SAMUEL SELVON’S SOCIO-HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF CARIBBEAN LITERATURE REVIEW

SAMUEL SELVON’S SOCIO-HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF CARIBBEAN LITERATURE REVIEW

 

      Samuel Selvon is novelist from Trinidad he wrote some famous masterpiece that includes The Lonely Londoners (1956), A Brighter sun (1952), Turn again others (1958) among others. He spent most of his time writing in Alberta, Canada at the University of Calgary using different form of English that is a manifestation of his creolized linguistic culture in Trinidad. Most of his novel was ignored and neglected by foreign nationalities because of his long winding expression or slang languages but in his novel The Lonely Londoners that is a traditional London novel with a multicultural linguistic approach in writing is a different combination.

      His writings are a reflection of his experience from foreign countries that he felt the loneliness of being a black race in the country of white people, maybe this has been the reason for a multi-cultural dimension that shows neo colonial mentality that have created a somehow logic of thinking by some critics about his writings of what he wants to emphasize in his writings that he experienced difficulty and failure in life and from then on his writings has been noticed, they have imagined the life of the writers and what’s inside in his writings from the context of Caribbean Literature mix with standard English. He wanted to show that they are also and equally good people.  

      Although we can say that it is not easy to determine the reality of his writings and the history that has flourished in the society during this period of history when the superiority of the British are synonymous and outlandish from other cultures as they treated by people especially black that’s why they struggled to be weak and stagnant with limited opportunity in the land of white races. During those times he revolutionized the theme of the immigrant experiences in London and other countries that adopted his literature and created more novel related influence by his works.

      The White Teeth (2000) – of Zadie Smith is a twist of history, religious and diverse cultural dilemma of characters that portrays the differences in spite longing for the meaning of life and love. This depicts multiple view for instance black people are often nicer and white people are smarter but if they were mixed in character they can be the same. Zadie Smith somehow wants to portray that there are better people and there are cultures that are acceptable and non acceptable even if they are different. He wanted people to be more accepting and loving to each other beyond differences.

      He also mentioned in the white teeth that the possibility of religious faith is not at all a rigid representation of one’s character but a development of one’s culture and no matter what you belief in we can be as one family. White teeth calls for discipline and unity beyond culture, religion, social status and colors so we can succeed. Whatever or races or languages we speak there can be one thing that can bring us together and that is our white teeth which in a deeper sense we can be all friend or we can be enemy by neglecting each other without reasons and stay there.     

      Yardie (1992) by Victor Headley has been writing with the same concept of Samuel Selvon. The story shows an immigrant from West Indian that settles in Britain to look for work and hoping to make a living but they have found non but trouble and fear from harsh people who degraded them but there are also good people where he found friends though they are different. Yardie is a social representation of Jamaican or culture of black ethnicity that is weaker when they are in the land of foreign countries especially among white and it is a struggle to befriend them. But the as time goes by, modernization and civilization adopted the multi-culture and races during this time somehow color is not much an issue people of white races has somehow learned to change their personality and the superiority is somehow lessen but the difference would be the social standings and partly the educational atonement.

      For black people in order to be accepted should learn to adopt their culture including sexual preferences, vices and luxury of living which is not a part of Jamaican culture. Yardie according to Headley may depict the present society or a second generation of black discrimination of differences manifested by the shadow of history and the past still exist although much covered with extreme civilized society. They are simply hidden to be accepted as a form of formality but the truth is people are friendly in front but they maybe enemy when you are not around. That’s they may feel the difference and still search for belongingness and acceptance.

 

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