Jamaica Kincaid's Identity

Jamaica Kincaid was born in St. John's, Antigua on May 25, 1949. She moved to New York in 1966 at the age of 17 in order to financially help her family. She continued her studies and eventually became a professor, but can she be considered a true Antiguan even though she only lived a few years in the island? Does the fact that she was born there make her an expert? I believe she is an expert describing and talking about the Antigua she left behind forty-eight years ago. She never stopped feeling worried about what was happening in the place she was born. As she wrote this book she proved that being away doesn't mean forgetting or changing. She kept her Antiguan Identity the best way she could, but it was inevitable to pick up some american ways of acting. As I've gone through the same, I know that she didn't want to lose her Antiguan culture at first, because she felt that it was what made her unique. This was her sense of sameness. The unknown American culture was the strange and different, but as the years passed she made a life in that strange place. She adopted some ideals and values, but never forgotten others she brought from Antigua. She made her unique mixture of cultures that made her who she is now. 

 I think on a deeper level she envies the tourists that arrive at her home island, because they don't appreciate the opportunity they have. She was denied this chance to see her home again. It frustrates her that these people come and go from Antigua without noticing the real people, the real problems, and the real culture. As she says that tourists are "an ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist, an ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing" she lets the reader known how she feels. I think she is too judgemental since she, herself, was a tourists when she first arrived at New York. Her conditions weren't the same as the people she describes in her book, because she went there to work, but she was also an ignorant about the place she was in. In the end, I think Kincaid's identity is much more than just an Antiguan. She is a black woman who struggled through life who happened to be born on this little island she loves and misses, but who also must feel at home in the United States, since she never left this country. Her sense of sameness is Antigua and it's people, but also the US and it's people. She just wants to let her American side learn about Antigua and her roots. Kincaid’s roots are unique created throughout her journey in life and her different experiences. 

Here is a video of Kincaid talking about why did she change her name once she started writing.