Use of language in the autobiography of my mother tongue. It’s the way words turn into sentences, that turn into paragraphs, that turn into novels. It is the author's ability to create a complex web of plot, emotion, symbolism, and relationships through words alone. In The Autobiography of My Mother, Jamaica Kincaid uses language in a very simplistic, but very effective way. His writing is direct and relevant. There is no flowery wording or complex sentence structure. Without the distractions of overwhelming language, the depth of Kincaid's material comes through with particular effectiveness. It is the simplest of elements of writing, that of repetition and opposition, that Kincaid uses to create a novel rich in language and eloquence. The most striking linguistic aspect of the novel is its lack of dialogue. There is not a single line of dialogue throughout the novel. This reliance on narration accomplishes several things for Kincaid's protagonist, Xuela Claudette Richardson. First, it allows Xuela to be defined by no one but herself. There...