Jamaican Culture and Identity Theme Analysis

Jamaica achieved independence from the United Kingdom on August 6, 1962, and thus at the time the novel begins (1976) the country is still very much in the process of developing an independent national identity. This is presented as a difficult task, in part due to the country’s traumatic history of colonialism and slavery, issues which are in turn linked to questions of political power, racism, colorism, religion, class, and respectability. Some Jamaican characters remain triumphant in the post-independence period, embracing the messages of black power embodied by figures such as Marcus Garvey. Others, however, find little hope in the face of the poverty, violence, and corruption that afflicts post-independence Jamaica.

The book begins at a time in which Rastafari is gaining influence, in large part due to the popularity of the Singer (the character based on Bob Marley). The book describes the Singer’s worldwide fame, which attracts other stars, such as Mick Jagger, to Jamaica. However, there is a distinct contrast between the embrace of Rasta culture in the world at large and the strong backlash against Rastafari and reggae that takes place in Jamaica itself, particularly in the earlier stage of the Singer’s success. On one hand, middle- and upper-class Jamaicans, who were often fervently Christian, dislike Rastafarians because they are not Christian and are seen as undisciplined and dirty. For example, Nina’s father beats Nina when he finds out she had sex with the Singer, while her mother exclaims: “Down there not scratching you with all that lice? It not biting you down there? How can you even stand there. Dear Lord, what kind of nasty daughter me have?” On the other hand, men like Josey Wales dislike the Rastafarians’ emphasis on peace and the threat that they will take power from the existing political parties and gangs. This is, of course, what leads Josey to attempt to assassinate the Singer and everyone in his house. Later in the novel, Josey warns the JLP politician Peter Nasser that there is a new party forming, backed by the singer. He explains: “even if the Singer wasn’t going to be the voice of this new party, movement, whatever you want to call it, he was going to be something else far more important: the money.” Although different characters have different motivations for resenting the shift in Jamaican cultural identity caused by the rise of Rastafari and the success of the Singer, many are united in their negative reaction to these changes. 

Disagreements over Rastafari point to another issue at the center of the novel’s exploration of Jamaican culture and identity: the notion of authenticity. A Brief History of Seven Killings is characterized by a sense of uncertainty over what it means to be “authentically” Jamaican. Ironically, it is the white Americans living in the country––such as Alex Pierce and Barry Diflorio––who are most confident in their claims to know “the real Jamaica.” The Jamaican characters themselves are far less certain, and some of them strive to reject Jamaica altogether. Nina, for example, cannot wait to leave Jamaica; she romanticizes the US and goes to desperate lengths in order to secure an American visa. Similarly, characters like Eubie who have immigrated from Jamaica to the US take on American mannerisms and seem to be fully assimilated into the country.

At the same time, the novel’s depiction of Jamaicans living in the US suggests that many Jamaicans retain a strong sense of cultural identity despite living in a new country. The Jamaican drug gangs featured in the narrative, for example, still recruit from Kingston and maintain the same way of doing things as gangs back in Jamaica. The large population of Jamaicans in New York further complicates the idea of authentic Jamaican identity. Josey points to this sense of instability with his remark: “I hate when Jamaicans start to pick up American ways of talking, and when they flip back and forth it put my teeth on edge.” Another way in which this issue is explored is through food. When Josey arrives in New York, Weeper suggests taking him to the best Jamaican restaurant in the city, which is located in Flatbush, Brooklyn. However, both Josey and Weeper question why Josey would come all the way to New York to eat food that is probably inferior to what he is used to in Jamaica. The fact that the final major scene of the novel takes place in a Jamaican restaurant is similarly significant. “Millicent,” whom readers are led to believe is another one of Nina’s alter-egos, is ordering food when she sees a headline stating that Josey Wales has been burned alive in his cell. Despite Millicent/Nina’s continued attempts to leave Jamaica behind and reinvent herself as a new person in America, her trip to the Jamaican restaurant reinforces her inevitable tie to her home country. Although the notion of authentic Jamaican cultural identity may be contested and hard to pin down, Jamaican identity is also shown to be powerful and enduring in the face of both global change and shifts in the lives of individual characters.