A lot of people, when thinking of England, perceive it as a great country. It has been one of the top leaders in the world for basically its entire existence; conquering and ruling areas bigger than itself. But most of those people who think it really is the crown jewel of Europe, probably are not from the provinces conquered. Jamaica Kincaid is one of these. All her life everything has had something to do with England, and she acts sullen and bitter towards it.
             In the first paragraph, she describes England by saying, "It looked like a leg of mutton." While most people would be in awe of this ornately drawn map, she relates it to food. Something to eat, devour, and in mutton, not all that common. So it is still special to her, but she wants to relate it to something she doesn't need, mutton. It is special because it influences everything but doesn't nesecarily mean she wants it, it's not special in a good way.
             One can see this again in the first paragraph with,
             "England was a special jewel all right, and only special people got to wear it. The people who got to wear England were English people. They wore it everywhere: in jungles, in deserts, on plains, on top of the highest mountains, on all the oceans, on all the seas, in places where they were not welcome, in places the should not have been."
             This entire passage is seeping with anger and hatred. When she says, "all right" one can picture her grinding her teeth, saying it in that sarcastic tone only one can get when they detest something. When she speaks about only English people get to wear England, she is not including herself. Only true English people come from English people come from England, a place she has never been, only seen once on a map. The next part about wearing it everywhere and listing all the places, is referring to the places they conquer, and how they do not want them there. She is one of t...