Guz Guzman Gomez
Professor Nanda
College Writing R1A
20 October 2017
Conversion
Oceans cover most of the Earth. They are essential for our environment producing more than half of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Without our vast sea humankind would not be able to survive. Annie John, written by Jamaica Kincaid is a coming-of-age story of a young girl growing up in the Caribbean. The protagonist, Annie, endures the colonized world through the relationship between mother and daughter. In addition, water plays an active role as an empowerment to Annie’s growth by nurturing, curing, and transforming her.
Annie’s mother helps with the role of water to nurture Annie. Annie’s mother is from the Dominican Republic who moves to Antigua where she currently resides with her family. Annie’s mother even though has moved to a post-colonized place she still enables the quality and characteristic learned from her homeland.
In her culture, the obeah woman represents magical powers
She utilizes this ideals, consulting the obeah woman. In her culture, the obeah woman represents magical powers. Thus, the mother respect the obeah woman advices.
This is described through Annie’s perspective, “My mother and I often took a bath together” (Kincaid, 14). Annie enjoys the company with her mother in an intimate way. It is a reminder of happiness between their relationship. There was no fighting between them only but harmony displayed. “Sometimes it was just a plain bath, which didn’t take very long. “Other times, it was a special bath in which the barks and flowers of many different trees, together with all sorts of oils, were boiled in the same large caldron… We took these baths after my mother had consulted with her obeah woman” (14).These special baths were used after speaking with the obeah woman whom is a religious person in the Caribbean culture a non colonized person. She adviced to have the baths since it is a demonstration of development of one’s bodies.. “We would then in this bath in a darkened room with a strange- smelling candle burning away. As we sat in this bath, my mother would bathe different parts of my body; then she would do the same to herself” (14). Annie’s description enlightens the special baths as the womb. Annie is taught that water has a healing effect. We took these baths after my mother had consulted with her obeah woman …” (page 14). Annie enjoys the company with her mother in an intimate way. It is a reminder of happiness between their relationship. There was no fighting between them only but harmony displayed. The water is showcased as a nurture to Annie.These special baths were used after speaking with the obeah woman whom is a religious person in the Caribbean culture a non colonized person. She adviced to have the baths since it is a demonstration of development of one’s bodies. Annie’s description enlightens the special baths as the womb. Annie is taught that water has a healing effect. So, when she gets really sick and begins to have terrible hallucination. Annie captures the pictures come towards her and she reacts by cleaning them with water which only left, “None of the people in the wedding picture, except for me, had any face left. IN the picture of my mother and father, I had erased them from the waist down. IN the picture of me wearing my confirmation dress, I had erased all of myself except for the shoes” (page 120) .Annie uses water as a cleanse to the pictures because during her hallucination. The pictures are seen to be becoming dirty therefore instead of using a clean cloth she rather use water. Her subconscious acts lead to the outside forces bring her down thus she embodies water to erase everything except what she feels a connection. Annie is brought up to understand water as a healing power for herself and a tightness between her mother.
The healing power of the water is powerful to help Annie become stronger. In contrast to a bath at home with her mother, Annie is embraced with the ocean salt water since it was presumed that she had weak organ. In chapter two Annie enlightens the reader of a moment in her childhood, “When I was a small child, my mother and I used to go down to Rat Island on Sundays right after church, so that I could bathe in the sea. It was at a time when I was thought to have weak kidneys and a bathe in the sea had been recommended as a strengthening remedy”(page 42). Once again bathing in the water is a remedy for Annie’s body. Yet, this time it was in the salty sea which demonstrates a higher power. The power highlights that of a something bigger than herself that could change her well-being. Revulnatine her body. Annie’s body has experienced a type of water therapy compare to taking medicine. Water empowers Annie to become stronger.
Annie uses water to symbolize many factors but there is one in specific in which she uses in a negative way. Annie is interested in a girl, the Red Girl, in her town. Both of them become quite close. They spend afternoons near the beach. There's a particular moment where Annie has a dream of the Red Girl on a boat crash. Annie describes this moment as, “I dreamed that the boat on which she had been traveling suddenly splintered in the middle of the sea, causing all the passengers to drown except for her, whom I rescued in a small boat. I took her to an island, where we lived together forever, I suppose, and fed on wild pigs and sea grapes. At night, we would sit on the sand and watch ships filled with people on a cruise steam bu. We sent confusing signals to the ships, causing them to crash on some nearby rocks. How we laughed as their cries of joy turned to cries of sorrow”(page 70-71). Even though Annie can not swim in reality, she adventures out for her friend in her dream. In the ocean she poses as a hero saving her friend, yet her actions afterwards on land replicate one decision on ending another's life. There is a connection between the water and land as well as colonized and obeah culture. The water describes the attitude the obeah culture has to save those whom one loves dearly however with the land as can be seen as colonized makes tragic decisions on others situations; they represent a hierarchy of people. The Annie manipulates people to think she needs saving but actually she does not only playing around. Yet water highlights a key point in the transformation of childhood to adulthood.
This transformation of Annie incorporates a vast change.Annie gets extremely sick that she misses school is put to rest for a long time. Annie describes this moment as, “For one day, just as mysteriously as my sickness came, so it left. At the same time, just as mysteriously as the rain came, so it left” (126). The long rain went on throughout the time Annie was sick for three entire months. The atmosphere showcased the terrible discomfort she possess. The rain has gives the power to change her. She becomes someone completely different than previously. Annie final rebirth of herself .The voyage away from home. “I could hear the small waves They made an unexpected sound, as if a vessel filled with liquid had been placed on its side and now was slowly emptying out” (page 148).Annie’s perspective of the voyage departing from her homeland to the unknown sea illustrates the rebirth of herself since she is a new person on the discovery ironic separation of colonize to the colonizable place. Annie transformation endures through the representation of the water. However, the improvement of her health was made been possible because of her grandmother appearence, Ma Chess.
Ma chess is the grandmother from Annie mom’s side. She resides in the Dominican Replica came to Annie when she got terribly sick.Yet, there was something strange of her arrive to Annie. As Annie describes it, “When it became quite clear that I really was getting better, Ma Chess left, and in the way she came, too: with no announcement and on a day when the steamer was not due in port” (126). Ma Chess only type of transportation to her granddaughter is on the streamer. Yet, Ma Chess uses another term to travel on water. Ma Chess is an obeah woman who posses magical powers which help Annie heal from her sickness. Annie recovery is due to the people to people who represent water. The people that endure through Annie’s journey are outcast from the social structure.
Annie’s journey is demonstrated through the water usage. Water helps heal Annie from sickness through bathes at home and in the ocean. In addition, Annie possess hero status through saving her dear friend the Red Girl. Furthermore, the representation of water transformation has upon Annie. Just like our oceans water is a lifesaver for Annie.