Being dictated to, day in and day out, about the greatness and magnanimity of such a perfect and utopian-like place as England, and being bombarded with the comments about the fruitlessness of your own culture and land without the English structure being ironed over you, can lead to such resentment and disdain for all things English, should you not succumb to or become brainwashed into believing that all that you were taught was right. This is the significance that Jamaica Kincaid presents to the reader in her piece of how she has come to view England through her experiences in Antigua, her birthplace. Through her repetition of phrases like "Made in England," elementary diction, colorful imagery, economically-inclined metaphors and varying syntax, Kincaid is able to present her argument skillfully and sweepingly.
             "When I saw England for the first time, I was a child sitting at a desk." This opening line immediately introduces the reader to the idea of a child being trained on the benefits and nature of the English system and societal structures. This notion is forwarded with the mention of the detail of the map, in which England was constructed "gently, beautifully, [and] delicately," a listing of abstract thoughts which sets a tone of enjoyment and positive feelings. As soon as this tone is created it is shifted to a light one, yet coupled with an undercurrent of mystery and a hint of negativity, especially with the analogy of England to a "leg of mutton" and the "squiggly veins of red running in every direction" which has an almost primal and vicious air to it. The tone shifts even farther to an openly sarcastic one with the mention of "England was a special jewel all right," and how only the select few are able to enjoy England and wear it anywhere and at anytime they please. These comments guide the reader into the direction of dislike and derision towards Engl...