Digital Archiving Project

  "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid is a fascinating poem that goes through the daily mind of a girl in the Caribbean. This poem goes one by one through her daily activities, and sometimes the narrator provides comments on why she must do some of the things that she does. She must do laundry, clean, cook, go into town, etc.. All of the commentary that she makes though is negative. It focuses on how she is trying not to be seen as a "Slut". I do find it interesting that this is her main concern while doing all of these activities. I find that this idea is prevalent in a bunch of the stories that we have read that focus on gender roles. The women in the story are always judged very harshly, and they are always seeking to have a more pure image so that they are not seen as dirty or undesirable.     In the poem, the gender role of a Caribbean women is made very clear. They are to do the household chores and not lay around with other men. Their importance compared to the men of ...

 The cultural divide that resulted in hegemony due to the colonialism that was prominent throughout most Caribbean nations history is a big theme throughout many of the stories that we have read, and videos we have watched. It is a crucial artifact due to how it creates plots and segregation amongst many of the characters.  Hegemony is one of our postcolonial terms, and it is important to the literature that we have read this semester. Hegemony is present due to the colonization that was prominent throughout the Caribbean by European nations. Now, many nations are feeling the repercussions of colonialism. In “Pioneers oh Pioneers”, the story highlights hegemony. In the story there is a clear divide between the native people and the white Europeans on the island. The main character starts to have a relationship with a lady of color, and the other white people on the island become very critical of him for having a relationship with someone of a different background. They feel th...

  The ocean is a key artifact and symbol for so much in Caribbean literature. As island nations, Caribbean countries are surrounded by the sea and they show how prevalent this is by writing about it so often. In "Dream Haiti", it tells a short story about a dream of a refugee. He dreams of his journey to the U.S.A.. he dreams of being imprisoned, even though he is imprisoned basically to himself, and the trip is only a one way journey with no opportunity to turn back. I found that the story shows the same Caribbean idea of hopelessness that we have read about multiple times before. While he was floating along, he escapes his land of culture, but leaves behind his sense of being stuck in post-colonial Haiti. However, he, himself is stuck and dreams give a false senes of reality. He is stuck floating along in the sea, and the waves also show a sense of being cast and stuck, flowing along with what the world throws his way.     Th ocean for many is both an area tha...

The theme and artifact of death is very prominent throughout many of the stories that we have read this year. Poverty and many bad living conditions probably prompted many authors to include death to write about, and bring attention to the ominous conditions in real life as well. In the very intriguing short story "The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship", death is the prominent artifact and theme. From the start there is a very ominous tone and it just seems destined for chaos and peril. The young boy goes back to his mother after he sees the strange ship, but when he tells her what he saw she does not believe him. from this point on the story becomes very dark. as the boy is on the way home his mother sits in the new chair she bough; she then suddenly has a heart attack before he can say anything and apparently four others in the village had died in the exact same chair.      The idea of death is ever-present in this story and it highlights the use of death in Caribbean ...

 T he theme of loneliness and isolation is the main theme in the story “Some People are Meant to Live Alone”. This story is completely and wholly about loneliness and living in isolation.  Frank Collymore's "Some People are Meant to Live Alone", is an interesting short read that focuses in on the conversation and relationship of a child and his Uncle Arthur. Uncle Arthur is older and lives by himself. When his Nephew comes to him and asks him, if he feels like he ever gets lonely, his response is a puzzling one. He says that he never gets truly lonely and that,  " Some people are meant to live alone."(Collymore). In this instance it seems as if Uncle Arthur almost admits to being somewhat lonely, while trying to defend his own situation. By saying some people are meant to be lonely, it shows a sort of fixed mindset. He comes off as someone who deserves pity and he seems almost content with being lonely. Loneliness runs with the previous artifact, because th...

  Throughout this semester we have read an incredible amount of stories that detail the Caribbean and the culture and lifestyle of those in the Caribbean. The literary style and themes are so unique and many of the different themes link together through central cultural ideas and activities. We have explored non-fiction sources, like documentaries that highlight the day-to-day life of those living in Caribbean nations. On the other hand, we have explored movies and fiction stories that highlight the entertainment and literary ideology of the Caribbean and their magical thematic ideas. After taking in and examining all of the stories and documentaries there have been five artifacts that have highlighted all the material that we have gone over this semester. The artifacts and themes include death, loneliness/isolation, the ocean, gender dynamics, and hegemony. All of these main themes and artifacts link together to create an overall dark tone to many of the stories that we have read ...