CSEC English

Hello there! Today’s section on Walcott’s Ti-Jean and His Brothers brings our study of this play to an end. Next week we’ll start looking at the poems on your English B syllabus. You can purchase a CD with all 20 poems and commentary on them from Austin’s Book Services. For our English A students, we show how you can improve your short story writing. Read on, and enjoy your CSEC page.

ENGLISH B—Ti-Jean and His Brothers. Today we show you a sample essay on Walcott’s play. Question:

Oppression and liberation are the twin themes of Walcott’s Ti-Jean and His Brothers. Write an essay in which you describe the nature of oppression as shown in the play Ti-Jean and His Brothers. You should also show what, according to the play, the requirements are for true liberation. Select ONE important dramatic device and show how it effectively communicates the theme of liberation from oppression.

Although the question is not broken down into a), b) and c), you can easily identify the THREE parts required, so be sure to respond to all THREE. Here is a sample essay to help you.

In Ti-Jean and His Brothers, Walcott traces the history of oppression in the Caribbean and identifies the pathway to liberation. His skilful use of dramatic devices supports this theme. (Your Introduction indicates the THREE parts of the question that you intend to answer.)

Oppression of the people is made very clear in the play in the poverty of the Mother and her sons. The only employment available, it seems, is to be found on the Devil/Planter’s land. There, the tasks given (like catching the goat and counting stalks of cane) are unreasonably difficult and humiliating. When the Planter refuses to call him by his correct name, Gros Jean experiences how dehumanizing it is to lose one’s identity. Workers on the plantation are ‘eaten’ up metaphorically by the insatiable greed of the Planter. Even the little education that Mi-Jean has been able to obtain does not help him out of poverty; rather, he has been made unfit for useful work like fishing. Papa Bois is a source of discouragement to the brothers with his dire predictions. We understand that the Bolom was a baby that was strangled by his mother, so we see that oppression of the people even led to infanticide. From the little family, only Ti-Jean survives, showing that the plantation system was so oppressive that many died. (Count the points made here. Has the writer said enough to earn 9 marks?)

Neither Gros-Jean nor Mi-Jean is able to free the family from terror of the Planter/Devil; only Ti-Jean is able to achieve liberation for himself and the Bolom. By comparing Ti-Jean with his brothers we can identify the pathway to liberation. Ti-Jean lives by the teaching and advice of his godly Mother, and so is not discouraged by the negativity of Papa Bois, nor terrified by the threats of the Planter. Unlike his brothers, he respects the ‘common man’—the creatures of the forest, who are weak, but willing to support him in his quest. Because he listened to the wisdom of his mother, Ti-Jean knows that the Devil appears in different disguises, so he is wary about trusting anyone. When the Planter gives him impossible tasks designed to make him fail, he chooses to change the rules of the game: he makes curry of the goat and encourages the field workers to burn down the cane. Where his brothers were proud, Ti-Jean is humble, so it is harder for the Devil to annoy him. Ti-Jean is a revolutionary (he encourages resistance and the burning of the canes) yet he is compassionate: he bargains with the Devil for the life of the Bolom (the future of his people). Dismayed at the death of his Mother, following on the deaths of his two brothers, Ti-Jean does not despair, but bravely goes on singing his song about bringing down Goliath. The forest creatures join him, and his trembling singing gets stronger. Ti-Jean, the liberator, has shown courage, patience, wisdom, faith, inner strength, respect for others and intolerance of evil. (Again, count the points made, and see if this segment deserves 9 marks).

The mask worn by the Planter/Devil is an important dramatic device that supports the theme of the play. The Planter is a prosperous landowner living in a grand house and offering employment. He seems intelligent and reasonable. Of course, this appearance is just a mask; in fact, he brutally exploits the people who slave on his estate and eventually destroys them. Similarly, when he appears as Papa Bois, he appears to be the voice of wisdom and helpfulness, but in fact the old man is out to trap the brothers and lead them to destruction. When we see the Devil minus his mask, we see how ruthless and terrifying he is! The device of the mask, then, suggests that Evil that crosses our path may appear as something good and helpful, so, like Ti-Jean, we need wisdom, courage and integrity as we journey through life. (If you were the Examiner, would you give 7 marks for this segment?)

DIALOGUE IN YOUR SHORT STORY

Here is a short piece of dialogue, written as it would be in a play. A typical classroom. The teacher has just finished writing on the blackboard. He turns to the class. Student: (raising hand, and talking in a wheedling tone) Sir, could we ask you a really big favour?

(pretending to be stern) Student 2:

As you know, in a play, the parts in italics would not be said by the actors. They are the ‘stage directions’ that guide the actors how to say their lines or to move around on the stage. Of course, there are no ‘stage directions’ in a short story, but the writer usually puts bits of narrative in between the speeches so that the reader can imagine their tone of voice and the movements they are making. Read this passage and notice how the writer has used the speeches in the play above to create an interesting piece of dialogue for a short story: Mr. Daly finished writing on the board and turned to face the class. Pete raised his hand: “Sir, could we ask you a really big favour?” It was said in his best wheedling tone, and the other students exchanged amused glances. “Hold it! I think I know what’s coming,” responded Mr Daly, pretending to be serious and inflexible. Mike joined Pete’s campaign: “Oh Sir! You know how hard we’ve been working.” And, from the back of the class came Sam’s voice, playful and teasing: “Sir, you know that we had to come to school on Saturday to help with Sports Day.” Mr Daly nodded slowly as if thinking hard about his reply, but in fact he was hold ing back his laughter. “And now you want permission to hand in your homework on Monday instead of today? All right,” he said, adding sternly as he left the room, “but Monday it is—and no later than that. No excuses.”

Your turn now! Check that piece of dialogue again. A. List the actions recorded by the narrator. B. List the adjectives that suggest the mood in the classroom. Now check the bottom of the page to compare your list with ours!

Your turn again!! Create a short conversation—just three or four brief speeches (as in the example above). Now work on the narrative frame around those speeches. Be sure to record the ACTIONS of your characters, and be sure to include some ADJEC TIVES AND ADVERBS to create the mood of the situation. If ONE of the paragraphs in your short story mixes dialogue and narrative in this way, the Examiner will be most impressed!

NEW WORDS

It’s good to increase your working vocabulary. Using a dictionary, fit these words appropriately into the sentences that follow. hazardous, avaricious, implacable, naive, disparaging, tentative,

1. Hold it! I think I know what’s coming!

(in a self-pitying voice) Oh Sir! You know how hard we’ve been working.

(playfully, teasing) Sir, you know that we had to come to school on Saturday to help with Sports Day.

(nodding and holding back his laughter) And now you want permission to hand in your homework on Monday instead of today? All right. (Sternly, leaving through the door, left) But Monday it is—and no later than that. No excuses.

The young boxer only managed a few ———————-jabs, but his experienced opponent swung with all his strength to land a powerful knockout blow.

It would be ———————of you to think that the Manager will give you the job just because you tell him how poor your family is: he wants to see that you have the ability to do the job well.

A team of soldiers attempted the—————————ascent to the ledge where their injured colleague lay.

Refusing to be discouraged by the ——————comments made by his teachers, Tom went on to do well at university, even winning the President’s Medal.

Although the young man had apologised profusely for thoughtlessly humiliating the teacher in front of the class, she retained an —————— hatred for him until the day she died.

The poverty he experienced as a child is surely no excuse for his ———— nature now that he is one of the wealthiest men in the country.

ANSWERS Dialogue in Your Short Story A finished writing, turned to face the class, pretending, nodded slowly, hold ing back his laughter, left the room B wheedling, amused, serious, inflexible, playful, teasing, sternly New Words

1 tentative, 2 naive, 3 hazardous, 4 disparaging, 5 implacable, 6 avaricious,