The Dragon Can't Dance written in 1979 by Earl
Lovelace examines Trinidadian society a decade after the British colonial rule had
come to an end. Trinidad was an island that
faced vast political and social upheaval in the 1970s. Calvary Hill, where the
story is set, is representative of Trinidad as
a nation.
The writer presents the following issues
·
Identity crises
·
Poverty
·
Feeling of alienation that creates a desperate need
for human bonds and roots as legacies of slavery and colonialism. These can be
considered as major themes of the novel.
Identity
crisis is an issue that touches the lives of all the characters in the novel.
The root of the problem arises out of displacement which is both involuntary
and voluntary, missionary movement and cultural assimilation.
Let us consider how involuntary displacement
had led to identity crises. The majority of the characters in the novel had
been brought to the Caribbean as either slaves or indentured servants by the
White plantation owners from Africa and India.
The
harsh frontier atmosphere of the Caribbean had
become a melting pot in which different ethnicities had lost their identities
as distinct groups.
Independence
from the British Rule in 1962 had led to a large exodus of people from the
rural areas. These people settled down in the slums in the outskirts of Port of Spain the capital of Trinidad.
This could be termed as voluntary displacement.
Displacement whether voluntary or
involuntary had resulted in disintegration of the structures such as
communities, kinship groups, and families that sustain values and norms which
in turn shape individual identities in the residents of Calvary Hill.
Missionary movement and the overwhelming
assimilative power of the dominant white culture on the other hand had also
added to the blurring of the identity of the displaced as a whole leaving
behind faint memories of what they used to be. The writer commenting on the
importance of the masked dancers in the dark heart of Africa says, “(B)ack
across the Middle Passage…back to Africa when
maskers were sacred and revered, the keepers of the poisons and heads of secret
societies” (134).
Identity being an essential component for communities
and individuals, one creates it in the absence of one. This phenomenon is seen
in the community and the individuals in the novel. The carnival, the yard, steel
band, gangs, battles, church, the police, cowboy movies have obtained a
symbolic importance in the eyes of the slum dwellers of Calvary Hill in the
search of their personhood.
The carnival, one of the main motifs in
the novel, gives individuals in Calvary Hill an opportunity to create an
alternative reality which allows them to escape from the socially assigned
identity/label and form a link with blood memories of the distant tribal past. They
redefine themselves with the use colourful costumes and masks of their chosen
role. These temporary identities allowed them a respite from their humdrum
existence and feel powerful and meaningful, so much so, the participants loath
the masquerade to end. Aldrick while catching his breath from dancing for two
days thinks that “he understood then what it meant when people said that they
wished every day was carnival”137.
Let
us look at how some of the characters grapple with their identities. Aldrick
Prospect, the protagonist is a 31-year-old unemployed man of colour. Unlike the
other characters in the novel Aldrick has few human attachments and he is
reluctant to form any despite his obvious attraction to Sylvia. This is due to
the reluctance to commit himself to a relationship. He identifies himself as
the Dragon Man and his role as the most important dragon is the total focus of
and the reason for his existence. It also provides a convenient means of escape
for him from the unpleasant realities of life: “All his life he managed in such
a way to disconnect himself from things which he couldn’t escape and which
threatened to define him in a way which he did no want to be define” 145.
Complications with Sylvia, Pariag,
Fisheye, Basil, Philo, etc. make him question his single minded fixation on
being the dragon and the no-ties lifestyle. When pressurized by neighbours and
his inner self conflict to take action, Aldrick aligns himself with Fisheye and
self style himself as a rebel against tyranny of capitalism and institutional
oppression. In the end he gives up playing the dragon. A new awareness makes
him want to look for an identity that transcends the character of the dragon
man: “We is people. I, you, you for we own self…We have to act for we” 203.
Belesco John aks Fisheye has moved to
Calvary Hill from Moruga. At first he tries to establish an identity as a
hardworking man but when he realizes that others were exploiting him he loses
interest in that. Then he joins the neighbourhood steel band despite the lack
of any superior musical skills. He derives his identity from the band. The
highly competitive bands with their frequent ‘battles’ is the focus of Fisheye’s
existence. “In this war, in this army, Fisheye
at last found the place where he could be a man” 68.
He sees himself as a warrior and lacking
any knowledge of how the tribal warriors acted, Fisheye and his fellow
musicians imitate the actors of American cowboy films. When the band decides to
take on a sponsor, Fisheye feels that his identity as a warrior against the
system is compromised. He rebels against the encroachment only to be defeated
soundly. Deprived of the foundation on which his person-hood was constructed
Fisheye retreats to the Corner and forms an identity as a rebel, the last
warrior standing in the fight against commercialization of the warrior-hood. “(T)he last remains of a defeated army, that
refused to surrender, indeed to acknowledge defeat, that would keep fighting
even after hope for victory had ended, out of not knowing what else to do” 178.
Philo is a 42-year-old calypsonian. Born
Samuel Sampson, he self- Christian himself as Philo and act the clown to escape
the cruel taunting of his schoolmates. As a young man he voices rebellious
thoughts through his calypsos. Philo’s greatest fear is of being forgotten
after his death like his father. Therefore, he tries desperately to be a
calypso king. Ironically, he achieves this dream at the expense of his identity
as a rebel. It is the suggestive “Axe man” that earns Philo the coveted title. He
moves to Diego Martin, a posh neighbourhood. But he misses his roots and the
identity as one of the ‘yard boys’ and returns to Calvary Hill with the
trappings of his success. Fisheye rejects Philo’s overtures of friendship and
declares war on him
Pariag or Boya is a son of an indentured
Indian labourer. He moves to Calvary Hill with his bride Dolly to escape the
grip his uncle has on him and establish an identity. But Pariag is rejected by
the neighbours who are suspicious of his Indianness and ambition. No one wants to know his name; instead he is
called Bottles, Channa Boy, or Crazy Indian. Desperate for some form of
recognition, Pariag is glad to be fleeced by Fisheye as it acknowledges his existence.
Cleothilda is a woman in her 40s who owned
a parlour in Calvary Hill. She derives her identity from her more affluent
economic status, the wedding ring, being placed as 3rd in a beauty
contest 16 years ago and the colour of her skin which is much lighter. Cleothilda
is a child of a back woman and a white man and she considers the colour of her skin
as a very important aspect of her identity. She clings to her fast fading youth
with desperation: “(S)trutting about the yard with her roughed cheeks and
padded hips, husbanding her fading beauty” 31. The Muletto has been playing the
Queen of the carnival and has no hope of giving it up despite her age. Cleothilda
has 2 identities; one for the carnival season and the other for the rest of the
year. During the carnival period the Queen is approachable and jovial while she
remains haughty and sarcastic for the remainder of the year.
Guy, the slum landlord of Calvary Hill uses his well pressed clean
clothes and wealth as an extenuating factor for him being a negro. “He wore his
cleanness as compensation, so that the world would say; ‘He is black, but he
never dirty’” 122. Guy becomes a councilman and hopes to move to Diego Martin after
marrying youthful Sylvia whom he buys with his money. Sylvia, Dolly, Terry,
Reds, Yvonne, Olive, Caroline, etc are some of the other characters in the
novel that struggle with issues related to identity.
Works
Cited
Lovelace,
Earl. The Dragon Can’t Dance. Essex:
Longman, 1989.
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