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  • Essay / Jamaica Kincaid's Seeing England for The First Time: Summary

    First, I want to start by introducing the author. Jamaica Kincaid was born in Antigua in 1949. In my opinion, she and others are an incredibly talented novelist, essayist, and gardener. She currently lives in the United States, in Vermont. She has written around thirty books to date and has received several awards since 1984. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay In the satirical essay "On Seeing England for the First Time" (1991), Jamaica Kincaid describes her malicious attitude towards Great Britain. Brittany by displaying the effects of colonialism on her island and her family. She highlights the effects of colonialism by using sarcastic language to distinguish between the brainwashing of her people and her thoughts on the subject, caricatures to show the actions of her relatives at the hands of the British, as well as the symbolism and metaphors to illustrate his attack on Britain. She exaggerates to show how England treats people versus how they should be treated. This message aims to inspire residents of Antigua who have been 'Made in England' and to make them understand that they must embrace their own culture. Kincaid depicts her people she grew up with through caricatures to inspire them to rebel against British assimilation and return to their roots. She wants the Antiguans to realize how ridiculous they are by conforming to the British. She presents her father as one of those men who sacrificed their ability to think for themselves. Pointing out the weather, which is a "hot climate", his father insists on wearing a hat which is "not [made] of suitable material" to provide shade from the sun. Ultimately, his father wants to be an Englishman wearing a fancy hat which will be "the last thing" he takes off. Failing to realize the logical usefulness of such a hat. Kincaid's portrait of his father reveals the destructive nature of British culture and its desire to rebel. She also reinforces her desire to resist the British by recounting how her mother enforced British manners at mealtimes. Kincaid reveals that she enjoyed her food more with her bare hands, but her mother was proud of the times she ate the British way. Kincaid's ridicule of his mother's religious adherence to British mores develops his feelings of disgust and desire to incite rebellion. Kincaid uses metaphors and allusions to attack the vile effects of British colonialism not only on his people, but on everyone who was under colonialism. Having grown up in Antigua, Kincaid further asserts that only the naturally occurring British areas constitute a "special gem", while the settlers are not. Such a jewel was worn by the English as a badge of honor, "in the jungles, in the deserts, in the plains, on the summits of the highest mountains". However, this is not the case for the poor brainwashed colonized people. His teacher then acts as if Britain is Jerusalem, because it is a "place you will go to when you die but only if you have been good." By alluding to the Crusades, Kincaid reinforces the fact that all "real" Englishmen already have the "privilege" of dying there. However, the colonists must earn the right to be English. Kincaid further alludes to the fact that people don't need the right to become British, they want to be their own people. Kincaid has so much distaste for Britain that she even changes her British-sounding name, "Elaine.