I really liked this novel and the themes of perseverance throughout. From the start of the book where a younger José despite his circumstances is seen meeting up with his friends and causing a raucous. While I can’t relate completely to his situation, I found myself reminiscing on my own childhood where my own gang went on adventures. A quote that stuck out to me was “As for us, all the obstacles cluttering up our plans could not keep us from pursuing our adventure to its end.” I think this quote kind of foreshadowed José’s will to pursue greater liberation from marginalization constraints. And more his Madame Tine was the first to ignite this “will” to push against bounds and/or rules. It’s disheartening almost, even as expected as it was by the reader, to see José realize that there is further discrimination even after seeking educational status. Even though I cannot say my situation is the same as José’s, as a second generation immigrant I also have this belief that if I were to obtain higher education, my socioeconomic status will change and improve. While this is possible, Zobel’s story highlights that even with increased educational attainment, marginalized people will still continue to face barriers due to discrimination. And similar to how José felt, that realization can be very lonely in a way that it is easy to look around and realize you are the only one in a classroom of a certain marginalized background. However there is another side to the coin in that seeking education allowed José to realize he is also capable of doing what his white classmates can do and that he isn’t inferior simply to his race. For me I wonder how his educational attainment shifted how he was perceived by others in his life. Madame Tine for example seemed to care for him more but it is uncertain if this was love or rather Madame Tine falling for the trap of class superiority and seeing him as now above what he used to be and therefore worthy of her care. However, even as people like his grandmother may view him differently we then again see that when he seeks education in Fort deFrance, the white Europeans still continue to discriminate against him.
My question for the rest of the class is do you all believe there is still racialization or discrimination against marginalized communities in a classroom/school setting? And if yes, in what ways are they still prevalent?
Hi Naz, great post! I definitely agree that this book demonstrates how even well educated marginalized people face discrimination. To answer your question, I would say yes; there are still many students of colour who face bullying from peers because of their race.
Hi Naz! I really enjoyed your blog! To answer you question I definitely think that there are still many students that face either bullying as Arissa said but also discrimination and prejudice from peers or from teachers that will judge your work and words based on your cultural background or other factors.
Hi Naz, I enjoyed reading your perspective and how you connect Jose’s attainment of education to your own lived experiences. I do acknowledge and recognize through both personal and anecdotes of friends that acquiring higher education, especially with children of immigrants, is highly valued because it is seen as a leeway to making enough money and living a comfortable life. Parents makes sacrifices for this, and now that I am reflecting through the story of how hard M’mane Tine was on Jose, it does make sense why she may have been so harsh on him.
Hey nice post! I don’t think José’s education necessarily made M’man Tine view him differently- I think she was simply proud that he was breaking out of the cycle she’d been trapped in, and proud that she’d helped him get there. I think that her care for him perhaps become more obvious when she saw his growth and maturity being realized- this care was always there, she just allowed it to show a little bit more as José moved further into his education.
“it is easy to look around and realize you are the only one in a classroom of a certain marginalized background.”
Yes, I think this is a good point: the book is among other things also about the relationship between the individual and the community, and specifically charts Jose’s relationship to his community as it changes over time. In part, this book is about him repaying a debt to everything that he has left behind.