There is an inherent classist structure which dominates the life described by Zobel, from the plantation workers to the Beke wealthy white island-dwellers. What struck me as interesting was the underlying Marxist tensions of the world that Zobel describes, and which is developed and more apparent in a few choice scenes, especially concerning Jose’s schooling, and his uncertain future working on the island.
The school scenes provide the most detailed development of these themes, especially when contrasted with a future of manual labour. In school, the teacher asks them to repeat the answers to the questions over and over in hopes of memorization. Rather than learn through understanding, it is hopes that pure repetition will create a positive experience and outcome. This is not an enviable way to learn and the class struggles with this method. It also showcases one of Marx’s main critiques of the modern labour era, where repetition and input were prized over creativity, or foundational ability.
We can see the flip side of this argument later, when Jose reveals that his marks are improving, and that he finally feels successful later in his third term, as he is finally “contributing to the class”. Marx believed that like students, workers would only be satisfied in their work if they were able to contribute to the end goal of the production in a meaningful way. Simply doing meaningless or repetitive tasks would not bring them satisfaction at work. Here, Jose feels like is improving and adding to the class and his education, and his ability is improving, as Marx writes in his critiques of work and classism.
I think overall, these themes are very important to the world of Black Shack Alley. The colonial nature of their life on the island makes these issues important–work and especially where these oppressed citizens work is key to their livelihood. M’man Tine says that Jose won’t have to work in the plantations like the rest of their community, and instead he may be able to work in the factory, which Jose likens to his new big school he attends outside of the village. The segregation of the people, and the nature of the work which rules their lives in Martinique exemplify much of Marx’s principles, and their is a deep social commentary at work here, as Zobel narrates his account of life on the island under colonial rule.
What social issues can you compare from Black Shack Alley with problems in current Western culture? Is colonialism, and the problems which stem from it, still affecting certain groups’ daily lives?
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with Marx, Social Issues
There is an inherent classist structure which dominates the life described by Zobel, from the plantation workers to the Beke wealthy white island-dwellers. What struck me as interesting was the underlying Marxist tensions of the world that Zobel describes, and which is developed and more apparent in a few choice scenes, especially concerning Jose’s schooling, and his uncertain future working on the island.
The school scenes provide the most detailed development of these themes, especially when contrasted with a future of manual labour. In school, the teacher asks them to repeat the answers to the questions over and over in hopes of memorization. Rather than learn through understanding, it is hopes that pure repetition will create a positive experience and outcome. This is not an enviable way to learn and the class struggles with this method. It also showcases one of Marx’s main critiques of the modern labour era, where repetition and input were prized over creativity, or foundational ability.
We can see the flip side of this argument later, when Jose reveals that his marks are improving, and that he finally feels successful later in his third term, as he is finally “contributing to the class”. Marx believed that like students, workers would only be satisfied in their work if they were able to contribute to the end goal of the production in a meaningful way. Simply doing meaningless or repetitive tasks would not bring them satisfaction at work. Here, Jose feels like is improving and adding to the class and his education, and his ability is improving, as Marx writes in his critiques of work and classism.
I think overall, these themes are very important to the world of Black Shack Alley. The colonial nature of their life on the island makes these issues important–work and especially where these oppressed citizens work is key to their livelihood. M’man Tine says that Jose won’t have to work in the plantations like the rest of their community, and instead he may be able to work in the factory, which Jose likens to his new big school he attends outside of the village. The segregation of the people, and the nature of the work which rules their lives in Martinique exemplify much of Marx’s principles, and their is a deep social commentary at work here, as Zobel narrates his account of life on the island under colonial rule.
What social issues can you compare from Black Shack Alley with problems in current Western culture? Is colonialism, and the problems which stem from it, still affecting certain groups’ daily lives?
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with Marx, Social Issues
Reflection on Part I Part I of the book follows Jose’s childhood in Black Shack Alley. Some of the important themes of this part are childhood and innocence. Jose and the other children of Shack Alley are constantly up to their own mischief when their parents go to work the fields, despite the punishments they […]
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with escapism, naivete, slavery
Joseph Zobel’s Black Shack Alley tells a story about life in Martinique from the point of view of a black boy named Jose. Even though the novel stresses his process of personal growth throughout, it generates broader implications of contextual consideration in various aspects in terms of literary analysis. It is vital to consider the […]
I read Black Shack Alley this week, and here are some of my reading experiences.
For me, Amantine, little Joseph’s grandmother, is the unique character in the article, with a tragic but extraordinary fate. The author describes how his grandmother correctly made little Joseph’s life ordinary and warm in such a poor situation. Despite the hard work on the plantation and how the clothes on his body were worn, little Joseph never touched the ruthless side of reality under the care of his grandmother. As a result, grandmother Amantine’s image of a loving, simple, and hard-working black worker jumped on the page. Later articles tell the story of Joseph Jr. and her grandmother living a poor and miserable life on a sugar cane plantation. Nevertheless, The assertive Little Joseph’s grandmother, Amantine, understood that knowledge was the key to the broader world. She worked hard to get a better life for Little Joseph.
By looking up relevant information, we can learn that Black Shack Alley is set in the French colony of Martinique in the 1930s. In this context, the meagre income and hard life of black workers and various painful histories are described in the book, which makes people move and think about it. In this case, the children in the plantation have always maintained their innocence and childlike fun; the brave struggle to find a wider world and the future expectations that the future grandmother and little Joseph still have. This tragic background has formed a sad and touching life and expressed a kind of awe-inspiring concept. The book’s rhetoric is not gorgeous, but just describing the background of this protagonist is enough to make the reader experience a dull feeling in this heavy and straightforward experience, a reflection on history based on people’s empathy.
In the book, childhood is always cheerful and straightforward. Those children who do not have a clear understanding of the nature of life do not care about rudimentary food and clothes that cannot cover privacy; everything is innocent and funny as if adding a sunny filter to the hard life. Looking at the author’s life from the perspective of his childhood, the cruel life we can feel is softened by such a filter. So this misery, which should have been stinging, became a continuous dullness. My question is: Is it easier for the reader to have the courage to continue reading than to bluntly analyze this tragic experience from an adult’s point of view?
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with Joseph Zobel
I read Black Shack Alley this week, and here are some of my reading experiences.
For me, Amantine, little Joseph’s grandmother, is the unique character in the article, with a tragic but extraordinary fate. The author describes how his grandmother correctly made little Joseph’s life ordinary and warm in such a poor situation. Despite the hard work on the plantation and how the clothes on his body were worn, little Joseph never touched the ruthless side of reality under the care of his grandmother. As a result, grandmother Amantine’s image of a loving, simple, and hard-working black worker jumped on the page. Later articles tell the story of Joseph Jr. and her grandmother living a poor and miserable life on a sugar cane plantation. Nevertheless, The assertive Little Joseph’s grandmother, Amantine, understood that knowledge was the key to the broader world. She worked hard to get a better life for Little Joseph.
By looking up relevant information, we can learn that Black Shack Alley is set in the French colony of Martinique in the 1930s. In this context, the meagre income and hard life of black workers and various painful histories are described in the book, which makes people move and think about it. In this case, the children in the plantation have always maintained their innocence and childlike fun; the brave struggle to find a wider world and the future expectations that the future grandmother and little Joseph still have. This tragic background has formed a sad and touching life and expressed a kind of awe-inspiring concept. The book’s rhetoric is not gorgeous, but just describing the background of this protagonist is enough to make the reader experience a dull feeling in this heavy and straightforward experience, a reflection on history based on people’s empathy.
In the book, childhood is always cheerful and straightforward. Those children who do not have a clear understanding of the nature of life do not care about rudimentary food and clothes that cannot cover privacy; everything is innocent and funny as if adding a sunny filter to the hard life. Looking at the author’s life from the perspective of his childhood, the cruel life we can feel is softened by such a filter. So this misery, which should have been stinging, became a continuous dullness. My question is: Is it easier for the reader to have the courage to continue reading than to bluntly analyze this tragic experience from an adult’s point of view?
