The Dragon Can not Dance is a 1979 novel by the writer of Trinidad Earl Lovelace, set in the Port of Spain. The novel centers on the life of Aldrick Prospect, a man who spent the whole year creating dragon costumes for Carnival. The interaction of Aldrick with others living in his neighborhood (including Fisheye, local villain, and Pariag, a rural Indian who moved to town to move away from his familial heritage) formed the backdrop for their individual struggles for self-definition in a society dominated by racial divisions and his colonial legacy. The story culminated when Aldrick and Fisheye, along with a small number of followers, hijacked a police car and brought two police officers. The events surrounding the hostage, and the consequences of that event lead the reader on a journey through the colonial psyche, and expose the deep problems of a society that still has not reconciled itself with its colonial and racial colonial past.
Video The Dragon Can't Dance
Character
- Aldrick , the main protagonist, manifesting the "dragon"
- Sylvia , love flowers from the Hill, representing youth and sexuality
- Belasco "Fisheye" John , "bad-john" from Hill
- Pariag , Indians, representing racial discrimination and exclusion
- Philo , original Band member, became rich Calypso singer
- Ms. Cleothilda , "Queen" from the hill, Philo's love interest
- Ms. Olive , Sylvia's mother
- Sir. Guy , Sylvia's boyfriend
- Dolly , Pariag's wife
- Ms. Caroline
Maps The Dragon Can't Dance
Historical context
The history record of Trinidad begins when Christopher Columbus arrives on July 31, 1498 (Anthony, Michael: Trinidad Profile ). Trinidad was populated by Amerindian people of the Arawak group, who had lived there for centuries, and by Caribs Island that began to invade the island long before 1498 and had established settlements in the late sixteenth century. After his discovery by Columbus, Spain began to settle on the island and the production of tobacco and chocolate began in the seventeenth century, but because they lacked the essence for economic development and sailing, the capacity to develop productive bases became paralyzed; Spain failed to develop the industrial and commercial base needed to defend the kingdom.
"In 1783, the Spanish government had acknowledged that the French planters, with their slaves, capital and expertise in the cultivation of tropical staples, should be interested if Trinidad would develop as a plantation colony.The result of this belief was Cedula (Decision) Population, issued on November 24 1783. The main incentive Cedula offered was a land-free grant for every settler who came to Trinidad with his slave with two conditions: the emigrant must be Roman Catholic and the subject of a friendly nation to Spain meaning that the settlers would be almost exclusively French for only French planters can meet the requirements of Roman Catholic and alliances with Spain ", so that the French population and large slaves began immigrating to Trinidad and the island's economy began to flourish.
Sugar quickly became the most important plant in Trinidad, and when the sugar industry exploded, so did the English slave trade, bringing more African slaves to the island. This greatly influenced Trinidad's dominant culture. Creole culture became the norm of the black community and French influence can be seen in clothing, music, and dance.
"Along with the immigration of diverse cultural communities came a more storied social hierarchy.At early 1779, the Roume de St Laurent held the office of alcalde extraordinario of the cabildo.They were seated in cabildo, with the exception of the rich white landowners and slave holders whose politics were royalist and conservative, men committed to the preservation of slavery and white power. "Cabildo is known as the elite class of the ruler of Trinidad.
"The English merchants of 1790 have been engaged in developing trade with Trinidad, whose geographical position makes it an ideal base, which ensures that Trinidad will be safe from the British Navy."
"In July 1795 a peace treaty between Spain and the Republic of France was signed, making Spain (and in turn Trinidad's colony) to ally with France and then in October 1796 the French government succeeded in forcing Spain to declare the British war which meant that Trinidad was now exposed to force British sea. "With the military not being well equipped, Spain handed Trinidad on February 18, 1797, making the island into a British colony.
"Britain continued to import slaves to work in sugar cane plantations in the 1800s despite anti-slavery campaigns becoming popular in the UK In 1807, Britain saw the abolition of British slave trade, although the colony continued to use forced labor to work the plantation.New in 1833, The Emancipation Act was passed and became law on 1 August 1834. "
"After the abolition of slavery, the British discovered a new population to immigrate and work on plantations: East India Between 1845 and 1917 145,000 Indians went to Trinidad to work as compulsory servants Indians imported into Trinidad, stable and easy labor managed by sugar growers has been lost since the full emancipation of blacks. "" The system was established in such a way that the male Indians who had lived in Trinidad for 10 years could be given 10 acres of land belonging to the Kingdom as a substitution of all claim to return to India, "chosen by many Indians.
"This Indian immigration to Trinidad marks a new element for the already stratified community, growers, officials, upper-class white people, colored creeks and educated blacks and black working class all reacted unsympathetically to the arrival of the Indians. races are at a low level, and Indians are rapidly being put to the lowest levels of socio-economic culture. This is due to many reasons, some of which are different religions from the norm (especially Hinduism), lower economic status with which where Indians are targeted, and they are morally denied and degraded. "( Race Relations , 186). "Indians are considered deceitful, vulnerable to perjury, and very fond of litigation."
"The black community is also still discriminated and begins to form their own subculture regardless of the dominant British and Christian ideals.The nuclear group consists of ex-slaves and their descendants.They have developed a common set of cultural characteristics, which are combined for formed the mainstream of Trinidad's cultural pattern, although many Europeans still refuse to accept the practice of African religion as a genuine form of worship and treat worshipers of African religions badly, but the masses combine Catholic elements with non-Christian religious practices. and the African spirit is likened to the Catholic saints. The membership of these Afro-Christian sects is exclusively lower and black. "
"Hostility and humiliation are also the dominant upper and middle-class attitudes toward artistic forms of African or slave derivation.African music forms are subject to legal restrictions throughout the nineteenth century.The instruments that generate the most hatred are 'African drums' Dance drums such as Calenda, Belaire, and Bong, performed with drum accompaniment, are viewed with special horror even though the dance does not allow physical contact between the two sexes. "
"In 1883 the government introduced a bill of music which prohibited the screening of drums between 6 am and 10 pm except with a police license, and after 10 pm they were completely banned The bill was withdrawn and Ordinance II of 1883 took its Place Ordinance putting a drum dance by making every owner or invader responsible for the crowds gathered in their yard, and the ban on the use of African drums continued.This prompted musicians to switch to boiled bamboo bands that developed after the early 1880s as a companion to calypsos and for Carnival music "; the use of bamboo-tambour triggers the calypso music that began to dominate the music of Trinidad.
"Prior to emancipation, Carnival had become an elegant social affair of white upperclass Creole.It was introduced by France as a series of disguised ball (Trinidad profile), but after 1838 the former slaves and lower orders generally participated.In 1860 Carnival was taken over almost entirely by urban slum jam and organized into groups of yards that challenge rival bands to show off greatness in song, dance, and stick battles. "
"Canboulay is an important feature of the Jamet Carnival.This is a procession of band members, usually masked, carrying a blazing torch, accompanied by drums, songs, and shouts." What is more unpleasant than the band and Canboulay conflict is the obscenity of Carnival Jamet. There are bands of prostitutes roaming the streets, traditional masques with explicit sexual themes, and Pissenlit (played by masked men dressed as women in long transparent nightgowns). "
"After Canboulay was permanently erased in 1884 and the battle had been forcibly postponed, the upper classes began, once again, to participate in Carnival, and around 1890 the entrepreneurs began to recognize the commercial benefits of Carnival.An organized calypso race was introduced to Port of Spain for increase the moral tone of the festival.From 1890 onwards, Carnival is moving toward a place that is currently acceptable to almost all sectors of the population. "
Trinidad and Tobago gained self-government in 1958 and independence from the British Empire in 1962 with British blessing. Many racial and socio-economic divisions remain.
The effects of slavery and colonial attitudes from the British Empire that once dominated the state became clear through racism in Trinidad continued for many years after the emancipation of the state. "Although rooted in the material history of colonialism and slavery, the dominance of a small (historically heterogeneous yet increasingly coherent) minority of Europe and European descent can not be separated from beliefs about white prestige.In the British Caribbean, as in many modern colonized, identical white worlds with political, economic and social privileges and maintaining this equality is the official priority and elite preoccupation. To maintain this racial segregation, white men have an important responsibility: whenever their sexual partners are not white, the exercise of wisdom is paramount. "The integration of blacks and whites is condemned, which allows for the strengthening of oppression against blacks and the public. The effect of racism is evident throughout Lovelace's novel, through his role as Miss Cleothilda (the "queen"). He is the only mulatto woman on Calvary Hill, and thus, has proclaimed himself above the other inhabitants of Bukit. When she started dating Philo, a black man, another resident on Hill began to see Miss Cleothilda in a new light: as a humble and equal person.
In 1865, American civil engineer Walter Darwent invented and produced oil at Aripero, Trinidad. The attempt in 1867 to start production by Trinidad Petroleum Company at La Brea and Pariah Petroleum Company at Aripero was funded and abandoned after Walter Darwent died of yellow fever.
In 1893, Mr. Randolph Rust, with his neighbor, Mr. Lee Lum, drilled a successful well close to the original Darwent. In early 1907 major drilling operations began, roads were built and infrastructure built. The annual production of oil in Trinidad reached 47,000 barrels in 1910 and continues to increase rapidly from year to year. Oil production marks the beginning of globalization and capital investment in Trinidad, a theme seen throughout The Dragon Can not Dance and is the source of many novel conflicts.
Plot summary
Prolog
The main stage for plot development, Calvary Hill, is introduced through a series of descriptive elements that describe it as something close to a slum, favelas, or barrio. The atmosphere of the hill is portrayed through Aldrick Prospect's lifestyle, the main character of the novel: "[he] will wake up in the middle of the day from sleep, yawn, stretch, then start thinking where he can get something to eat, his brain works in equally smooth subtleties with which he moved his legs ". Carnival is organized as a central theme of the novel and is described as the only phenomenon capable of bringing the hill to life and corrupt everyday life in Trinidad. The power and soul of the Carnival, however, lies in the calypso, the songs that "announce a new rhythm of the people, rhythms that climb over the red earth and rock, break away from the laughter rhythm through the bones of these immortals ".
1. Queen of the Band
The first chapter follows a conversation between Miss Olive and Miss Caroline and their criticism of Miss Cleothlida, a proud mulatto widow who owns a living room shop but runs it as "if she does good to Hill, rather than carrying a business from what she means [s] 18). Miss Cleothilda has chosen her costume for Carnival this year and it's not surprising when she reveals that like every year, she will play as Queen of the Band. Miss Cleothlida's pride comes from her preserved beauty and her ability to continue attracting men her age. Philo, a calypsonian man, has been chasing him for 17 years without success, but with constant temptation. Neighbors noted that Miss Cleothilda treated only people well during Carnival because of Bukit's natural atmosphere and so she can defend her humiliation throughout the year. Once the Carnival is over, he will continue to look down on those who are darker than him and Hill will return to his sleep.
2. The Princess
At the age of 17, Sylvia is the most desirable woman on the hill. The novel moves back in time to reveal how he has always been a symbol of temptation and sexuality. When Miss Olive failed to get the money to pay the rent, Sylvia was asked to go to Mr. Guy's house and do sexual relief. However, as hard as many men have tried, Sylvia has outsmarted her and has managed to keep her virginity. The people on the Hill are aware that this year Sylvia has no man or costume for Carnival. Mr. Guy quickly promised him the costumes he wanted in an attempt to become her husband, however, his efforts were plagued by Miss Cleothilda, who was aware of the situation and deliberately interfered with offering Sylvia one of her old gowns. That night, Sylvia crept out of her house in the middle of the night. Aldrick is able to observe his silhouette in the darkness of his window, but hesitates to approach him because he believes that he is the most dangerous woman on the hill because he has the ability to "catch him in passion but to enslave him in attention, to bring to his world the ideas of love and home and children that he has spent his whole life avoiding "(31). Nevertheless, their first verbal exchange was full of passion and temptation when he questioned her about love and revealed that. Guy will be the one who bought him the costume that year. While the conversation drags on the costumes for Carnival, the true meaning and meaning is Sylvia and Aldrick who express interest in each other.
3. The Dragon
Aldrick is in his lavatory working on a dragon costume, which he recreates annually for Carnival. While at work, Sylvia's mind kept coming to her head, when suddenly she appeared in front of her door. His visit was an invitation for him to take her as a woman, however, Aldrick nervously refused to admit it and instead continued to work on his costume. The impasse was damaged by Philo's arrival to the scene and his desire to touch Sylvia forced him to leave the scene. It was too late and Aldrick forced Basil, a boy who always sat with him and helped him make his costume, to go home. When the boy refused to leave, Aldrick learned that his stepfather Fisheye was constantly tormenting him at home. Aldrick's knowledge of Fisheye's cruel reputation made him hesitant to intervene, but the boy's refusal to abandon him forced him to walk home and confront Fisheye.
4. The Bad John
The novel jumped into the past to uncover the history of the violent family of Fisheye, describing them as "high powerful men who could handle their fists, and well, each one of them, with a stick, since their father, before he became a preacher, stickfighter champion who has educated each of them in the art of stickfighting ". The Fisheye family injected so much fear into society that no one dared call them more offensive than John. Through Fisheye's character, we see the introduction of bands of music, whose behavior emulates street gangs. Fisheye became the center of the armor of Calvary Hill, and as their leader, he tried to unite several bands so that instead of fighting with each other, they could unite and "fight against those who oppress blacks... the government". While Fisheye was able to get the band to sign the peace, he never produced what he imagined, as this only ended the nature of the violence between them without joining them in the movement and opposition to the government. The spirit of peace was short-lived when Fisheye's warrior spirits appeared when white bands came into the streets and Carnival began to be commercialized. Initially, Fisheye did not mind that some "light-skinned" bands became sponsors, however, as Desperadoes and Calvary Hill considered the choice, he started fighting again in an effort to expel possible sponsors. Fisheye learned that a senior member of the band Calvari Hill was considering his expulsion, and while he waited for them to approach him, the novel came back to the point when we saw Aldrick coming to take Basil home. Aldrick knew that Fisheye was not in the mood, but he discussed the matter with humor and avoided arguments. On the way home, Aldrick's mind was occupied by Silvia, when she was approached by Pariag, an Indian exile living on a hill.
5. The Spectator
Even after two years of living on the Hill, Pariag, still seen as an outsider. Pariag migrated to the city with his wife Dolly from New Lands in an attempt to break away from the country's lifestyle and become part of something bigger. This novel jumps into the past, this time to reveal the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian exiles. Pariag's first job in town included buying empty bottles and selling them back to Rum's company. Initially, he enjoyed the task because he was able to talk with people and show that he was more than a simple Indian boy. After realizing that this work did not bring significant social interaction, he tried to sell roasted peanuts and boiled and fried chenna on race tracks on Saturday and at soccer matches on Sunday. In an effort to be noticed by others on the Hill, Pariag bought a bicycle a week before Carnival, a very enjoyable time for the people on the Hill. The new acquisition of Pariag gave it the name "Mad Indian" and made people in the neighborhood nervous about his ambitions and jealous of his new success.
6. Call to Dragon
The buzz of new acquisitions of Carnival and Pariag makes the people on Hill gossip. Miss Cleothilda approached Aldrick and expressed her concern about Pariag's bicycle, which indicated that her ambition would soon take her to buy a living room. Mr. Guy also approached Aldrick on the grounds of Pariag's bicycle, but his real intention was to collect the moon's rent. By the time Philo approached Aldrick, Aldrick was fed up with gossip about Indians and bicycles, yet, Philo only invited Aldrick to drink so he could listen to the new calypso he was going to sing that year, "The Ax Man." The next morning, hanging from a drinking night with Philo, Aldrick sees Pariag in front of her door asking her to paint a sign in the box for her: "Boya for Indian Delicacies, Barra, and Doubles !!!" Aware of the conflict that will soon appear on the Hill and want to remain neutral, Aldrick rejected him with tired excuses and asked him to come back later.
7. Norman "Tex" by Fete Karnaval
It was a Saturday night carnival and the music was on the air. Norman "Tex" has played saxophone all night with high intensity, and Philo enjoys a night of popularity thanks to "The Ax Man". Aldrick manages to temporarily forget Sylvia in the midst of smoke, rum, and night. However, when morning comes and he finds himself in Yard with a girl named Inez, Sylvia's costume thoughts haunt him again. Nonetheless, he chose to take Inez home and make love to her until morning.
8. To Be Dragon and Man
This is Carnival on Monday morning and Hill starts preparing for a great day. Aldrick follows the annual ritual in his costume and enters a new mental state with a dragon mask that gives him the mission of establishing an unrelenting rebellion. However, this year he feels as though he is the symbol of rebellion and the last threat in Port of Spain. Fisheye was under orders not to do anything and Philo had stopped singing the rebellious calypsos, which forced Aldrick to question whether he still believed in the dragon again. However, once he stepped out, Carnival hit him and he suddenly felt tall and proud: "No, this is not a joke.This is a warrior who will fight, this is the courage of the people, their blood" (123). Aldrick became a dragon of Port of Spain for two full days. She feels excited when she sees the terror on people's faces after staring at her: "she likes him when they see him come and collect their children and run". On the way home, Aldrick stumbles on a Kalvari Hill band who refuses to end Carnival and wants to keep on dancing. Aldrick slowly walked to the front of the band towards Sylvia, who had been dancing wildly with the rhythm of the steel band. After watching it for a while, he reaches out to touch it but he spins out and, facing him, gives a vocal blow: "No sir! I have my man!" (128) Suddenly, Guy appears behind him and stroked her towards him, leaving Aldrick frozen at the moment, beating in pain as Sylvia dances away with another man.
9. Abu Rabu
Aldrick awoke on Ash Wednesday and emerged from his room to see the courtyard with Carnival still swimming in his mind. He took a deep breath and the smell of poverty touched his nostrils for the first time in his life. He looks at all the "sad and ludicrous huts that are planted in this brown ground and rock, this is his home". With Sylvia's refusal still fresh in her mind, she said, "I must learn to feel." This marks his acceptance of Calvary Hill as his home, and his life. Meanwhile, Miss Cleothilda admits, for the first time, a change in the page that threatens the queen's position: the combination of Philo's newfound success, his inability to convince Aldrick to do something about Pariag's continuing presence, and most importantly, the new Sylvia. man, Guy. Guy can "stay stylish", (135) and if he becomes ambitious, it can be a new "queen". As a result of all this, Miss Cleothilda began using Miss Olive as a way to create friendship with Sylvia so she can shape it when she sees fit with the new "queen" in the yard. His relationship with Philo caused a furor in the yard and people began to question whether it was intimate or not. If so, it brings a more human side, a weakness, in Miss Cleothilda. The embarrassment approached Aldrick and he began to feel that he was not the dragon he was, and the pine for Sylvia. One morning, the yard woke up to Pariag shouting on a mutilated bicycle.
10. Friends and Family
Pariag moved his bike along Alice's path in a funeral funeral way, while Fisheye, Aldrick, and several other young men from around Mount Calvary watched from a corner. The close attention he receives marks one of the first instances in which he appears "alive" to others, relates to them in a humane way. In the days after the bike accident, Pariag was very concerned about his existence and purpose in his life, and as he stepped back to see himself, it brought him closer to his wife, Dolly. They decided one night after seeing Indian films in San Juan to visit their family in the country on a holiday. While there, family hospitality imitates that the host treats guests, and they instantly feel like outsiders on the farm. But for his nephews, he represents the wider world, something more than the existence of their village. His rich uncle called him and criticized his decision to move to Port of Spain: "Do you want to live, among the Creole people, like cats and dogs, and forget your family.You have a family child.The next thing you know, you leave your wife - whom you did not bring to meet me. "Pariag returned home that night to Calvary Hill feeling that his mind was made where he would be in life, and his certainty made him feel at peace.
11. The New Yard
In August, many things, like relationships, have changed around the page. Miss Cleothilda had decided she would become a "queen" once more, but with a more Gentile superiority complex. Philo had made it into his house weeks before and now was her husband. Sylvia is her protagonist. Miss Cleothilda became gregarious and curious around the yard and showed confidence that "all of us are one" when Dolly became pregnant and she led her baby shower. Miss Olive and Miss Caroline also accepted him on a more human level because he was with a lower-caste black man despite his splendor. For them, the relationship brings it closer to the people at Calvary Hill. Meanwhile, Aldrick sat on the doorstep, thinking. He has become a quiet person and has little interest, once again, being a carnival dragon. She felt like she had gone beyond these costumes and roles.
12. Exiles
Aldrick, Fisheye, and several other youths started gathering in a corner more and more, not in the same company, but occupying the same space. They are the ones who no longer take part in the carnival, especially since Johnson and Fullers started sponsoring their band. For them, the true rebel spirit as a perennial warrior of the previous generation has been dominated by modern forces such as business and tourism. One day, Aldrick calls Sylvia who tells her that it is her life and she does not have to harass her. He warned him about his choice from the start and how they brought residual consequences for his life. Of course, she was referring to her relationship with Miss Cleothilda and Guy. Philo came later and asked Aldrick out for a drink. Philo insists that his success in calypso music has not changed itself, that he is still an integral part of that hill. Fisheye did not like Philo wandering around and confronted Aldrick about their friendship. One day round the corner, Philo stops by a bottle and two girls to say hello and drink a few glasses. Fisheye said to Philo: "Philo, you do not have any friends here, you're a big man." Philo looked at Aldrick, who told him to leave. When Philo offers the bottle, Fisheye throws it to the ground and hits one of his daughters. "What is war, Philo." Philo, in retaliation, made a collision played all over the island about hooligans in Port of Spain. Meanwhile, everyone is preparing for the carnival and Aldrick just looks from his place in the corner, feeling weird. He dreamed of a dragon every night but never started working on his costume. While police began to crack down on the public, Fisheye planned an attack on the police.
13. The Dragon Dance
Fisheye came into a corner one day with a pistol and told eight of them there that they should not be separated when the police came to kick the bum on the street. The plan is that two of them will start a fight when the police come, and when they come out to break it down, "they will see". When the police came and destroyed Crowley and the Synco fights, they handcuffed police with guns, put them behind and drove in a patrol car. They went to Woodford Square, the political center of Port of Spain, where speeches and rallies were always held. On their megaphones stated: "This is the People's Liberation Army." At one point Aldrick picked up a microphone and said: "do not make peace with slavery... do not make peace with slum cities, dog poop, urine.We must rise up as people. Before this point, it was not fully understood that Aldrick or these people, except perhaps Liberty Varlance, had a political motive behind their rebellious lifestyle. The crowds gather to watch the chase, and it happens for several days, because the police consider them not a threat to anyone's safety and they will eventually exhaust themselves or run out of gas.
14. Prison Dance
Their defense lawyer in court is a young man with passionate radical views and very eloquent in his defense of the nine Calvary Mounts (as the letters dubbed them). But in the end, that's not enough and they all have to serve a few years. Aldrick served six years. While in jail, they spent much of their time at the start sitting down and discussing what they really expected from their duties in police cars, and in the end it seemed it was all for show, snapping, dragon dancing. After a while, during their imprisonment, they all stepped away and did not intend to continue from where they left once they got out of jail.
15. The Dragon Can't Dance
Aldrick returned to Calvary Hill after six years in prison and was greeted like a hero, but he felt more like he was accepted by a group of deserters who had long reconciled with the enemy. She meets a new girl in a bar, named Molly, and she tells him about two thousand people playing demon at the upcoming carnival. Aldrick is temporarily excited that perhaps times have not changed, until he says they are "Satanic Luxury, with silk and satin, enough Devils". She tells him about his time as a dragon, a real breathing fire dragon and wearing long claws. The next day, he visits Sylvia for the first time in more than six years and finds that she has grown up. Sylvia recounts her confusion during the days when she was in a police car, while Aldrick looked around her house and saw that Guy had given her a lot of luxuries: television, stereo, refrigerator, etc. Miss Cleothilda came and shook her hand, she was far away. He tells Aldrick about environmental degradation, which is a crime by a young man he thinks inspired by Fisher's police piracy jeep. Guy has been a member of the city council and because of this news, Miss Cleothilda challenged Aldrick: "What can you give her?" Shortly after, he realized that Sylvia would soon be married. When Aldrick leaves his home, he realizes that maybe Sylvia has been in control of her life since the beginning, and that's not so much so she chooses Guy when she rejects the dragon's inability. And with this, Aldrick was at peace with his life chapter where Sylvia might be a part. She walks through Pariag's new shop and is tempted to talk to Pariag, but instead walks, disappointed by her past and her future.
16. Goods Store Keeper
Pariag had seen Aldrick stop outside his shop, and that annoyed him so much that he (Aldrick) did not come to talk to him. After all these years, Pariag still has no sense of belonging on Calvary Hill, and as a result of ongoing isolation has more or less concluded that he finished with the Creole people. Even with a shop, Pariag still has not gained a degree of superiority in relation to others around the neighborhood, saying "shops do not make people". He hopes, for the sake of the hill, life is better for everyone, and that there is more unity among people. She lay with Dolly and they discussed their lives together, recalled their life in the country and her first encounter with her when she said that she had to live in Port of Spain.
17. The Calypsonian
Philo stands on his veranda in Diego Martin, a prosperous neighborhood in Trinidad, and looks around the homes of people he thinks he just knew as successful people uniformly but also unfulfilled as human beings. From this revelation came a new tune and he went in to write it down, and there on his desk he found a wedding invitation for Sylvia and Guy. When he thinks of Sylvia's position in the yard as a symbol of youth and hope, she remembers Aldrick's love for him, but also Guy's taste for young women and his ability to get what he wants. Philo thought to himself: "Marrying Guy is a horse of a different color." He remembers the discussion of Sylvia and Guy who some time ago with Miss Cleothilda, and her unfailing faith in their lives together. Cleothilda explains some love interests aside from Sylvia, a man who strongly identifies with Africa, others speak passionately about Cuba, Vietnam, China, and the potential for revolution in Trinidad. The joy of these young people always attracted Sylvia's attention. Remembering the pages annoy Philo as he waited for one of his young girls to come. She looks back on her youth, her family. He arrives and Philo decides to go forward with him and asks to make love. After that, he felt guilty for being so straight with him. That night, he decided to go to Calvary Hill to see everyone. He was greeted warmly at a bar near the yard, and then decided to go and see Miss Cleothilda. She meets him at the door and tells him to go inside, that he knows where the bedroom is, but, even he forgets that it will not surprise him "the way the world would".
Themes
In the novel The Dragon Can not Dance, author Earl Lovelace reveals several recurring themes that illustrate fundamental psychological losses, which characters try to rediscover and rebuild on a personal, and community level. Aldrick and his colleagues are trying to find meaning and find a connection in something other than their involvement in the Carnival experience that happens every year in their Port of Spain city. Regardless of their efforts, their lack of roots and multi-generational cultures prevent them from developing productive attachments. This undermines their sense of identity on a personal and societal level.
The first theme that comes up is the character that misses the reception. Pariag [Indian] feels this way about moving to a new location to become part of a larger group and community. This in turn makes her feel more valuable. Pariag said, "The main reason he [Pariag] comes to town to live is that he can join people, be part of something bigger..." Pariag wants to experience a sense of belonging. He correctly understands that only through a new relationship can his life seem more meaningful.
The second theme is a call for unity and strength to the people. In a desperate attempt to ignite the sense of raison d'ÃÆ'ªtre in the people of his community, Aldrick, Fisheye and others plundered the police van and drove madly though downtown and shouted: "We are the People's Liberation Army. we call our people out, to rise and take power! Rise and restore your virility, people! Rise! "These young men try to inspire unity and meaning in a community that has been cut off from cultural roots for hundreds of years.
Another theme is the search for identity. Toward the end of the book, Aldrick questioned his identity. He thought to himself, "Is he [Aldrick] without a dragon? Who is he? What is there to define himself? What can he show and say: This is Aldrick?" Without history or culture to connect with, Aldrick represents a large number of Trinidad people who lost in terms of their identity. He is looking for roots or some clues that will lead him home.
Finally, the theme of power struggle for recognition plays most of the novel. For example, Miss Cleothilda feels threatened by the prospect that Sylvia might take over the position of "queen" or female head on the Hill. "It did not take long for Ms. Cleothilda to discover that a new situation had begun in Yard, a situation she felt threatened her position as a 'queen'... it was Sylvia... if she [Sylvia] became ambitious, the Yard could have a queen 'new Miss Cleothilda is beginning to make adjustments. "When Miss Cleothilda's core identity of what made the man or his' queen' threatened, the struggle for survival began to be felt. Recognition is the most important. Since the opportunity to express self-esteem and intrinsic value is severely limited to Calvary Hill (and Trinidad as a whole), even small roles in the community become important to people, especially if they are alienated and marginalized.
All of these themes are interwoven and show a major absence to meet the attachment, which serves as a lynchpin for identity. Attachment is developed through a fertile relationship that acts as a means of transporting our history and culture. With systematic and systematic long-term destruction of Trinidad's past, the identity and dignity of its people are intertwined.
Interpretation of others about deeper meaning
In The Dragon Can not Dance , the hope for personal and community transformation is at the core of this novel. After examining many novel analyzes, several significant and more profound meanings appear to surface. This deeper meaning consists of the importance of "performativity" relating to cultural resistance, player strategy (or lack thereof), and the continuity of transformation available to individual or group identities when no adjustments are made to conform to today's norms or standards.
Like other postcolonial populations, the people of Trinidad represent a culture of resistance in response to the tyranny of slavery and colonialism in general. Although this expression of resistance is prevalent and observable in everyday life, it is especially noticeable during Carnival and its performances in which many audiences are present. According to Nadia Johnson, "the performance of the Trinidad carnival becomes an outward expression of Calvari Hill's need to change their social condition Character responds and rejects their social conditions through their individual appearances during the carnival season: the performance of the steel band Fisheye, Aldrick dancing dragon, and calypsos Philo". If identity transformation is a goal, then it is important to assess which performance is effective in contributing to the transformation.
Mawuena Logan, in his article "Postcoloniality and Resilience in Earl Lovelace The Wine of Astonishment and The Dragon Can not Dance, refers to Frantz Fanon who described" postcolonial subjects "Like are in "an uneasy zone, an incredibly sterile and dry region, a completely naked decline, but - where authentic upheaval can be born - a liminal space". Taking the path out of this liminal space and transforming identity into an "aggregated or materialized" form is a complex process that takes time, but the reward is true freedom.
Our first performer, Fisheye, chose to use his pendulum music as "a cultural endurance agent at Carnival". He considers this music and anyone involved with it as "sacred" and has no patience for those whom he believes try to commercialize. In fact, he resigned from the steelband group in protest. This action causes him to distance himself from future opportunities to point the way toward a more altered identity. Finally, he decides to go the harder direction with Calvary Nine and end up in jail.
Aldrick considers his dragon costume and his two-day performance at Carnival to be his magical route to help himself and the "little conquerors at Yard". At first he wholeheartedly believed that his performance was capable of producing transformation, but gradually he became disillusioned and chose to follow the Calvary Sine route everywhere. Logan argues that "the annual donation of the dragon's costume by Aldrick to remember the ancestors" and the subsequent steps to join the Calvary Nine "in line with the dragon costume ritual, are equally fruitless". Aldrick has no real strategy or plan to support his desire for transformation. "Both dragon dance rituals/costumes and rebellions are open without a plan or purpose that is surely a postcolonial moment that has no real and positive results because it lacks in thoughtful action: the subject of a ritual is trapped between two realities, betwixt and between the past and the future. "
Nadia Johnson on the other hand believes that Philo has developed a vis-ÃÆ'-vis strategy of his calypso performances that resulted in a major advance in terms of his personal identity transformation and indirectly generating similar benefits to his community on the Mount of Calvary. Despite earlier being described as "Judas" because of his "betrayal" towards the non-possession ideology of the hill, at the end of the novel, Philo returns to his origins hoping to continue his life.
If the player is effective, what is his strategy or "action wise". What is very significant in this process is which of these performances is effective and what makes a particular show more effective than others. colonialism and poverty are other themes highlighted in large proportions in the novel
Reviews
Describing this novel as "a landmark, not in West India, but in a contemporary novel", CLR James also says: " The Dragon Can not Dance is an incredible canvas from the slum city life in which intimate knowledge Lovelace about the rural Trinidad and Carnival as a cultural tradition that sustains brilliantly alive. "
Most critics and reviews about The Dragon Can not Dance have proven to be positive. "In addition to several reviews of his first two novels, Earl Lovelace has received little critical treatment until the publication of The Dragon Can not Dance Since the advent of the work, it has become one of the most famous contemporary Caribbean novels ". Many critics have commented on the unconventional use of local Trinidadian style and dialogue, describing it as difficult to follow, but generally his style is poetic, time consuming, and informative.
One blogger, Hazel, who has many followers from his review blog, gave The Dragon Can not Dance a five-star review (of five) and had to say about the book: "I have forgotten how amazing this book is In this rereading, I find a prologue, about poverty and futility, so grievous and painful that I object to stopping, and taking something light and insignificant instead.I survive and be rewarded by engaging narratives of individual stories , a mature girl destined for aggravation, an eager young man trying to release his energy in warfare, frustrated artist, with an annual outlet for his creativity, an outsider, trying to be seen, being acknowledged. "
"I do not do Lovelace and its novel justice, but I highly recommend it, for mature readers who appreciate lyrical writing, and do not need a happy ending, it may take time, too, to adapt to the dialogue in the Trinidadian dialect."
Other reviews by various sources supporting Hazel's review include:
- "Essential readings, and deserve a warm welcome after long delays" - Michael Upchurch
- "A masterpiece, full of insight, depth, and truth."
- "Caribbean writer Lovelace, who
won the 1997 Commonwealth Writer Prize, returned with a story (first published in England in 1979) that offers a clear and very sensitive portrait of the life of a postcolonial island." - "The characters of colorful kaleidoscopes and faithful ears help make this quest one of Lovelace's best works."
Life experiences reflected in the literature
Lovelace's literary works emerge from his personal life experience with various social groups in various regions of Trinidad and Tobago and reflect the difficulty of having to negotiate independent gifts with the colonial past. While the current author is devoting much of his time to advocating reparations for being a hereditary slave, his written legacy continues to echo in Trinidad's society in an effort to rebuild a positive sense of identity in the Caribbean. Lovelace recognizes this idea as a "personality", in which individuals regardless of their social, cultural, or racial status can become active participants in identity creation.
While most of the plots in The Dragon Can not Dance take place in Port of Spain, many of its characters are migrants from rural areas who seek to create individual lifestyles in unsteady slums and shifts on Calvary Hill.. The migrant nature of this character is a clear reflection of Lovelace's various experiences throughout his home country. After being fired from a job in the Guardian, one of Trinidad's local newspapers Lovelace took a job as a forest guard in Valencia. Here, he will accompany and supervise the wandering laborers into the forest, which helps him develop an appreciation for the locals: "the real advantage of living is getting to know places and people intimately and this helps me to develop love and respect for ordinary people and want , though I do not always think so, to tell their story, to establish their validity and values ​​". After Valencia, he accepted a job as an agricultural officer in the remote village of Rio Claro, where he noted that "the entire culture of Trinidad unfolds". Lovelace feels as if he can become deeply immersed in a culture where he will "see the battle and... go and sing with the drummer for a stick fight".
From these experiences, Lovelace adopted the view that there are two basic spaces where people enter when they arrive in Trinidad and Tobago: ethnic space, where group members do religion] and the cultural practices they carry with them, and creole space , which includes a general meeting place of culture. Lovelace notes that within the groups that come to occupy these spaces, Africans are the only ones who are not allowed ethnic spaces where they can defend their religion and culture, because of the cultural and religious forms that considered Africa, is prohibited at one point or another. Therefore, Africans must find a way to bring religion and culture into legitimate ways. Carnival will be one of the spaces because it is a legal and legitimate festival and what now seems to be an independent activity such as calypso, stickfighting, or carnival characters, is in fact related to deeper cultural and religious sentiments.
Lovelace also highlighted the importance of calypso in his novel. He notes that although calypso and drums were previously banned, they were both powerful forces in society because they were associated with Carnival, which was also seen at the time as "a relic of barbarism and annual abomination and beyond". Having calypso identified with bacchanal means that calypso is related and limited to bacchanal Carnival season: "Once upon a time the whole Carnival is an expression of rebellion.Once there are stickfighters who gather each year to stay alive in battle among themselves the exercises of the knights are born therein; there are demons, blacks who blacken themselves further with black fat to make their darkness a threat, a threat. "
Lovelace hopes that her work will help create an environment that will break the remnants of colonial drunken remains. Drawing back on his idea of ​​"two spaces", ethnic space and creole space, he argued that Africans had poured much into the creole room because they were denied a legitimate ethnic space, thus giving them the opportunity and responsibility to see that this space made into a real meeting place for all.
References
- Lovelace, Earl: Dragon Can not Dance (London: AndrÃÆ'Â © Deutsch, 1979; Fabman & Faber, 1998; New York: Persea, 1998, 2003, translated into German, 1984, French, 1984 and Dutch, 1984.)
Further reading
- Brereton, Bridget: Modern History of Trinidad 1783-1962 (Heinemann, 1981).
- Brereton, Bridget: Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870-1900 (Cambridge University Press, 1979).
- Anthony, Michael: Trinidad Profile: A History Survey from Discovery until 1900 (Macmillan Caribbean, 1975).
- Johnson, Nadia, I., "The Calypsonian Returns: Rethinking the Social Transformation in Earl Lovelace's The Dragon Can not Dance ". Anthurium, Journal of Caribbean Studies , Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring 2007. ISSNÃ, 1547-7150
- Logan, Mawuena, "Postcoloniality and Resilience in Earl Lovelace The Wine of Astonishment and The Dragon Can not Dance ", Revista Brasileira doing Caribe i>.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments