Brenda K. Rambarran

Litr 5734

July 5, 2001

Poetry Presentation of Walcott's "Crusoe’s Island"

The overall subject of this poem undulates like a wave. Walcott neatly divides this poem into three chapters that reflects the present (Chapter 1), a significant change in his middle years (Chapter 2), and the future (Chapter 3). Notice that Chapters 1 and 3 are just called the past and the future because, while it includes Walcott, it seems to encompass the descendants of Friday and the mixing of Crusoe’s legacy.

The main idea of this poem follows along the premise of Robinson Crusoe—man (Adam) is cast out of the familiar (Eden or the Garden) as a testament to man’s faith in his Creator. Walcott, when he came to the United States, felt the isolation of a new place quite acutely because there wasn’t an active community of West Indian literary artists to embrace him. And so, the fist three stanzas of Chapter 1 are dedicated to a familiar scene (Tobago) that also correlates to a famous castaway and his isle. The fifth and sixth stanzas answers to Crusoe and Walcott’s supposed isolation from the familiar by providing them with the "…human voice…" that they both seem to be searching for. These stanzas negate the concept of "…no man is an island…"—where man cannot survive without contact. But I believe that man is an island and he bridges the gap (the need for human voice) through exploration. Man, therefore, brings others to him and fulfills the need of a human voice through human contact. As Crusoe sought to observe the cannibals and develop lasting contact with Friday; so has Walcott made the bridge through his poetry and forge a lasting contact with those around him.

Chapter 2 is a moment of significant change in Walcott’s life where he contemplates a voluntary removal from the familiar. In stanzas one and two, he seems to suddenly yearn for solitude "We came here for the cure/To be, like beast or natural object, pure". He wants to move away from the pressing concerns of reality and go back to where his thoughts can be purified. This mirrors the West Indian need to keep a constant bond with the islands no matter how long they are away from them. To those living outside of the familiar (the islands), going home becomes a cleansing process that gives birth to a freer mind and a looser attitude about life. And for those that cannot return, Walcott uses his poetry to get things back into perspective. Yet the "…occupational/Compassion…" that comes with poetry does not alleviate his inner torture. It feeds on his fear of dying without seeing the legacy he has wrought like his father did. And so, in the last stanza of Chapter 2, Walcott seems to be lost in the barrage of memories where he doubts his own self-worth: "My skill/Is not enough/Crazed by a racking sun/I stand at my life’s noon".

In the last two stanzas of Chapter 3, poetry re-invents Walcott but the tangible attributes of the island and particularly, the sight of Friday’s children comforts him. Walcott comes full circle—a man once castaway by God or who had cast God away—finds his way back to his Creator and once again stands in awe of His creation. Overall, this poem signifies the acceptance of God by Walcott after the lost of his father and his faith in God not leaving him castaway.