Questions of exile and return and related notions of identity are central to works by Caribbean writers. Paule Marshall, an African – American writer deals with the problem of identity in her novels. According to her, one must understand the past, to understand the present struggle. She explains this through her charcters Selina, Merle kinbona and Avey Johnson. Black woman has to struggle hard to understand her own self in America. So Individual and collective memory is necessary for the black women to survive in the New World. This paper aims to explore the connection of one’s root through memory, flashbacks, rituals and history. Key-words: notions of identity, problem of identity, black women, memory, flashbacks, rituals and history etc.