Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Abstract
Jamaica: The Stories We Never Told is a memoir project that describes the realities of Jamaican life through personal narratives that detail the cultural and social nuances of Jamaican experiences. Its purpose is to broaden the global perception of Jamaican culture beyond tourism, beaches, music, and sports by representing everyday realities of Jamaican life, often overlooked by the global community. It details multifaceted experiences, including challenges and positive encounters, the transition from youth to adulthood, and complex emotions throughout. This project documents the author’s lived experiences and reveals cultural nuances, including friendships, family dynamics, and the use of Patois to authenticate Jamaican life and culture.
The memoir is organized into three parts: Hurricanes, Friendship, and Family. The first section, Hurricanes, uses ekphrastic strategies to personify Hurricane Gilbert and Hurricane Melissa. The second section, Friendship, details the author’s experiences with friends and colleagues during youth and young adulthood, and the final section, Family, reveals family dynamics and contrasting observations of realities, based on observed perspectives and hidden truths.
This project is intended to contribute to scholarly and literary conversations about Jamaican experiences and to present the country as more than its known culture. It is a partial account that highlights aspects of Jamaican life that are often overlooked by the worldwide community. Through creative storytelling, this memoir offers an intimate portrayal of the peculiarities of Jamaican life through the author’s lived experiences.
Recommended Citation
Gibson, Vinnette, "Jamaica: The Stories We Never Told" (2025). Theses. 50.
https://roar.una.edu/theses/50
