in the West Indies is reflected in the pictures she uses to describe Antigua, which is known for its superstitious folklore, tropical environment, and Caribbean cuisine (Baleiro et al. 680). Like a Caribbean folktale, many of her stories seamlessly transition from realistic fantasy to surrealist elements. In her life, she had a peaceful home with employed parents and witnessed violence against blacks, which led to racism.
Her life may have translated into writing in ways such as using dialects and exaggeration. For example, she uses dialect in her works to describe a character’s speech patterns. This is found in her short story “The Pevsner Family.” She also used exaggeration to express her emotions when describing someone else’s feelings (Kim 1030). For example, in “Indian Summer,” Kincaid describes a Negro who is angry with another Negro by saying, “These bastards, they are like the ones who sometimes come to church and say prayers for mice.” Since her father was a priest, and her mother was a nurse, it was hard for Kincaid to understand the anger she saw from the black people when life took them away from their homes.
Kincaid’s use of language also contributes to the themes of her work. Kincaid uses poetic language that emulates the folklore of the Caribbean. This language is secret and mystical but masks deeper issues of oppression and colonialism. The figure of speech “tapping” in her novel “A Small Place” speaks to the colonial rule over Antigua and how it creates a longing for freedom (Jarrett 21). Kincaid uses a variety of themes in her writings, including the Atlantic slave trade, slavery, colonialism, assimilation, identity, and immigration.
Kincaid’s life is mainly concerned with racism which impacts her writing by using different types of symbols in her work. A few examples are the image of a black man sitting at a wooden table. This she depicts in “A Small Place,” standing with an axe in his hand, and compares the black man to an old dying tree. In “A Small Place,” she also speaks about how racism is a way of life in Antigua (Baleiro et al. 680). She says about the different ethnicities on the island and how it is not okay for there to be resentment toward other ethnicities. A few examples of this are when she writes about how black people were treated by the British that owned sugar plantations. How Kincaid describes these instances makes it clear that during the 18th century, conflicts started to arise with the different races, ultimately leading to racism.
In conclusion, Jamaica Kincaid’s life translated into writing about racism and other important topics because of the common themes she used, such as her own experiences, Caribbean folklore, and her use of language. In addition, she was also inspired by her father, who was a priest. Her life reflects how Antigua was just like a small place, with many prejudices towards whites and blacks. Nonetheless, she witnessed racism in her daily life, driving her to write about the topic. As she grew up, she witnessed injustices of racism happening to other people concerning her. It became a motivation to write about racism because very few authors were doing so at that time. Kincaid’s life was filled with these experiences, which led her to create her writing career.
Works Cited
Baleiro, Rita, and SĂlvia Quinteiro. “A small place, by Jamaica Kincaid: envisioning literary tourism in Antigua.” Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 17.6 (2019): 676-688.
Jarrett, Denise M. “Haunting past, daunting future: a womanist reading of Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy.” Transnational American Spaces (2022): 21.
Kim, Mia. “The examination of pathological symptom of trauma in the context of Jamaica Kincaid’s novel,“Lucy”.” Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT) 12.10 (2021): 1025-1033.