Blackness

 Blackness By Jamaica Kincaid

    I found the use of the term "blackness" to be very interesting in this story as it is roughly defined but still left open to interpretation. "The blackness is visible and yet it is invisible, for I see that I cannot see it"(362), this line points to the concept of blackness being immeasurable. This interpretation of blackness most closely seems like actual darkness as well as loneliness. When you stand in the pitch-black dark there is definitely a feeling of blackness beyond the obvious nothingness, a void you fade into. Loneliness comes with this as loneliness is an immeasurable feeling of emptiness that you know is there but you can't actually quantify. "I felt myself steadied, no longer alone at sea in a small rowboat"(363), this line reinforces the idea of blackness being loneliness as I often think of being stranded at sea when I visualize loneliness. The open ocean to me presents the ultimate form of being stranded or alone because you truly can't be further from civilization than when you're lost at sea.

    "I hear the silent voice it stands opposite to the blackness" (364), the concept of the silent voice stood out to me. The silent voice could represent your conscience, the only thing that opposes the blackness of loneliness. Standing in a dark room or being in the pitch black, the darkness reigns unopposed by everything including your physical being except your thoughts and mind. The voice inside your head that you hear when you're processing thoughts is what separates you from being part of the blackness itself. It is your ability to think and process that keeps from being one with the void that is blackness. "living in the silent voice, I am erased" (365), I think this line is explaining what it's like to shut off your thoughts as much as you can and become one with your surrounding while you are along. I think the idea here is that to embrace the darkness you must shut off everything in your mind.

    

Comments

  1. Kayley NegastNovember 22, 2020 at 3:12 PM

    You state, “I found the use of the term "blackness" to be very interesting in this story as it is roughly defined but still left open to interpretation.” I agree with this statement because the author used contradicting terms and phrases that made it seem like the character was unsure of how to deal with this characteristic of the world around her and a characteristic for herself. Colin uses the quote, “The blackness is visible and yet it is invisible, for I see that I cannot see it” (362), which is where you really see this theme of indecisiveness and made the story really dramatic with this sense of unclarity.

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