Thursday, December 8, 2011

Annie John RJ


  1. As you read, keep in mind the aspects of post-colonialism we discussed in class.  Be sure to follow the general guidelines for your reading journal in addition to the questions below.  (Now might be a good time to go back and reread those guidelines on your reading journal handout. ☺)

  1. How is the parent-child struggle between power and lack of power extended to other conflicts in the novel?  Make note of all the different places you see this struggle for power and the ways in which it is achieved, lost, etc.  Also, pay careful attention to who has the power and who does not.  How does this contribute to Kincaid’s overall meaning?

  1. Keep in mind that this is a bildungsroman.  How does identity work in this novel?  When does Annie discover she has an identity separate from her mother?  How does she assert it?  What implications does Kincaid’s choice to use a bildungsroman have on the novel as a whole?

  1. Look at the depiction of education in the novel.  What is the effect of a British curriculum on Caribbean children?  Is it absurd or admirable?

  1. As Kincaid tells the story, she relates it as an expulsion from Paradise.  What was the original expulsion from Paradise?  Who was expelled and why?  What do the references to Lucifer and Paradise Lost indicate to you?

  1. Make note of the many references to sexuality.  How do these details contribute to Kincaid’s point?

  1. By the end of the book, Annie has rejected every aspect of her home and childhood:  “As I was lying there my heart could have burst open with joy at the thought of never having to see any of it again.”  Is this sort of rejection an inevitable part of growing up?  Is Annie’s hostility and rejection unusually extreme?  If so, why?

  1. Jamaica Kincaid has said that her leaving Antigua “was a means of personal liberation” (NOW, 12 Oct. 1989).  Why do you think Kincaid was only able to find liberation by leaving home?  Do you think Annie is the same?  Why or why not?  Find points of support in the text for your claim.

COME TO CLASS WITH THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE COMPLETED.  YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL THE QUESTIONS.  ANYTHING LESS IS UNACCEPTABLE.  COME TO CLASS WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR PARTS OF YOUR READING JOURNAL TO DISCUSS.  KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO GET FROM CLASS DISCUSSION IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THIS NOVEL.

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