LITR / CRCL 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Student Poetry Presentation, 2003

Reader:  Emily Masterson
Respondent:  Robert Buffum
Recorder:  Kristy Pawlak
Date:  June 16, 2003

Presentation from Another Life, “The Divided Child” Chapter 1 (From Collected Poems pp. 143-149)

This poem, only one chapter of four, is strikingly complex in nature while presenting a number of themes which seem particularly relevant for Derek Walcott.  From the view of a western style veranda, Walcott the artist renders a painting of colonized imagery that speaks volumes of his personal inner turmoil between both the whiteness and blackness of his dual selves.

Walcott’s shocking line, “he had prayed nightly for his flesh to change,” challenges readers to speculate about Walcott’s confused identity.  Question:  Are Walcott’s images of changing black into white a result of his internal conflict or of a larger cultural picture of a conflicting self and other?

Introduction

·        Part of four chapters

·        Preface by Malraux

·        Quote from Nobel lecture (Dec. 7, 1992)—poetry is personal excavation for Walcott

General Impressions

·        A dark poem told from both a poet and painter’s viewpoints

·        Both beauty and frailty in his images as well as stark, empirical images

·        Familiar wistful sadness that seems to be evident in most Walcott poetry

Multiple Themes

·        Images that are dying out, ebbing or fading away—possibly symbolizing a culture that has lost its identity

·        Sense that western ideas were unsuccessful or didn’t take root successfully—images of a fallen Roman empire

·        Sense that life was sucked out of the land by the process of England trying to replicate itself

·        Self and other—conflict of whiteness and blackness

Theme of Conflict between Whiteness and Blackness

·        Boston Globe review—“Walcott is in internal exile”

·        READING OF SELECTIONS

·        “Dream of reason…” 2001 student Sylvia Krzmarzick says this is a “direct reference to Walcott’s mixed ethnicity.”  (I had thought more of an intellectualization of culture and peoples)

·        “Where a generation yearned for whiteness…”

·        “Unsilvering mirror of black servants…”

·        “The master changed the sketch…”

·        “He had prayed nightly for his flesh to change…”

·        “Holy be the white head of a…”

·        “The white face of a dead child…”

Class Dialogue

During the presentation Dr. White brought forth the following information:

1)      A discussion of the definition of the word “marmoreal.” (Pertaining to or being like marble; cold, white, smooth)

2)      The fact that the theme of England recreating itself will be seen again in Robinson Crusoe.

3)      An explanation of the allusion to the painting of Venus on the shell by Botecelli.

Following the question, the responses were as follows:

Robert-Both, Walcott has a great internal struggle, but also a great external struggle due to his environment.  On p. 146, ln.7-10, he’s struggling as a painter to make a clear representation, but memories and images of colonization creep in and distort the images.

Going back to the introduction, some interesting terms are that “Cimabue” represents a style of flat painting that has no depth.  “Giotto” represents a style pf painting which showed depth.

The poem is based a lot on Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. 

On the bottom of pg. 145, Walcott is having an internal struggle.  His education is coming into conflict with the traditions of his island upbringing.  His culture is getting lost in his Western education.

We might also be able to see the division within Walcott in terms of the master and the student.

“Holy be … black child” and the funeral mentioned in section 3 (p.150) shows that he has to choose either white or black and put the other away entirely. 

Section 4- “everything whitens” Walcott losing his identity to white man’s knowledge??

Emily-I noticed the phrase that he prayed nightly fro his flesh to change.

Dr. White-Yes, this is one of the most striking images in the poem.  The images stand in contrast to one another.

Ashley-The mention of the airstrip and the cemetery together made me think of Sophie Mol who came in on a plane and then died.

Krisann-Is there Dorian Gray imagery here?

Dr. White-Maybe in the sense that he is working with the self vs. the painted self.  He’s working within European painting traditions—Florentine, etc.  His framework for studying art and books are European, but pictures of him are not.  P. 147 “… Albertine” p. 148  “… black child”  You get Walcott’s quandary.  How does he join a tradition that demeaned him?

Emily-Going back to the artist changing it all—What does he change?  Himself?  His outlook?

Dr. White-That brings up the positive and negative connotations of the word “Master.”  It can be as in master vs. slave, but the meaning is different in art.

Ashley-Like as in the Old Masters of painting.

Dr. White-Walcott works both sides—he is an artist who learned from the Masters, but he is also descended from a slave culture.

Ashley-Maybe he’s using the word “master” to say that the colonists changed the landscape and traditions even while being “absent” p. 145 ln. 2.

Dr. White-A nature exists which has to be framed.  Colonies existed in some form, but when the Europeans encounter them they have to put them in some frame or impose their thinking on them.  This is seen in one of the other themes in Walcott—painting, pages turning.

Charlie-Another theme is things ending white—or the white showing up between the lines.

Vanessa-He’s trying to reclaim things.

Kim-It’s all part of him.  It’s all his culture.  Who is the master? Him?  Does he have control over his future?  He is like a mosaic.  He’s little pieces all put together.  He’s struggling to define himself, but he has to accept his past colonization and all.  It is a fact he cannot change.

Dr. White-It’s almost a mournful acceptance.

Emily-It’s like a dying out.  He has accepted, but he seems matter of fact about it, resigned.

Dr. White-We see words of exhaustion in other poems from him.

Greg-Even though he’s born in the middle he’s always black first and he has to lay claim to white things or sometimes they’re unattainable.

Cynthia-p. 149 Is there significance in the green?

Robert-Joyce’s theme used in the poem.

Cynthia-I just kept seeing all the color and wondered if there was significance, but the green was different because he’s not Irish.

Robert-Like Joyce. Walcott is trying to paint with words.

Emily-There are lots of images of the sea as well.  It seems to be a recurring thought throughout the poem.

Cynthia-Also, there are recurring images of airstrips, bulldozing, and more green.

Robert-Amber images also appear often and represent colonialism.

Dr. White-Just like the sepia photos in “Jean Rhys.”

Charlie-Green could also be the green of the Sargasso sea and the green landscape of the island.

Dr. White-The images such as the airport which keep showing up represent mechanical vs. natural imagery.  The mechanical tends to be plain and the natural colorful.

Emily-Like on page 146, the “black hills.”

Charlie-As a painter he’s going to use color to express himself.  Therefore, he has to use color imagery to get his point across.