During the early 20th century, Zobel is a black child raised in poverty in Martinique, who tells the story of his life. Zobel portrays the rich culture and folklore of Martinique, while also highlighting the devastation caused by colonization. At the same time, the book exposes colonialism, slavery, poverty, prejudice, colorism, and financial turmoil simultaneously. In addition to that, he expresses the necessity of education in the context of harsh realities, sad personal experiences, injustices, and a dark past. In my opinion, the author of the novel tried to evoke a feeling of resentment and anguish throughout the book as well as add a sense of color to the story’s meaning.

When I noticed that the book only had three chapters, I was curious because I was curious about what form he took. As a result, I found him describing each of Jose’s different periods of residence, thus highlighting the contrasts in a very interesting way. I think that this contrast makes the importance of education even more apparent, while at the same time recognizing how fortunate I am to be living in this day and age. What struck me, even more, was the bond he had with his mother and grandmother, and at the same time, the bond he had with his grandmother. That was a warm and touching bridge between him and his grandmother and mother. Considering that they were a poor family, they put a lot of effort into getting Jose a good education. As a result, I want to cherish my life even more now. There is an unbearable amount of poverty in this home. It goes without saying that the occupants do so much to make their lives interesting and to entertain each other. Clearly, the worldview shaped by this book is more about knowledge changing people’s lives, but at the same time, it has shaped a kind of poor people who will pay a high price for knowledge as well. It is also because of this sense of contradiction that one seeks to discover and surprise oneself. Even though he finally rose to the middle class of the white people, he was still under oppression. However, regardless of the fact that the book reads as he gives you a life-changing fantasy of knowledge, the plot goes more to tell you that racism and class disparities cannot be changed and are bound to persist.

In fact, my heart is very complicated after reading this book, especially during this time of COVID. Because I did encounter some racism, and while I was waiting for the bus, I also encountered people doing incomprehensible things and saying bad things about Chinese looking people. This made me feel as helpless as Jose, and I didn’t know how to face it. Can education change racism?