Girl At Banquo's Wedding

In Banquo’s wedding, the guest that would not be able to attend would be Annabelle, the daughter from “Girl,” by Jamaica Kincaid. In the original story, the story of a young girl with a domineering mother that controls every aspect of her life is exhibited. The oppressive trait depicted by her mother is the focus of the story through demeaning remarks such as "try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming." These comments silence the girl and demonize her leaving her with no knowledge of who she truly is. This is the main reason why I chose to have the girl at Banquo’s event. I believed that she would connect with the main character from “Identities”, through their shared struggles with finding out their individual
personalities. Another bond these characters share is the ideals and expectations others in their lives seem to have for them. Though Annabelle is important as Johnson’s primary love interest, the event could still continue without her. The reason she would not be able to attend is her mother’s sudden death. Her decision to cancel was extremely last minute as nobody expected her death. The criticisms and judgments Annabelle’s mother placed on her hindered them from ever developing a genuine relationship. Once Annabelle graduated university, she left her mother and her tyranny behind. However, Annabelle did not know that her mother had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother’s pride prevented her from reaching out to Annabelle before her demise. The mother was unaware of the pain and frustration she caused her; she only saw herself as wanting the best for her daughter. Every reckless comment, and chore, her mother assumed she was doing what she believed would benefit her. The day before Banquo’s wedding, Annabelle received a letter from an Antiguan lawyer detailing her mother’s will. Although her mother didn’t leave her much, she left a note explaining the reasoning behind her every action that had ever hurt Annabelle. Her heart was so burdened; it had been ten years. For ten long years, her mother had suffered in solitude. Annabelle knew she had to cancel on Banquo and be in Antigua. The next morning, she packed up her bags and began heading to the airport. Firstly making a stop at Banquo’s castle, she explained the situation to him and with her sincerest apologies handing him back the invitation she had received. Her inability to attend did not phase Banquo as he had the perfect replacement in mind. The person attending the wedding in place of Annabelle would be Hilda, the young girl from “Boys and Girls.” Similarly to Annabelle, she would be able to complement Johnson having experienced the detrimental capabilities societies labels has on individuals. A unique connection between these two is their good naturedness. Both characters always believed that those around them had their best intentions at heart. With Hilda, she believed that no one saw a difference between her and her brother, Laird. When in fact all people could see was the difference, they undermined her work for her father making her feel lost with no identity. In the same concept, Johnson lost his identity the moment he was shot by the police officer. The safety he expected in the presence of a police officer completely contrasts the outcome. The characters of Hilda and Annabelle are also similar to one another. As a result of this, my dialogue would not see much change except in the tone and dialect as Annabelle was written as a Jamaican girl while Hilda would be written as a country Westerner. For the strong correlation between Hilda and Johnson’s characters, I believe that she would be an excellent replacement for Annabelle.