Abstract This paper discusses 2002 Nobel Prize for Literature winner, DerekWalcott's flagship verse, "Omeros". It looks at how "Omeros" takes on the format and traditional goals of the epic genre as discussed in its definitions throughout history. It also shows how Walcott's redefinition of the bardic tradition, as found in Homer, redefines the epic as a form of literature. It looks at how he pays homage to this long past tradition of verse in setting his characters from the "Iliad," formatting borrowed from Dante, all contrasted against the modern struggle for a non-colonial Caribbean identity. It also shows how his innovative poetic style leads to the re-framing of his native St. Lucian history and consequent reclaiming of his people and their historical heritage through "Omeros".
From the Paper "Derek Walcott's serves as a cultural shaman of the West Indies through his epic narrative Omeros, shedding light to dispel the shackling cobwebs of both the historical and literary past to grant St. Lucia the ability to cast her own shadow. Walcott truly expands the scope of literature as he redefines not only the cultural nation-space of the post-colonial Caribbean, but also hybridizes the epic genre as one yet able to encapsulate a people. His authorial ambition in providing voice to the atrocities of the past is only surmounted by his own ambition to serve as a comprehensive cultural bard in both taking back and redefining St. Lucian history, and revamping the epic form of literature."
Abstract This paper reviews "The Great Elector" by Derek McKay. The book, which is about Frederick William of Brandenburg, whose position as an elector gave him the power to vote for or against the Holy Roman Emperor, is reviewed in terms of how McKay treats the question of ethical leadership, the issues raised in the book, and in terms of McKay's underlying assumption about what it takes to be a successful leader. The paper also looks at the implications the book has concerning the rise of Nazism.
From the Paper "It is difficult to evaluate history or historical figures without bias and in terms of historical setting. However, this is exactly what Derek McKay attempts in his book, The Great Elector about Frederick William of Brandenburg. McKay's purpose is to provide a biography based on the circumstances of the time as well as what is known about the man without judgment concerning his effect on history. This is a difficult task, especially for a person whose epithet, "the Great Elector" contains an inherent judgment and presumptive bias, albeit the epithet was given to him by contemporaries."
Tags: hohenzollern, holdings, thirty, years, war, absolutism, calvinism, protestantism, realpolitik, nationalism
This paper reviews Derek Gregory's book "The Colonial Present: Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq", which examines the war on terror based on the history of U.S. and British involvement in the region going back decades.
Abstract This paper explains that Derek Gregory, in "The Colonial Present", spends much of the book describing the actions of Britain and the U.S. in trying to impose control over the peoples of the region. The author points out that former colonial regions of the world are virtually all encumbered today by tensions and state failures because of the condition these regions were left in when the colonial powers withdrew. The paper states that the Middle East, which has been of strategic importance to both countries for some time, often served as a staging ground for conflicts with the Soviet Union; however, the way the West has related to the Middle East has changed since 9-11. The author criticizes that Gregory, a geographer, does not delve deeply into the internal divisions now causing the factional war in Iraq.
From the Paper "Many of the states in the Middle East are marked by repressive policies, violations of human rights, and non-democratic cultures. The irony is that most of these regimes were set up or propped up by Britain, France, and the United States in decades past, a fact which Gregory says means that the U.S. and the other nations area not innocent, which also helps explain the anger now directed at the West by the Arab world. Gregory notes how many people are asking questions about the guilt of the West and the response of the Middle East, and he says he does not intend to decide which view is correct but only to note the dichotomy they produce."
Abstract Literature has provided opportunities for readers to have a glimpse of different social realities experienced by people of different cultures and societies all over the world. This opportunity has been extended once again through DerekWalcott's play, "Pantomime." The paper explains that in this satirical play, readers are introduced to the characters of Harry Trewe and Jackson Phillip, master-and-slave tandem of the Castaways Guest House in Tobago, West Indies. It shows how the play is set in a different place and how Walcott confronts the continuous discussion and depiction of the oppression of the black man (Jackson) and the seemingly superior position of the white man (Harry).
From the Paper "Unlike other depictions of the black man-white man antagonistic relationship, "Pantomime" brought into fore two scenarios within the play: the first act delved into the oppression of Jackson, while the second act focused on the reversal of roles between Jackson and Harry, where Jackson was able to empower and assert himself over Harry. This change became apparent through Walcott's use of language: the change in tone, manner, and message of Jackson's lines marked the transition or change within his personality. Where once he had been a faithful and patient servant to Harry, he had eventually 'metamorphosed' into a powerful individual, and his commanding use of his own vernacular speech signified the control that he has throughout the play. Thus, this paper discusses two phases in which vernacular language was used through Jackson's character as a medium of oppression and power and control."
An examination of colliding cultures in "Master Harold... and the Boys" by Athol Fugard, "Dream on Monkey Mountain" by DerekWalcott, and "No Sugar" by Jack Davis.
Abstract This paper explores the concept of colliding cultures and competing ideologies as well as the related theme of identity in the three plays; "Master Harold... and the Boys" by Athol Fugard, "Dream on Monkey Mountain" by DerekWalcott, and "No Sugar" by Jack Davis. The paper also analyzes the strategies used in the plays such as symbolism, irony, and contrast in their elucidation of colliding cultures. The paper explains that contrast in use of language serves a significant purpose in relation to evolving identity for the oppressed. The paper also notes that colliding cultures can be reduced to the values of white dominant culture in opposition to the other - whether they happen to be black, aboriginal people, or some minority ethnic group. In conclusion, the paper shows that because all the other variables such as identity never are static, the concept of collision is also fluid and appears where it would be least expected.
From the Paper "Davis' No Sugar is similar to Fugard's play in how it demonstrates the immediacy and perennial nature of colonialism. Mitchell (18-20) expresses this reality by stating that "the rhetoric of postcolonialism assumes that anti-colonialism has either overthrown imperialism or exhausted itself in the attempt". The fact is such a goal has not nearly been achieved; we continue to live in a colonial world. Walcott demonstrates class struggle and collision in his play through the ability of his Odysseus who is able to undermine the totalitarian power of the Cyclops (Giannopoulou 13)."
Tags: symbolism, irony, mimeticism, reactionary, nativism, drama
Abstract The paper examines the character of Penelope in "The Odyssey: A Stage Version". The paper analyzes how Penelope does take a journey, but in a different manner that her husband, Odysseus. The moral and ethical journey of marital loyalty becomes the psychological obstacles that Penelope must overcome in her inner travels. The paper further discusses how Penelope is represented in other characters, such as Circe, as a memory that moves in tandem with Odysseus. However, it is the journey of loyalty and commitment at home where Penelope shows prudence, morality, and fidelity in her behaviors and actions under great marital duress.
From the Paper "In this drama study the journeys of Penelope in Derek Walcott's "The Odyssey: A Stage Version", one can find a moral set of tests that are brought forth through the disguises of Odysseus. In this manner, Penelope must undergo a series of trials that will either prove loyalty or betrayal to the memory of her marriage vows to Odysseus. In this manner, the journey of Penelope, although far more stationary that those of Odysseus, is as series of moral and psychological tests that prove her loyalty to marriage. Although much of The Odyssey in Walcott's staged presentation relies on the journey of Odysseus returning home from the Trojan Wars, it is apparent that there are other character that must invariably live parallel journeys in relation to the main character."
An analysis and comparison of DerekWalcott's play "Dream on Monkey Mountain" to Marcel Mauss' work "A Category of the Human Mind: the Notion of Person; the Notion of Self".
Abstract The paper compares Walcott's play "Dream on Monkey Mountain" to Mauss's work "A Category of the Human Mind: the Notion of Person; the Notion of Self" and notes the fundamental differences between these two types of literary works. The paper goes on to show, however, how the two writers also share similar ideas and analytical approaches towards the integration of the individual self in a certain environment.
From the Paper "In Walcott's play, Makak represents an old man who has lived on Monkey Mountain for most of his life. In a dream, the quest of going back to Africa, his place of descent, is revealed and he attempts, in a dreamlike manner, to proceed on his journey. Ending up in jail and escaping, his most precious purpose now is to go back to Monkey Mountain, where he has lived for most of his adult life.
"His quest towards rediscovering his origins is natural for an immigrant, but Walcott presents all this in a surrealistic manner that involves masquerades and dances, as well as a dreamlike approach to the realities of self identity and self integration in the society of which he is part of. The self here is not only a social self, but also an isolated one, an individual who does not succeed in his attempt to integrate and needs to retrace his steps to the new country."
Abstract The paper begins by giving a background on the island of St Lucia, in an attempt to gain an understanding of ?Omeros's connections to both this island and to Homeric notions. It looks at the clash between the English and the French in the poem, as represented by the fight between Achilles and Hector. This symbolism is explored, as are the parallels between Walcott's and Homer's writings. It then looks at additional metaphors introduced by Walcott himself, over and above those based on Homer's work, and at the evidence in the poem of Walcott's personal opinions about the changing state of his home island, St. Lucia.
From the Paper "Omeros, written by Walcott, can be defined as a classical story. Within the epic, there are various references to Homer as well as a display of writing that is reflective of Homer's style. Furthermore, the use of the Homeric character names from Homer's epics The Illiad and The Odyssey also serve to prove the distinct ties between Omeros and Homer. While there are similarities, Walcott's writing displays more than simply classical Homeric notions. Walcott's masterpiece also displays his own thoughts, although his story is laced with Homeric notions. These thoughts of Walcott's focus on the island of St Lucia, which helps to distinguish Omeros from classical Homeric writing. St. Lucia happened to be the home of the author Walcott, so his ties to this island are apparent. As a result, Walcott focuses on the history of this island alongside Homeric tradition. In Omeros, Walcott uses classical Homeric methods of storytelling in order to tell a tale of something Homer never wrote about, Walcott's island of St. Lucia."
Abstract This paper summarizes the ideas of Derek Parfit in the field of personal identity and then expresses the criticisms of Derek Parfit by Marta Schechtam that she includes in her well-known book, "The Constitution of Selves".
From the Paper "Parfit describes the reductionist view of the personal identity theory as, ?"the truth about people must consist in the truth of facts about bodies, and about various interrelated mental and physical events such as thoughts, memory, experiences"? (Chalmers, 658) Thus, according to a reductionist, persons are nothing over and above the existence of certain mental and/or physical states and their various relations. Parfit illustrates his reductionist view of persons with the famous "club" example: Just as we are not apt to think that a social club has any ontological status over and above the existence of its members and their relation to one another, so too Parfit claims that we should not take persons to exist apart from the various physical and psychological events that characterize them. (Schechtman, 37) Given this, Parfit believes that facts about personal identity just consist in more particular facts concerning psychological continuity and/or connectedness, and thus personal identity can be reduced to this continuity and/or connectedness. As noted earlier, for Parfit, what it means to be a reductionist about persons is to hold that persons are constructs of appropriately related person time-stages. All that is required for a person at time t2 to be the same person as a person at t1 on a reductionist psychological continuity theory, then, is for person at t2 to be psychologically continuous with the person at time t1. This is what Parfit terms the Psychological Criterion for personal identity."
Abstract This paper uses DerekWalcott's "Dream on Monkey Mountain" and Athol Fugard's "Blood Knot" to discuss how the mulatto figures in post colonial discourse. It examines the tragic figure of the post colonial mulatto who is caught between black and white, without knowing which race he belongs to. The paper shows how both playwrights reflect their opinions and perspectives of mulattos in their plays.
From the Paper "In colonial discourse race is a mask for class, and class is a mask for being. Since the mulatto doesn?t know which race he belongs to, he cannot know his true being. For Walcott, in his Overture, the struggle of the mulatto is the "wrestling contradiction of being white in mind and black in body, as if the flesh were a coal from which the spirit like tormented smoke writhed to escape"(Walcott, 12). Walcott explores the problems of this opposing binary through his character of Corporal Lestrade, in Dream on Monkey Mountain. Athol Fugard takes this examination of the mulatto psyche even further through his character of Morris in Blood Knot."
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine Derek Walcott's Omeros as an example of minor literature as described by Deleuze and Guattari. The plan of the research will be to set forth the general line of argument regarding minor-literature critique advanced by Deleuze and Guattari and then to discuss ways in which the pattern of ideas in Omeros as well as the means by which these ideas are communicated illustrates the minor-literature thesis and advances its meaning and standing as a method of literary criticism.
Although their argument is dense and complex, the main thrust of explanation of a minor literature by Deleuze and Guattari is that its creators are members of marginalized populations in a culture whose mainstream social and literary attributes are interpreted as a locus of power that becomes the ..."
Abstract The research paper analyzes the contents, theme and identifies the purpose and the history behind a good few plays by the African-American playwright DerekWalcott and six more plays by other playwrights including Luis F., Gonzalez Cruz, Ann Waggoner Aken, Teresa Cajiao Salas and Margarita Vargas. The paper also brings out the similarities between the plays selected for discussion and the modern world drama.
This paper looks at the concept of colliding cultures in 'Master Harold... and the Boys' by David Hoegberg, 'Dream on Monkey Mountain' by DerekWalcott and 'No Sugar' by Jack Davis.
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that the concept of colliding cultures, as illustrated in 'Master Harold... and the Boys', 'Dream on Monkey Mountain', and 'No Sugar' contains both negative and positive implications. The writer notes that all three plays demonstrate that when cultures collide, the inevitable result is domination and oppression, which originate in racism because competing ideologies also are at work. The writer maintains, however, that the plays also are based on an alternate meaning of colliding cultures which involves illumination of one culture by another, as well as exposure of the value and dignity of the oppressed by comparison with the lack of humanity by the other. The phenomenon of changing identity as one of the main outcomes of colliding cultures is an important theme in all three plays, and this is explored along with strategies to indicate altered identity such as shifting forms of language.
Outline:
Introduction
The Meaning of Colliding Cultures
Manifestations of Colliding Cultures
Consequences of Colliding Cultures
Symbolism and Imagery
Conclusion
Works Cited
From the Paper "Hally is situated in a privileged class since he just happens to be the son of the proprietors, and so he can lord it over the black men. Hally has been culturally and socially conditioned to be the men's master but, in fact, he relies on them for emotional support. In an ironic reversal, they are the boys while he is the master. While Hally illustrates white dominance, he is too immature for the segregation but is quite capable of extreme racism against his friend Sam. There is a mutual emotional bond between Sam and Hally, and Sam is Hally's intellectual equal so that segregation is not possible."
Abstract This paper is a commentary on the Derek Jarman's film, "Caravaggio", emphasizing the model-artist relationship in the movie and the artistic expression with which Jarman displays Michele Caravaggio himself.
From the paper:
"Jarman's Caravaggio is a rare commentary on the life of Michele Caravaggio, one ravished by misfortune and sorrow but nonetheless embraced and exalted today as a crucial moment in the defining of art. This film not only promotes the efforts and exploits of Caravaggio, but also delves into the realm of the artist as a human, not merely the means through which art is accomplished. Jarman takes special effort to integrate the relation of Caravaggio to his peers and friends while smoothly throwing artistic practice into the mix with a natural fluidity that almost necessitates the replacement of the word "practice" with ?being'."
Tags: caravaggio, jarman, artist, art, artistic, model
Abstract This paper discusses the problems of ethnocentricity and cultural baggage in anthropology using the huge difference in Mead and Freeman's research on adolescence in Samoa as an example.
From the Paper "One of the cornerstones of anthropological thinking is the idea that in studying a society it is important not to judge it by our own standards but to try to understand it from its members? cultural viewpoint. By avoiding ethnocentricity we see the irrelevance of comparing or, even worse, ranking societies by how "westernised" they are (for example GNP, cars per capita, literacy rates etc). However, even if we can get past the "we are right, they are wrong" view of other societies, it is impossible to completely put aside our own cultural upbringing and preconceptions. Geertz (1988) states that, however much one tries, it is impossible for an anthropologist's writing to escape the influence of his/her social and educational background. This "cultural baggage" may not be obvious to an audience with a similar background but as the author's own society changes it becomes more obvious. Evans-Pritchard, in his work with the Azande, was one of the first anthropologists to make a deliberate effort to understand the validity of his subjects? beliefs and practices from their cultural viewpoint but to a modern reader his colonial era attitudes and prejudices are clear. Even something as fundamental as language forms part of our cultural baggage."
