Brent has a Ph.D. in American Culture, with a specialization in film studies, from the University of Michigan. She is a freelance writer and teaches courses in the history of American cinema. In the following essay, Brent discusses the theme of death in "Leaving This Island Place."

As death is a central theme of this story, the narrative is filled with references, both direct and indirect, to death. Because the story is told from the first-person point of view of the narrator, these recurring references to death express his own inner psychological state and preoccupations. On a literal level, he is preoccupied with death because his father is dying. This fact, occurring just as he is preparing to leave Barbados for college in Canada, has brought up memories of his family circumstances and reminded him of his socioeconomic roots, in contrast to his current lifestyle as...