I can’t quite believe that just last week we were talking about incest and now we are making a sharp turn towards racism and colonialism. Black Shack Alley is one of the stand out novels that I have enjoyed so far in this class. This reading feels a lot more reminiscent of common literary novels that we would feature in middle school or high school, not merely because it concerns race and colonialism, but because it offers a unique perspective and portrayal whilst still highly relevant to the setting and topic of the novel. I think that the author’s writing style is very powerful and vivid especially in his depiction of the of emotional truths to the story (for lack of a better word) that goes beyond just language to evoke imagery or to paint a picture ; he seems to have this ability to envelop the reader into the moment and I feel like considering the message and setting of the book, that is a very praise worthy feat. I feel like in this case, authenticity in experiences carries the bulk of the messaging, and thus a lot of the messages in the book need not be a direct finger point yet it still maintains the same effect.
There were a lot of parts of this book that were really striking to me. One of the many memorable quotes to me was “I already knew by intuition that the devil, misery, and death were more or less the same evil individual, who persecuted the blacks above all. And I wondered in vain what blacks could have done to the devil and to the béké to be so oppressed by both.” which was a thought by Jose when he was asking questions to Médouze. I feel like no words can ever describe the sadness you feel when you hear something like that, especially from a CHILD. As if the treatment would in any way ever be self-inflicted. I was reading up on some background for the book, and I found that the author only passed away in 2006 (and that the book is somewhat based on his own life and experiences). I think colonial history as it has been taught often seems like something of the past, without acknowledgement that it still controls the power dynamics of the world today and the conditions of colonialism for a lot of countries still remain basically the same regardless of legality. This is similar to how at the time when Jose was still at the plantation, slavery was technically abolished however the material conditions of the place remained largely the same.
A question to everyone this week: how has education played a role in your reckoning of social positioning within your ethnic background? I’m curious, because coming from an Asian immigrant household education is basically everything and the cultural messaging is very strong, and I find that to be a noteworthy topic within the book as well which made me curious about others.
Yes, regarding the quotation you picked out (and it’s definitely an interesting one): here we see Jose trying to make sense of the world and his place in it, and it seems only logical that Blacks *must* have done something to deserve their treatment. If not, there is no logic or justice. In fact, in some ways this book has a lot to say about justice: about why one person (Jose) can somehow escape the plantation, while others (M’man Tine, for instance, but also Jojo) have less “luck.” As I suggested in class, the fact that he manages in some ways to get away also places on him the burden of responsibility for those who didn’t.
Hi Kelly,
I liked reading your post this week! I agree that this week’s book felt a lot like many of the books we were required to read in school. To answer your question, as a Asian American myself with immigrant parents, I think that their emphasis on going to a good college and having a good education is one of the biggest reasons I’m at UBC right now.