Reading Black Shack Alley felt as though I was listening to a friend speak about their old memories, sitting over a drink. It was filled with little details, so many that I found it tough at times to keep track of what all was occurring. The life described in the book felt as though each day was the challenge, getting through the day was the concern rather than worrying about the future. It’s sad in a way. Struggle is a prevalent feeling in the book. It seems as though people’s destinies are sealed the minute they are born for most, and breaking the cycle is seemingly impossible. M’man Tine and his Mother understand the opportunity to escape would be for Jose through education and their hard work. However, education is seemingly something which gives and takes, as it removes him from the generational trap that is the plantation and gives him a new life but also removes him from his family, disconnecting him. As the lecture mentioned, Jose’s literacy grants him the ability to leave, but he also must leave his friends, family, and life behind to move forward.
As Jose reads, he realizes his experiences were not mentioned in any books he was reading. This is a persistent theme even now in the current age. Marginalized groups are not always represented in the literature and media. Even in scholarly academia, I realized the diversity in authors, editors, and participants (for science research) is not as much as I originally imagined when I first began university. There have been pushes to recognize diversity in the media but at times it can come across as extremely performative as a company is marketing to consumers. Jose’s story is full of personal development and realization, the sacrifices of his mother and grandmother, and harsh transitions of life. Sacrificing everything for one to get a better life one themselves couldn’t have, that’s something that stood out to me in the book. It’s something that every parent / grandparent would want for their next generation, but being a kid it’s difficult to understand the level of sacrifice and what that means. Jose’s first report card being quite not excellent stirred up his mother, as she understands her sacrifice and believes his grades are the fruits of her labours, so when it’s not what she imagined she’s upset.
A question to you all,
As education is a means of a better life in the book, at what point does education shift from a passion of learning to a fight for survival? Isn’t that the same in our own lives in our own way? If we study hard and apply ourselves, we can get into graduate schools, get grants, and scholarships etc. which all directly affect our future…
Thanks for your blogpost. It would really help and add to your analysis if you could refer to concrete examples, with quotations from the text (and page numbers). 🙂
I resonated with what you said about how people’s lives are destined from when they are born. In comparison to the other books we have read Jose’s situation has certainly been the most bleak out of all of them. Although the others had their own problems in their lives they don’t come close in comparison to the struggles of the residents of Black Shack Alley.
“getting through the day was the concern rather than worrying about the future.”
Yes, although the characters do envisage the future, and in some cases (e.g. M’man Tine’s) sacrifice the present for its sake. In some ways, M’man Tine, it’s suggested, might have had a more pleasant life if she focused on the present.
Hi! I really enjoyed all the little details, it made it feel much more immersive for me, but I definitely understand what you mean about it being challenging to keep track of. I think it depends on the person whether it feels like a passion of learning or a fight for survival. Still, I think in general the education system is not set up in a way that encourages a passion for learning, but a fight for survival to get into university, or to get into grad school, or to get a good career.