Colin Lebzelter ENG3299 Blog

 Elza     Elza is an intriguing film on discovering your identity and the place you come from. Elza certainly learns much on what it means to be from the Caribbean and how they lead a different way of life. I think that would foremost stood out to me was the income disparity between rich and poor groups on the island. Elza's father owns a construction company that is built off the profits of extremely impoverished and overworked employees. It seems that Elza's father is the only one doing well on the whole island, with Bernard doing markedly better than most but still didn't appear to be of great wealth. Bernard is also white, and Elza's father is of mixed descent but still whiter than most. This points to the idea that there is not only an extreme income disparity on the island but there is an extreme racial disparity on the island too. Race and income go hand in hand in the Caribbean but also around the world. Often times you'll find that poverty is correlated wit...

    Moko Jumbie is an interesting, at times cryptic and jumbled film. I really enjoyed how it showed life in the Caribbean is different depending on who you are. Asha comes to the Caribbean and immediately finds a much different way of life from London. I think what struck me immediately was the difference between Roger and Asha's household, they essentially live in two different worlds and live merely across the street. This shows that the idea of inequality in the Caribbean isn't built on a single ruling class and a single underclass. The social castes are multi-tiered in the Caribbean and are heavily built on ethnicity at certain points. Asha and her family is of Indian origin and are held socially higher than people of Afro-Caribbean ethnicity. Economic status could factor in this to an extent in that rodger appeared to be impoverished as well, but even with all other factors equal people of Afro-Caribbean descent are held lower than people of Indian-ethnicity. All of thes...

 To Da-Duh, In Memorandum by Paule Marshall     This story covers the narrator meeting her grandmother Da-Duh, in her ancestral home in the Caribbean. The story quickly reveals the stark difference between New York City and the natural beauty of Barbados and the cultural offerings of the area. "Whether she might not be some child the same time she was a woman"(160), the story quickly jumps into meeting Da-Duh who is described as visibly very old. I was intrigued by the comparison that this draws between people in their old age and children both physically and mentally. I had heard of this concept that old age is similar to being a child in that someone needs to care for you. I find the parallels interesting but I don't exactly agree that old age is the same as childhood. Many old people have disabilities but are entirely capable of advanced thought and processing, and many of them need care at different levels some need almost no care at all. Infants all need care to surv...

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship  This story juxtaposes an eerie aurora with the calm and natural beauty of the Caribbean. Marquez's writing style makes it easy for the reader to visualize a light breeze on the beach in the night in the Caribbean interrupted by a shocking shipwreck that is quickly consumed by the darkness. I think the concept I like is the idea of a place of beauty with danger lurking in the background. In that, this is a metaphor for the entire Caribbean, a place that is beautiful on the surface but upon looking close dark secrets lurk. "Ran aground, broke up, and sank without a single sound"(148), this line shows how the massive ship was swallowed up by the sea essentially without anyone knowing or having any idea. "time she got a comfortable chair to think about her dead husband"(149), this line is ironic in that the mother can't get over the death of her husband. All she can bring herself to do is sit and dwell on it when in reality not...

 Caribbean Crucible Documentary Music in the Caribbean is driven by the difficult cultural roots that their society is built on and deeply rooted in tradition. For the people of the Caribbean music is ingrained in their daily lives, in their church services, and in their rituals. Church in the Caribbean is much different from western church service and is vibrant and lively and has singing throughout. Often times there is music in western church services but it is not nearly as lively and this is an example of the difference between values and culture. Singing lively songs and dancing in the church aren't just that they represent a culture as a whole that is open and active and places an emphasis on fun and singing. People throughout the Caribbean live in a vibrant environment and are constantly physically active and want to live a life that is reflective of that. I think in a way they are just a more active society than we are in the US which is good for them in terms of health in...

 Light on The Sea by John Wickham      "Light on the Sea" handles the idea of loneliness in late life. "I am so glad to see you he said" (97), this line made me think of my mother who is a CNA and takes care of elderly people. Often times residents and the elderly very excited to see their caregiver as they grow dependent on them and sometimes they can be there source of happiness. This story definitely effected me more than I thought it would, I feel a deep empathy for the elderly and believe that quality care for people in their late years is extremely important. I think this concept of a near minimum wage employee being so important to someone perplexes me. With how important quality elderly care is to a person's happiness CNAs and caregivers should be paid more and valued much higher. "Frustration it was, and confusion, that's what it was. I am glad for this peace now" (99), this line illustrates how sometimes moving to a retirement home can re...

 Blackness By Jamaica Kincaid     I found the use of the term "blackness" to be very interesting in this story as it is roughly defined but still left open to interpretation. "The blackness is visible and yet it is invisible, for I see that I cannot see it"(362), this line points to the concept of blackness being immeasurable. This interpretation of blackness most closely seems like actual darkness as well as loneliness. When you stand in the pitch-black dark there is definitely a feeling of blackness beyond the obvious nothingness, a void you fade into. Loneliness comes with this as loneliness is an immeasurable feeling of emptiness that you know is there but you can't actually quantify. "I felt myself steadied, no longer alone at sea in a small rowboat"(363), this line reinforces the idea of blackness being loneliness as I often think of being stranded at sea when I visualize loneliness. The open ocean to me presents the ultimate form of being strand...