Themes: All Themes

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Themes: Death

Death is a persistent theme introduced at the very beginning of Annie Johnand remains throughout. Initially, Annie perceives death as a distant occurrence, contrasting her cherished relationship with her mother. This fixation on death keeps the idea of separation from her idyllic childhood entirely concealed. Furthermore, death intensifies the narrative's emotional distance, obscuring the narrator's presence. In the opening sentence, the adult...

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Themes: Identity

The main conflict in Annie's narrative is her quest to establish her own identity. This identity is symbolically linked to the story of the trunk—she will fully realize her identity when she departs with it. This struggle encompasses emotional fluctuations, rebellious escapades, the awakening of her sexuality, and confronting historical reality. The focus of this struggle, and partly its catalyst, is her mother. The tension between mother and...

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Themes: Post-Colonialism

Post-colonialism is a literary theory developed to address the works of authors from nations once under British rule. Following their independence, the people of these countries have had to navigate their identities as educated British subjects while being conscious of their subjugation by the British government, which was brought into focus through newfound self-governance. This theme is evident in Annie's connection to Jane Eyreand her...

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Themes: Adolescent Rebellion and Independence

As was the case with At the Bottom of the River, Kincaid’s first book, Annie Johnis a novel about the pain and necessity of adolescent rebellion for a young girl growing up in the Caribbean. Annie is presented as a strong-willed, independent child who charts a course for growing up that is largely of her own making. A point that the author seems to want to make, however, is that this individuality comes at the cost of considerable emotional...

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Themes: Mother-Daughter Relationship

Annie is distressed when she realizes that her mother means for her to begin to assert her own identity. This realization leads Annie to “act up” more, and in ways that her mother frequently cannot abide. To an extent, Annie at first wants to be able to misbehave, but she also wants to receive the maternal approval that she needs. As her mother increasingly withdraws her approval, however, Annie asserts her own personality, though the lack she...

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Themes: Cultural and Spiritual Identity

“The Long Rain” is powerful in part because it lends itself to two culturally separate but complementary interpretations. In Western psychological terms, Annie is suffering through an acute depression brought on by the worsening strife between her and her mother; looked at from an Afrocentric spiritual perspective, Annie’s sickness can be seen as a dormant period that she has to endure before the final emergence of her adult identity. Further,...

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Themes: Maturation and Quest for Self

The stages of Annie’s maturation and her quest for a sense of self are rooted not only in Kincaid’s admitted autobiographical fashioning of her fiction but also in the context of Caribbean beliefs and customs. Annie’s fear of losing her mother, which in turn spurs her independent development, begins when Annie realizes that her mother’s social life and responsibilities are anchored in a community outside her own perceptions and understanding....

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Themes: Mother-Daughter Relationship and Sexuality

Up to the point where Annie reaches puberty, her mother has modeled every detail in order for her daughter to become an ideal woman. When Annie becomes a sexually potent female, however, she does not think her mother has noticed. Of course she has, but she says...

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nothing; Kincaid suggests that modeling for this Caribbean mother stops at puberty. Annie’s mother retreats into silence, paralleling her daughter’s eventual illness. This failure to...

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Themes: Sexuality and Social Consequences

Although Annie attempts to seek her father’s attention when she rejects her mother, she also knows that, sexually, he belongs to her mother’s world. Alexander’s previous “outside children,” in the Caribbean phrase, whom he does not acknowledge as his own, reflects a historical reality of Caribbean society. Hence Annie not only fears their wrath through obeah but also learns that there is silent shame inherent in sexuality. Kincaid implies that...

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Themes: Cultural Heritage and Identity

Ma Chess dwells in an African world; she is an obeah woman who embraces an African sense of herself. Her beliefs are not for sale. Ma Chess helps Annie to recognize that she must choose her own values, which need not suppress or diminish any part of her complex cultural history. The security in the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter becomes the tension-free security of Annie’s past. When she leaves to set her own course, she will...

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Themes: Death

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