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Lucy
In “Big Islan,” Clarise is Nathanial’s wife. They live in Kingston, Jamaica, but Clarise wants more out of life. She’s been teaching Nathanial the alphabet with the hope that he’ll get a promotion or a higher-paying job if he’s literate. She prefers “uncalloused” men, that is, men who work in offices rather than with their hands, like Nathanial does. Like many people on the island, Clarise dreams of moving to England, where there are supposedly more opportunities. At first, Nathanial can’t understand why Clarise wants more when their life is perfectly fine and they’re surrounded by so much natural beauty on the island. But as Nathanial learns to read, it opens him up to new ideas. Gradually, Clarise’s dissatisfaction with their life starts to make more sense to him—it makes their life in Jamaica seem impossibly small and stifling.
Clarise Quotes in Foreign Soil
The Foreign Soil quotes below are all either spoken by Clarise or refer to Clarise. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Big Islan Quotes
Same everytin but yet, somehow, it nyah de same anymore at all. It big-big change. Since J fe Jamaica, everytin aroun Nathanial seem like it nyah quite de same. Since J fe Jamaica, de ocean bin callin’, nyah calmin’, de young man.
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It a usual Saturday mornin’. Nuttin’ odd or outta place. De city below fidgetin’ no more an no less dan usual. But dis mornin’, somehow, someway, fe some reason, wen Nathanial Robinson gaze ovah de city im grow te love so-so dear, Kingston feel insignificant small. R. R is fe restlessness.
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Clarise Character Timeline in Foreign Soil
The timeline below shows where the character Clarise appears in Foreign Soil. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Big Islan
...of “unease deep deep down in im own self skin.” One year ago, Nathanial’s wife Clarise made him promise to learn one letter per week, starting with “A fe ackee.” Nathanial...
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Learning the alphabet was Clarise’s idea, though—not Nathanial’s. She wants him to be more educated so he can make more...
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Nathanial would return home once a year. In the time that elapsed between those visits, Clarise got more and more beautiful, and eventually Nathanial married her. After that, she announced that...
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After Clarise teaches Nathanial “A is fe ackee,” she makes Nathanial point out all the As on...
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...closes his eyes. He knows he’s dirty from working all day, and he knows that Clarise will want him to clean up when he gets home—she prefers “uncalloused” men, like the...
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...bananas and coconuts reach London in time for the fruit to be at its ripest. Clarise has been telling Nathanial to get a new job. He's been with the Port Authority...
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...The ship’s name tells Nathanial it’s from England. Nathanial bets that some of his fellow Jamaicans—Clarise included—would board the ship if they got the chance, genuinely believing that England’s streets “jus...
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...to leave the island. He gets up then, walks down the pier, and heads home; Clarise will be making dinner about now. He thinks that even if he leaves this place,...
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Sometime later, Nathanial sits at his small wooden table and finishes the yams Clarise has prepared for dinner. Clarise, meanwhile, folds clean clothes and places them in the laundry...
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...front page of the paper and sees a photo of the cricket team. He asks Clarise why they’re on the front page. She explains that they’re getting a lot of coverage...
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...photo in the paper), it doesn’t look like anyone cares what color your skin is. Clarise, from the other room, calls out that the West Indies team has been playing in...
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That night, Clarise goes to bed early. Nathanial stays awake. Though he’s never much cared for cricket, he...
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...morning, Nathanial wakes to sun streaming in through the bedroom window and the smells of Clarise cooking breakfast drifting in from the kitchen. The newspaper is folded up on Nathanial’s bedside...
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