Xuela By Jamaica Kincaid Analysis

After reading both of Jamaica Kincaid’s essay “On Seeing England for the First Time” and the short story “Xuela”, the first similarity I noticed was her experience with the map of England in the classroom. In Kincaid’s essay, the map of England highlights the early distribution of English ideas into the young schoolgirl’s life. Although schooling was in Antigua, the English history and customs were constantly presented to this girl in all aspects of her life, that eventually, lead to her despising the place. This idea of a young girl being forced into customs and traditions that are not of her own people are also presented in the story of “Xuela”. In “Xuela” we are told the first words the speaker ever reads are those of the title of the map