The words, "Made in England" allowed Jamaica Kincaid to realize England's possession over her life. She expresses her indignant attitude of disgust toward England and how it is causing her to lose her identity.
Kincaid begins the passage seeming very admirable toward England. However, this was done with bitter sarcasm. She uses imagery using words such as "sky blue", "yellow form", and "shadings of pink and green", to abstractly paint a picture of the map in the reader's mind. She uses the words "special jewel" to symbolize England. She criticizes the English by stating that only the English get to wear it. This made her feel inferior causing her to express her hatred against England later on in the passage. .
Kincaid uses flashback when recalling the lists of endless English meals she has eaten. The infinite list of food emphasizes her parents desire to practice English customs instead of creating new and original traditions. Her father's attachment to the English hat demonstrates his obsession towards English culture. Even though the hat wasn't made for the island's climate, he continued to wear it with vanity.
A hyperbole is used to show that to "draw a map of England" "was something far worse than a declaration of war." She feels "blessed" that she isn't able to draw a map of England because she does not want to be a part of it. She feels that those words are resulting in the "erasure" of her identity. She doesn't want to know how to draw the map because she isn't from there and feels no intimate connection to the country. Perhaps she is trying to declare her own independence from the country that has "conquered" her. .
"Made in England" haunts Jamaica Kincaid in every aspect of her life. Adults, parents, and teachers emphasize that England is the source of all meaning and reality. However, by refusing to fall as a victim, she demands her independence. Instead, her inability to draw a proper "map of England" shows that she has not been "conquered.