Material Loss Radha Kamineni 11th Grade

How fragile is identity? “Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys challenges this question through the eyes of two characters, Antionette Cosway and Edward Rochester. Set in post-emancipation Jamaica, the novel follows the story of young Antionette, a girl born onto a deteriorating plantation. Despised by the locals for her Creole heritage, and her slave-owner father, Antionette struggles for her sanity in an unfair and patriarchal society. Many readers can relate to the coming-of-age concept of the novel. Yet “Wide Sargasso Sea” differs from other narratives in that it involves complicated and subjective topics. Rhys writes to make the reader think, to question all aspects of the novel, and, on the next level, his or her own existence. Most importantly, the reader must examine the delicate pieces of character that connect a person to sensibility. Throughout the book, Rhys describes the motif of fire to show how loss of identity can tear one away from their family, themselves, and reality.

Antionette’s mother, Annette fears harm at the hands of the locals, and those fears become a reality when she loses her son, her home, and her faith in the destructive fire at Coulibri, proving that her insanity was fueled by loss of identity....