I found the structure of this book to be similar to Azuela’s The Underdogs, following the same progressive story split by short chapters. Carpentier’s The Kingdom of This World, though, has titled chapters that I found excellently highlighted the topic of each part. Whether it was utilized for foreshadowing or emphasizing a relevant phrase, the titles of the sections helped me think further into the themes introduced into each part, as well as what themes I should be thinking about. Macandal, for instance, introduced as a character in the earlier parts of the book, deconstructs himself into a concept and overarching philosophy for the revolution. Starting in the section Metamorphoses, Macandal’s impact on the story diversifies, as his name is brought up in relation to revolutionary motivation, nature, animals, and other things relating to revolutionary Haiti. His name even returns at the end of the reading, described as serving the people, and tied shortly after to Ti Noel himself, who reflects that he too is just a body who suffers and hopes for himself and others.
Carpentier’s writing also discusses religion, both implicitly and explicitly. The recorded lecture mentions the maintenance of spirituality and religious meaning within African and Native dances, and the absence of the same in Western dances. I think this idea parallels what I was considering when reading into the significance of religion, especially in the chapter “Santiago de Cuba’. in this section, Carpentier compares the slave’s religion to the landowner’s religion through the eyes of Henri Christophe, a Westerner. He views the slave’s religion as snake-like and witch-like, with possibilities of supernatural or ‘magical’ elements, while he views his own as normal, yet proceeds to pray to extra-terrestrial deities in the same way other religions would.
This perspective through Henri Christophe’s eyes is only one deviation from the usual perspective of Ti Noel. I think that this switching of narrator, as well as the third person perspective, helps to remove some of the emotion from the text. Compared to a first person perspective, Ti Noel seems a little unperturbed by the situations he views or gets involved in, but this element allows for a more omnipotent description of the process of the Haitian revolution and Macandal’s impacts on the slaves’ ideology.
If written in the first person, how do you think the text would change?
Felix, in your very attentive reading you have realized that the perspective of the person who is telling is a central element for the effectiveness of the narration. Given that one of the themes of this Carpentier novel is cultural and historical perspectives, and how they clash between two or more groups, the choice of a narrative voice and gaze is not unimportant.
Great post Felix! Interesting take about the omnipotence, and whether or not emotion is vital to a story which seeks to capture a timeline of revolution… as I think it’s important to have the perspective of Ti Noel to provide an emotional connection to the narrative rather than a compilation of specific historical facts and events.
I think the book would be quite different if it were written from a first-person perspective. Characters and their psychology are really not the focus of this book so much as historical and cultural forces are. Ti Nöel functions more as a representative of the entire black population of Haiti than he is a complete character in himself; if the story were told entirely through his eyes, the center of gravity of the book could be shifted onto him as an individual instead. The theme of conflicting narratives would also be much harder to convey, as only one – Ti Nöel’s – could really be told.
Hi Felix! thank you for the great post. I hadn’t really thought about how the narrative perspective of the book changes how the details of the story unfold, so thank you for being that important detail to my attention! Like you said, I think that if the story were told through a first-person perspective (most likely through Ti Noel’s), it might if added a more emotional undertone to the story, whereby we would get a deeper understanding of how the character might be feeling throughout the different events that occur. I think it is super interesting to look at this book through the varying perspectives, so thanks again for bringing this to my attention!!