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Lucy
In “Big Islan,” Clarise is Nathanial’s wife. They live in Kingston, Jamaica, but Clarise wants more out of life. She’s been teaching Nathanial the alphabet with the hope that he’ll get a promotion or a higher-paying job if he’s literate. She prefers “uncalloused” men, that is, men who work in offices rather than with their hands, like Nathanial does. Like many people on the island, Clarise dreams of moving to England, where there are supposedly more opportunities. At first, Nathanial can’t understand why Clarise wants more when their life is perfectly fine and they’re surrounded by so much natural beauty on the island. But as Nathanial learns to read, it opens him up to new ideas. Gradually, Clarise’s dissatisfaction with their life starts to make more sense to him—it makes their life in Jamaica seem impossibly small and stifling.
Clarise Quotes in Foreign Soil
The Foreign Soil quotes below are all either spoken by Clarise or refer to Clarise. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Big Islan
Quotes
Same everytin but yet, somehow, it nyah de same anymore at all. It big-big change. Since J fe Jamaica, everytin aroun Nathanial seem like it nyah quite de same. Since J fe Jamaica, de ocean bin callin’, nyah calmin’, de young man.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
It a usual Saturday mornin’. Nuttin’ odd or outta place. De city below fidgetin’ no more an no less dan usual. But dis mornin’, somehow, someway, fe some reason, wen Nathanial Robinson gaze ovah de city im grow te love so-so dear, Kingston feel insignificant small. R. R is fe restlessness.
Get the entire Foreign Soil LitChart as a printable PDF.
Clarise Quotes in Foreign Soil
The Foreign Soil quotes below are all either spoken by Clarise or refer to Clarise. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Big Islan
Quotes
Same everytin but yet, somehow, it nyah de same anymore at all. It big-big change. Since J fe Jamaica, everytin aroun Nathanial seem like it nyah quite de same. Since J fe Jamaica, de ocean bin callin’, nyah calmin’, de young man.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
It a usual Saturday mornin’. Nuttin’ odd or outta place. De city below fidgetin’ no more an no less dan usual. But dis mornin’, somehow, someway, fe some reason, wen Nathanial Robinson gaze ovah de city im grow te love so-so dear, Kingston feel insignificant small. R. R is fe restlessness.
