User:Whole.lotta.vibez/sandbox

Identity

Lucy entered the United States as an immigrant from the Carribean. She had to leave her native country to create a different identity for herself. When moving to a different country she felt that she need to transform not only her physical state of being, but also mental. This identity is usually influence by components such as race, class and gender. When Lucy first entered the United States, everything seems categorized with her. She saw the socials classes that were made by the people based on how they look. Immigrants tend be categorized a lot since it's in the roots of their skin. For this reason, Lucy struggled with taking on identity of a Black women once she had arrived in America. Many migrant women experience discrimination not soley because of their race, gender, sexualities, but by the experience they lived in. When entering a new country, you see the structure of the people and the ways you live. The people who are native from the country will see when one doesn't belong based on the differences on how they are living. I believe when you enter a new place it could be a negative habit to compare yourself with the people around you, but yet a lot of people do it. In a way it's a search for validation and acceptance. The problem is many seek themselves by the eyes of others. In St Johns, Antigua Lucy was known to have spent her entire life in mental and physical bondage because of the cultural norms that her society imposed on her gender. Women were looked upon as caregiver for the families and were usually in controlled by the men. This structured her to being respectful among others. This structured her mindset on being a care giver to others as well. When she arrived to America, she settles to be a nanny for a rich white family. When she was in her hometown, she didn't do much comparing since every woman and man lived the same social normality as one another. When she starts working in the U.S she sees that not everyone is lives the same life. In the U.S Lucy feels like no one could relate to her since the way she was raised was different. Everything that she saw when she first entered America seem privileged to her, so she became stubborn that everyone that she encounters has a perfect life.

Lucy struggles to define who she is as a person since she is constantly trying to fit in. Black racial identity becomes problematic because the expectations of black women are purposely imposed to her. She was already expected to be certain way with the White American women. Adopting the nanny life image its interfering with her true identity. Although she does bring out positive aspects to it. As a nanny she is allowed to bring a motherly side out of her that her mom gave to her. The nurture she was given back home allowed her to naturally be motherly to the kids. This is in a way allows her to bring her true identity out.

References

Double Identity in Jamaica Kincaid's Lucy by Janelle Martin Mentor from Johnson C. Smith University.