As an individual, I do not indulge in great analysis of what I read, albeit novels or short stories. In time I have learnt to take novels more seriously and to deconstruct what was written, but the short stories I read have remained simply a means of entertainment. Through the critical essays presented in Evans, McWatt and Smith's Text, the short story has developed into a great mountain rather than the hill that it was to me, and has to be considered quite differently. These essays impart a very different perspective that I could not have attained by myself, since the authors of these essays are avid readers of specific authors. They make links that I would not have made and has placed an entirely new light on what I thought was a simple piece of writing. The short story authors indulge many ideologies in their works which are deciphered by these essays, amounting to my refreshed view of the short story; that the short story is misled by its name (short story) since it is not simply what is read on the surface but it can carry the reader on and on into many different avenues and stories.
The critical essays have allowed me to see a different perspective in terms of analysis. It is also very encouraging to know that the scholars came up with the same ideas about the stories as you did. Also, it has helped me to be able to trace the patterns of the short story and how this form has developed over the years throughout the Caribbean.
These critical essays have helped me to actually take the Caribbean Short Stories a lot more seriously. In Johnson’s “I Cut It and Cut It: Jean Rhy’s Short Story Fiction” I have learned of all the tapering and tailoring that went into the creations of her stories. Every word was chosen carefully, like an artist every construct was carefully done to add or emphasis meaning. The crafting of a short story then became something that demanded much patience and dedication. It was a process. I have also learned the importance of the title of a story. Before, I honestly never took much notice of the title but now, after I read I try to figure out the relevance of the name of the story and how it is linked to the last line. Doing this has caused me to become an even more careful and alert reader. In Marshall’s “And Always, Anancy Changes’: An Exploration of Andrew Salkey’s Anancy Stories”, I have become every more appreciative of this treasured folk hero that has been endowed with wisdom that only comes with age and all that is Caribbean. Marshall explores the varying ways that the evolved Spider-Person has been constructed over time to teach adults about“the complexities of Caribbean History” and to demonstrate to them how they can, just like Anancy, “invent new ways to tackle the problems of the present.” (201). She explores the African ancestry of the “trickster spider” and connects all of this to the present context of our very own Caribbean existence and identity. Abigail Ward in “Tracing Significant Footsteps: Ismith Khan and the Indian-Caribbean Short Story”, explores the depth of the marks that has been left by indentured laborers through the literary talent of Khan. She focuses on the convenience of choosing the short story as a “mode of storytelling” (96) because of the issues faced at that time with printing and publication. She also comments on the more jocular tone that the short story took on but notes that the focus in her essay would deal with the political and sobering characters that Ismith created to speak out against social prejudices. I have learned from the reading of some of these critical essays so far that no story should really be taken on the surface level. By interrogating the critical approaches of each essayist, I have discovered that I need to be able to bring to the table some sort of historic, cultural or social knowledge of the West Indies before I can truly appreciate and understand the short stories as these critics do.
The Caribbean Short Story: Critical Perspectives’ essays have given me an insight of how the Caribbean short stories were developed and all the trials and tribulations the authors had to endure in establishing and publishing their craft. It has helped me in understanding some of the writing techniques that are employed when constructing a short story. The essay by Joanna Johnson shows how Jean Rhys’s style of writing was a deliberate statement on the craft of short stories were every word, phrase and punctuation mark was purposely placed and connected through an invisible thread that pulled everything together from the title, to the fragmented images, to the last line. Emily Zobel Marshall explains how Andrew Salkey’s Aanacy stories represent the political, social and historical development of Caribbean people through the "forked tongue of the vernacular” (204). Anancy through his tricks causes reflections of self and situation and how through the lessons learnt one can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. I was also able to identify and appreciate the efforts of incorporating the Caribbean in the Caribbean short stories, demonstrated through the topography, discourse, social conditions, family situations, and cultural, religious, historical and folklore imageries. Recently, I read the poem “Colonial Girls’ School” by Olive Senior and the repetitive line “There was nothing about us at all” meaning there was no mention of the Caribbean in any of the school lessons or books, reminds me how far the Caribbean has come in producing its own literary cannon. The overall text has so far given me a great sense of pride and admiration of Caribbean writers and their short stories.
The Caribbean is rich and vibrant, which many have taken for granted. The essays presented in this particular text, pays homage to our literary heroes.
The essays not only looked at the creative efforts, but also the themes which we can all relate to. The essays highlight the struggles faced by the authors, the fact that their stories are just as essential to the literary pantheon, as our American counterpaths.
The use of our historical, cultural and social issues makes the stories more potent. What once may have separated us, making us the 'other', has now allowed us to be more appreciative of this fact, and thus use it to create something special, something incredibly beautiful and rich.
The varying techniques used in the short stories, open our eyes to the fact that, we may have a better grasp of the short story, than the foreign authors- mainly because of our talent for the oral tradition. The essays has opened my eyes to more than simply analysisng based on themes, but also the linguistic scope of the short stories. The importanace of the title, the significance of narrative perspective and the 'cutting and cutting' of sentences for example.
The Caribbean has so much more to offer, and this text allows for a deeper look at our take on the short story. Too many of us have and many will grow up in an era plagued by the American culture. I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to read for this course, as it as helped my appreciate my culture more.
It wasn't not only my reading of the essays which provided an 'eye-opener', but also the way the groups have presented the main points of the essays, as only an true Caribbean native can. Also I strongly agree with Denielle, the Caribbean writer and by extension the lierary works have come a long way, and there is a great sense of pride being exuded now.
However, I strongly believe that the future generation should not be allowed to reach tertairy level education only with foreign knowledge of lierature. The Caribbean has a vast pool of literary work, they should be included at all levels of literary study.
These short stories aand essays have made me more aware of the importance of knowing who I am, especially in the context of my history and culture, as it pertains to my country, not just Trinidad and Tobago, but the wider Caribbean as well.
The essays in the The Caribbean Short Story: Critical Perspectives text have helped to shape how I now view the Caribbean short story, but also, how I now view the Caribbean short story writer. The text goes to show the vast repertoire of skills a number of Caribbean writers possess. As a student, I often offered tailored options for what it is I am going to read, and this is from the primary school level moving up. From my experience, what we are exposed to in many classrooms before arriving at the university stage, does not give many chances to sit back and appreciate the quality of the literature we possess. This text puts into context the depth of what the Caribbean author has to offer to his/her people as well as outsiders. The essays go as far as to encourage one to enthusiastically explore more of an author's work than we might be able to taste in the classroom. Whether the reviews are positive or negative, the option is still there for one to pick up some of the Caribbean works and decide whether we agree with what was said in the text. All of this is a part of us appreciating our literature and our authors.
Thank you for your responses, folks! You are the first LITS 2510 class to have the benefit of using Evans, McWatt and Smith's text for the course, since it was only published a few months ago. Certainly you appreciate what it has to offer and obviously it has assisted you with your own insights into, ruminations about, and critical responses to the short stories we're studying this semester.
The Critical Essays in Evans, McWatt and Smith's has impacted my view on the Caribbean Short story. These short stories has been greatly developed. The essays have a very different perspective on everything and an in depth analysis of the stories. Things that I would not have thought about, the writers have enabled me to explore other areas now. The essays have allowed me to do some critical thinking about ow the stories should be analysed. Ultimately, I agree Shellz, no story should be taken on the surface level.
For me the critical essays have helped foster an appreciation for Caribbean short story. The thing that i most enjoy about the essays is that it identifies numerous factors that influence Caribbean short story writing. Some of those factors I have never considered. I really like the essays that discuss the structure and style of Caribbean short story writing. Although this course does not require us to write a short story it certainly inspires me to write one.
Having read various essays from Evans,McWatt & Smith's Text, I am now able to understand the Caribbean as a whole (history, people, cultures etc) The Caribbean Short Stories have accomplished the goal of have a "single effect" ...which is tightly structured" (Evans,McWatt & Smith 12). One thing which i really admired about the Caribbean Short Stories, is the "local colour" which is conveyed through the setting and language of the stories;" and as a result the Caribbean is seen as one region; one people. (Kimberly Rojas)
The essays in the Evans. McWatt and Smith have inspired me to more closely analyse short stories and to appreciate to a greater extent, CARIBBEAN short stories. I read a Jean Rhys story before, but only after reading Joanna Johnson's story about her narrative techniques do I really appreciate what goes into creating magnificent work of literary art. The essay by Shirley Chew about Olive Senior made me want to read more of Senior's work to explore the "intertwining amazing fecundity" of her work. Indeed this collection of short stories is an eye opener to the otherwise blind. It is such a shame that more isn't done in earlier levels of education to explore Caribbean writers and to build more awareness and appreciation of our own. The Byrons and Shelleys, not to mention the Shakespeares are great works of art, but there are also the Danticats, Seniors, Rhyses, Walcotts...... that we have in the Caribbean that I think should be introduced and taught at schools (not just at the University level).
Short stories have been regarded simply as entertaining to me. This perspective is held simply because of its simplistic plot, character development and most of all, story length. However, the short stories read so far are more than just entertaining. While they do reflect a wide range of writers’ craft and creativity, they do relive the Caribbean experience both past and present. The essays in Evans, McWatt and Smith bring to the fore, aspects and dimensions of the short story form which one would not have become cognizant of by merely reading the stories. For instance, some essays dealt with issues such as the development of Caribbean short stories, while others focused on gender and or ethnicity as it impacted on the development of the writer and his or her work. Others dealt with the development of themes that are relevant to the Caribbean and how they are reflected in the various short stories. Further, upon reading the essays, one gets a glimpse of the many ways in which the writer has slipped the Caribbean folklore genre into the written text. The text, The Caribbean Short Story: Critical Perspective, can be seen as a map, guiding the reader meticulously through the work of the artist, helping him/her to discover an awareness and appreciation of the Caribbean short story form and its writers. The text can therefore be seen as successful in obtaining this objective.
As an individual, I do not indulge in great analysis of what I read, albeit novels or short stories. In time I have learnt to take novels more seriously and to deconstruct what was written, but the short stories I read have remained simply a means of entertainment. Through the critical essays presented in Evans, McWatt and Smith's Text, the short story has developed into a great mountain rather than the hill that it was to me, and has to be considered quite differently. These essays impart a very different perspective that I could not have attained by myself, since the authors of these essays are avid readers of specific authors. They make links that I would not have made and has placed an entirely new light on what I thought was a simple piece of writing. The short story authors indulge many ideologies in their works which are deciphered by these essays, amounting to my refreshed view of the short story; that the short story is misled by its name (short story) since it is not simply what is read on the surface but it can carry the reader on and on into many different avenues and stories.
ReplyDeleteThe critical essays have allowed me to see a different perspective in terms of analysis. It is also very encouraging to know that the scholars came up with the same ideas about the stories as you did. Also, it has helped me to be able to trace the patterns of the short story and how this form has developed over the years throughout the Caribbean.
ReplyDeleteThese critical essays have helped me to actually take the Caribbean Short Stories a lot more seriously. In Johnson’s “I Cut It and Cut It: Jean Rhy’s Short Story Fiction” I have learned of all the tapering and tailoring that went into the creations of her stories. Every word was chosen carefully, like an artist every construct was carefully done to add or emphasis meaning. The crafting of a short story then became something that demanded much patience and dedication. It was a process. I have also learned the importance of the title of a story. Before, I honestly never took much notice of the title but now, after I read I try to figure out the relevance of the name of the story and how it is linked to the last line. Doing this has caused me to become an even more careful and alert reader.
ReplyDeleteIn Marshall’s “And Always, Anancy Changes’: An Exploration of Andrew Salkey’s Anancy Stories”, I have become every more appreciative of this treasured folk hero that has been endowed with wisdom that only comes with age and all that is Caribbean. Marshall explores the varying ways that the evolved Spider-Person has been constructed over time to teach adults about“the complexities of Caribbean History” and to demonstrate to them how they can, just like Anancy, “invent new ways to tackle the problems of the present.” (201). She explores the African ancestry of the “trickster spider” and connects all of this to the present context of our very own Caribbean existence and identity.
Abigail Ward in “Tracing Significant Footsteps: Ismith Khan and the Indian-Caribbean Short Story”, explores the depth of the marks that has been left by indentured laborers through the literary talent of Khan. She focuses on the convenience of choosing the short story as a “mode of storytelling” (96) because of the issues faced at that time with printing and publication. She also comments on the more jocular tone that the short story took on but notes that the focus in her essay would deal with the political and sobering characters that Ismith created to speak out against social prejudices.
I have learned from the reading of some of these critical essays so far that no story should really be taken on the surface level. By interrogating the critical approaches of each essayist, I have discovered that I need to be able to bring to the table some sort of historic, cultural or social knowledge of the West Indies before I can truly appreciate and understand the short stories as these critics do.
The Caribbean Short Story: Critical Perspectives’ essays have given me an insight of how the Caribbean short stories were developed and all the trials and tribulations the authors had to endure in establishing and publishing their craft. It has helped me in understanding some of the writing techniques that are employed when constructing a short story. The essay by Joanna Johnson shows how Jean Rhys’s style of writing was a deliberate statement on the craft of short stories were every word, phrase and punctuation mark was purposely placed and connected through an invisible thread that pulled everything together from the title, to the fragmented images, to the last line. Emily Zobel Marshall explains how Andrew Salkey’s Aanacy stories represent the political, social and historical development of Caribbean people through the "forked tongue of the vernacular” (204). Anancy through his tricks causes reflections of self and situation and how through the lessons learnt one can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
ReplyDeleteI was also able to identify and appreciate the efforts of incorporating the Caribbean in the Caribbean short stories, demonstrated through the topography, discourse, social conditions, family situations, and cultural, religious, historical and folklore imageries.
Recently, I read the poem “Colonial Girls’ School” by Olive Senior and the repetitive line “There was nothing about us at all” meaning there was no mention of the Caribbean in any of the school lessons or books, reminds me how far the Caribbean has come in producing its own literary cannon. The overall text has so far given me a great sense of pride and admiration of Caribbean writers and their short stories.
The Caribbean is rich and vibrant, which many have taken for granted. The essays presented in this particular text, pays homage to our literary heroes.
ReplyDeleteThe essays not only looked at the creative efforts, but also the themes which we can all relate to. The essays highlight the struggles faced by the authors, the fact that their stories are just as essential to the literary pantheon, as our American counterpaths.
The use of our historical, cultural and social issues makes the stories more potent. What once may have separated us, making us the 'other', has now allowed us to be more appreciative of this fact, and thus use it to create something special, something incredibly beautiful and rich.
The varying techniques used in the short stories, open our eyes to the fact that, we may have a better grasp of the short story, than the foreign authors- mainly because of our talent for the oral tradition. The essays has opened my eyes to more than simply analysisng based on themes, but also the linguistic scope of the short stories. The importanace of the title, the significance of narrative perspective and the 'cutting and cutting' of sentences for example.
The Caribbean has so much more to offer, and this text allows for a deeper look at our take on the short story. Too many of us have and many will grow up in an era plagued by the American culture. I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to read for this course, as it as helped my appreciate my culture more.
It wasn't not only my reading of the essays which provided an 'eye-opener', but also the way the groups have presented the main points of the essays, as only an true Caribbean native can. Also I strongly agree with Denielle, the Caribbean writer and by extension the lierary works have come a long way, and there is a great sense of pride being exuded now.
However, I strongly believe that the future generation should not be allowed to reach tertairy level education only with foreign knowledge of lierature. The Caribbean has a vast pool of literary work, they should be included at all levels of literary study.
These short stories aand essays have made me more aware of the importance of knowing who I am, especially in the context of my history and culture, as it pertains to my country, not just Trinidad and Tobago, but the wider Caribbean as well.
The essays in the The Caribbean Short Story: Critical Perspectives text have helped to shape how I now view the Caribbean short story, but also, how I now view the Caribbean short story writer.
ReplyDeleteThe text goes to show the vast repertoire of skills a number of Caribbean writers possess. As a student, I often offered tailored options for what it is I am going to read, and this is from the primary school level moving up. From my experience, what we are exposed to in many classrooms before arriving at the university stage, does not give many chances to sit back and appreciate the quality of the literature we possess.
This text puts into context the depth of what the Caribbean author has to offer to his/her people as well as outsiders. The essays go as far as to encourage one to enthusiastically explore more of an author's work than we might be able to taste in the classroom. Whether the reviews are positive or negative, the option is still there for one to pick up some of the Caribbean works and decide whether we agree with what was said in the text. All of this is a part of us appreciating our literature and our authors.
Thank you for your responses, folks! You are the first LITS 2510 class to have the benefit of using Evans, McWatt and Smith's text for the course, since it was only published a few months ago. Certainly you appreciate what it has to offer and obviously it has assisted you with your own insights into, ruminations about, and critical responses to the short stories we're studying this semester.
ReplyDeleteThe Critical Essays in Evans, McWatt and Smith's has impacted my view on the Caribbean Short story. These short stories has been greatly developed. The essays have a very different perspective on everything and an in depth analysis of the stories. Things that I would not have thought about, the writers have enabled me to explore other areas now. The essays have allowed me to do some critical thinking about ow the stories should be analysed. Ultimately, I agree Shellz, no story should be taken on the surface level.
ReplyDeleteFor me the critical essays have helped foster an appreciation for Caribbean short story. The thing that i most enjoy about the essays is that it identifies numerous factors that influence Caribbean short story writing. Some of those factors I have never considered. I really like the essays that discuss the structure and style of Caribbean short story writing. Although this course does not require us to write a short story it certainly inspires me to write one.
ReplyDeleteHaving read various essays from Evans,McWatt & Smith's Text, I am now able to understand the Caribbean as a whole (history, people, cultures etc) The Caribbean Short Stories have accomplished the goal of have a "single effect" ...which is tightly structured" (Evans,McWatt & Smith 12). One thing which i really admired about the Caribbean Short Stories, is the "local colour" which is conveyed through the setting and language of the stories;" and as a result the Caribbean is seen as one region; one people.
ReplyDelete(Kimberly Rojas)
The essays in the Evans. McWatt and Smith have inspired me to more closely analyse short stories and to appreciate to a greater extent, CARIBBEAN short stories.
ReplyDeleteI read a Jean Rhys story before, but only after reading Joanna Johnson's story about her narrative techniques do I really appreciate what goes into creating magnificent work of literary art.
The essay by Shirley Chew about Olive Senior made me want to read more of Senior's work to explore the "intertwining amazing fecundity" of her work. Indeed this collection of short stories is an eye opener to the otherwise blind.
It is such a shame that more isn't done in earlier levels of education to explore Caribbean writers and to build more awareness and appreciation of our own. The Byrons and Shelleys, not to mention the Shakespeares are great works of art, but there are also the Danticats, Seniors, Rhyses, Walcotts...... that we have in the Caribbean that I think should be introduced and taught at schools (not just at the University level).
Short stories have been regarded simply as entertaining to me. This perspective is held simply because of its simplistic plot, character development and most of all, story length. However, the short stories read so far are more than just entertaining. While they do reflect a wide range of writers’ craft and creativity, they do relive the Caribbean experience both past and present.
ReplyDeleteThe essays in Evans, McWatt and Smith bring to the fore, aspects and dimensions of the short story form which one would not have become cognizant of by merely reading the stories.
For instance, some essays dealt with issues such as the development of Caribbean short stories, while others focused on gender and or ethnicity as it impacted on the development of the writer and his or her work. Others dealt with the development of themes that are relevant to the Caribbean and how they are reflected in the various short stories. Further, upon reading the essays, one gets a glimpse of the many ways in which the writer has slipped the Caribbean folklore genre into the written text.
The text, The Caribbean Short Story: Critical Perspective, can be seen as a map, guiding the reader meticulously through the work of the artist, helping him/her to discover an awareness and appreciation of the Caribbean short story form and its writers. The text can therefore be seen as successful in obtaining this objective.