An Analysis Of The Autobiography Of My Mother From The Perspective Of Initiation Story

Caribbean literature plays an important role in contemporary English literature.The combination of the British literary tradition with Caribbean ethnic culturesproduces the unique Caribbean literature, which achieves self-expression anddeconstructs the hegemony of colonial discourse through writing in English. Incontemporary Caribbean literature,“initiation” is both a type of novel and a generaltheme. Besides the confusion general to all the adolescents, the young protagonistsin Caribbean literature have to deal with the problem of cultural identity caused bycolonialism or post-colonialism. In comparison with men, the situation of youngwomen is worse for they have to suffer the double oppression from both colonialismand patriarchy. Xuela, the protagonist in Jamaica Kincaid’s The Autobiography ofMy Mother, is a typical example. This thesis attempts to analyze The Autobiographyof My Mother from the perspective of initiation story theory, defining it as aninitiation story in terms of theme, characterization, and narrative structure. Besides,it reflects Jamaica Kincaid’s meditation on the females’ initiation plight under thedouble oppression and her recognition for the courage they show in adversity. Thisthesis aims to deepen the understanding of Xuela’s initiation through genre analysis,and also show that genre criticism is a new angle for the further studies related toJamaica Kincaid and The Autobiography of My Mother.