“On Seeing England for the First Time” and “The Sasquatch at Home: Traditional Protocols and Storytelling” are scintillating stories portraying two girls standing out on the proverbial highway wondering what is going to come of their lives. The leading characters of these stories are hit by the severe storm-literally-of events shaping their true selves and make them reassess their life priorities and prerogatives. Jamaica Kincaid and Eden Robinson convey social messages in their works by applying for conventional tradition meddling via current culture infusion, traditional lore undermining, and the ability to adjust to unfamiliar conditions.
These two stories are representations of fascinating depictions of personal realization and reflection in their realities. The critical problems highlighted by authors in their works are the total loss of identity and personality under the siege of circumstances. These authors try to depict the great significance in evaluation solutions to main characters’ problems of their distorted identity. Kincaid (1991, p.371) claims: “in me, the space between the idea of it and its reality had become filled with hatred,” stressing out her genuine attitude to Britain.
Being a real outcast in the foreign country, she can not stand the fact that Kincaid is a victim of an uncontrolled course of events, keeping her aloof from British reality. Kincaid (1991) points out, “so when at last I saw it, I wanted to take it into my hands and tear it into little pieces and then crumble it up ” (p.371 ). In this sentence, the author presents the way she feels being an outlaw with no identity. Still, she has to survive and endure several inconveniences during her path to reality perception.
When it comes to Robinson’s piece, the reader might notice the same agenda representing a person who loses their personality traveling far and wide. The main character comes from a mixed unconventional marriage that is a point for the main character’s underestimation. Her parents are labeled as “originated from a girl who ‘married’ a dog” (Robinson, 2011, p.15). In her work, the author tries to manifest a contemporary adventure of a girl experiencing diverse cultural transmission that is alive. Like in “On Seeing England for the First Time,” the protagonist moves to another country with her mother, enduring drastic changes in their lives that uphold other angles of their personalities.
In both stories, the authors use a sarcastic tone and irony to add a peculiar and hilarious mood for their readers. Resorting to self-deprecating humor, they uncover their individualities formed under the rock of groom doom. Besides, these stories are the telling example of how people might be affected while seeking their identities when they come out of their comfort zone. The main point of these works is to make readers empathize with people who have to leave their home countries, as they are enrolled into the political and governmental programs that can not be argued.
There are several peculiar differences in the message and idea conveyed in these mesmerizing stories. In “On Seeing England for the First Time,” Kincaid manages to accept the reality she witnessed. She realizes the absence of opportunity to change something to her advantage to remain the way she was. The profound solution in her desperate situation is to absorb realities; for this very reason, Kincaid begins to emulate British habits and customs to become a part of their world. Finally, she starts to appreciate the world she is immersed in, saying that “England was a special jewel, and only special got to wear it” (Kincaid, 1991, p 364). To become a member of society, a tribe, or a social group, people have to eradicate their long-standing habits and long-run behavioral patterns to be welcomed to a new societal group. Kincaid perfectly comprehends this notion that there is no place for hatred anymore, as it is better to adapt to the newly colonized world.
As to Robinson’s story, the writer decides not to reject her family roots and her previous identity. Being hit by unprecedented bad luck acquiring consecutively, she tries to unravel the myths about Sasquatches, which implies a mysterious ape-like creature with its origins from Canada. At the end of the story, Robinson speaks to his father, assuring her that Sasquatches are real, even though there is no evidence proving their existence. He tries to ascertain her that something invisible with Canadian blood in her has the right to last forever, just like her identity.
There are two captivating stories telling people about different girls’ destinies. Their life paths are not so easy, as they both have to give up on their personalities formed since their arrival. For them, it is challenging and tough changes where they have a choice to make whether to make their true selves slide or capture the moment as much as possible. Kincaid makes a difficult decision for her; assuming the importance of immersing into the reality she is involved in, Robinson decides to leave the slightest clue of her blood roots, thus not betraying her ancestors. Kincaid is not to blame for her solution, as no one knows the way they would behave in the burgeoning developing colonized world.
References
Kincaid, J. (1991). On seeing England for the first time. General Press.
Robinson, E. (2011). The sasquatch at home: traditional protocols and storytelling. General Press.