Annie's perception of her mother's hands shifts dramatically throughout the text, symbolizing the complex relationship between life, death, and maternal love. Initially, her mother's hands evoke care and nurturing, as they are associated with comforting gestures. However, after witnessing her mother tend to a deceased girl, those hands become a reminder of mortality and loss, causing Annie to feel repulsion and fear. Kincaid uses this juxtaposition to explore the conflicting emotions children can experience towards their parents, particularly when faced with the realities of death. The stark description of her mother's hands as "white and bony" highlights the fragility and inevitability of aging and loss, suggesting that even maternal love can be tainted by grief. Ultimately, Kincaid communicates that the connection between a mother and child is deeply intertwined with the themes of life and death, forcing Annie—and the reader—to confront the discomfort that arises from this duality.
"I then began to look at my mother's hands differently. They had stroked the dead girl's forehead; they had bathed and dressed her and laid her in the coffin my father had made... For a while, though not for very long, I could not bear to have my mother caress me or touch my food or help me with my bath. I especially couldn't bear the sight of her hands lying still in her lap."
Chapter 2: "But her hand! It was white and bony, as if it had long been dead and had been left out in the elements. It seemed not to be her hand, and yet it could only be her hand, so well did I know it. It went around and around in the same circular motion, and I looked at it as if I would never see anything else in my life again. If I were to forget everything else in the world, I could not forget her hand as it looked then."
Prompt: What do her mother's hands signify for Annie? What do you think Kincaid is trying to communicate to the reader? in 6 sentences
1 answer