Language Issue in Wide Sargasso Sea

      Language issue in Wide Sargasso Sea is very important because through this we can understand to which class someone belongs and what the life conditions are and this book is one of the best examples about colonization and how the life in colonized country is both for the colonizer and the colonized.

      When we look at the main character Antoinette, she is born in Jamaica and that is why she is considered as Creole. Her mother Annette was born in Jamaica, too. Both of them have French names but have never been to France. This shows us that their family belongs to the early colonizer who came to Jamaica. With Antoinette we are much closer to the natives than Marlow because he has been in Congo just for a short time but Antoinette was born in Jamaica, so she gives us more accurate details than Marlow. As her father has died and her mother has become ignorant she lacks a role model and that is why she has began to quote the black characters. She has a black friend called Tia but this friendship does not last long. Tia becomes her role model. Imitating a black girl is the situation of going natives. She does not only behave like the natives but also speaks like them. Antoinette also shows us how the family is disconnected with the others in the town. As their life condition is not as it used to be the natives call them white niggers. This shows us that they are not only looked down by the other white rich people but also by the natives, too. Antoinette also takes Christophine as her role model who is a black servant. As her mother neglects her she tries to find intimacy from Christophine who really cares for Antoinette but has not too much time for her. She does not talk English in a proper way. Actually the blacks speak creole and Antoinette can speak creole, too. In the second part of the book we can see it. This shows us that even though she has been educated in a convent she still behaves like the natives as she wishes. Creole is not seen or regarded as a proper language. I also want to mention her mother’s parrot Coco. It can speak French which was one of the lofty languages of the time and this means that it is an educated parrot as not everyone can speak French.

     When I look at the language issue than I think that Antoinette has the ability to adapt herself both to the people which belong to her class and also to the natives because she speaks both English and Creole. Antoinette is really fond of Jamaica and does not want to live elsewhere. She also does not look down on her servants and treats them in a kind way which shows that she is not like her ancestors who treated the natives in a bad way. She has become a part of the country and the natives.