Lucy in America

Have you ever compared a new place to where you live? Have you ever had the experience of moving to a new country or ever imagined how you would experience moving to America from another country? Jamaica Kincaid’s novel Lucy reveals the view of America through the eyes of this young woman named Lucy. Her deepest thoughts and emotions take us into a new reality on the things surrounding us. Our everyday surroundings were like hearing new words for her; it was strange and would take some time to understand.   

As she arrives she already starts to judge and examine everything. She can’t see much as the plane descends because of all the fog.  As she leaves the airport and is being driven to where she will live, people point out important buildings, Parks, benches, and street names, etc. Then she reveals her response to how she feels about all of these wondrous places. “In a day dream I used to have, all these places were points of happiness to me; all these places were lifeboats to my small drowning soul, for I would imagine myself entering and leaving them, and just that –entering and leaving over and over again –would see me through a bad feeling I did not know have a name for. I only knew it felt a little like sadness but heavier than that”. (pg.3) Lucy had longed to come to America, nothing would make her happier. She knew there would be more jobs and she would be able to obtain a better education. That she would live a better life and more luxurious life. Kincaid is showing how immigrants depend on coming to America. They come with hopes and dreams, that they will be fulfilled. Lucy’s response is mind blowing because that one place that was a “life boat” for her soul now gives her a heavier feeling than sadness! She was disappointed upon arrival; America did not live up to her expectations. The more she observed and experienced everything she saw how dirty and ordinary it was. It was not a luxurious place or even admirable place to live.

The culture and ways of America are different from what Lucy is used to. She compares these experiences to wearing new under garments. It isn’t always comfortable at first. Everything takes time to get used to. Lucy also observes the family and the way they take to her. “It was at dinner time one night not long after I began to live with them that they began to call me visitor. They said I seemed not to be part of things, as if I didn’t live in their house with them, as if they weren’t like a family to me, as if I were just passing through, just saying one long hallo! And soon would be saying a quick goodbye! So long! It was very nice! For look at the way I stared at them as they ate” (pg.13). Lucy was the nanny for the kids. Her duties are to walk with them to school and take care of them, yet they call her a visitor. Lucy has moved to America to stay. She attends school and works for this family. They try to make her seem like an outsider and say she isn’t part of things. That is way they refer to her as “visitor”. They are trying to keep her out to show their standard of power. They are Lucy’s employers and they don’t seem to have much respect for her on account that she is an immigrant. They want to make sure Lucy feels less than them. Mariah the children’s mother has tried to down grade Lucy by saying she doesn’t know about a season. This might have been Mariah’s way of learning something about Lucy, but she says it plain that she also doesn’t like Lucy. Mariah is trying to show that because Lucy came from another country she doesn’t have the knowledge like she does. Mariah feels she is better than Lucy; she has more knowledge. I think Mariah is the one with the least knowledge for her to judge Lucy on something as small as not knowing very aspect about a season she has never experienced. The power relationship here is that Americans will always have the upper hand over someone new and will judge them. Lucy did not let anything bother her; she was just experiencing everything for the first time. She knew life had its up and downs.

I think from this text Kincaid is describing that America to the world may be an escape for them, some sort of hope in their life. But America can’t live up to everyone’s expectations. Lucy has to get used America and aspect her expectations weren’t real. America is an ordinary place for everyone to live. It does have better opportunities but you have to work your way up. Lucy is learning, observing and understanding America better.