The University of the West Indies

FOUN 1101
Caribbean Civilisation
Book Report
Student name: sharda maharaj

Student ID number: 816012397

Degree Program: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

GENERAL IN BIOCHEMISTRY (SCIENCE)

Faculty: Faculty of Science and Technology

Campus: St. Augustine

Date: 03/18/2019

I certify that this is my own work and by attaching this cover sheet certify further that there are no instances of
plagiarism contained herein. I submit to any penalty imposed by the Faculty for any instance of plagiarism found in my
work howsoever caused.

Signed: Sharda Maharaj

 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
Undergraduate Coursework Accountability Statement (To be completed by student)

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2018-2019 SEMESTER: 2

COURSE CODE: FOUN 1101 TITLE: Caribbean Civilisation

NAME: Sharda Maharaj ID: 816012397

1. I hereby certify that I am the author of the attached item of coursework and that all
materials from reference sources have been properly acknowledged.

2. I understand what plagiarism is and what penalties may be imposed on students found
guilty of plagiarism.

3. I certify that this paper contains no plagiarised material.

4. I certify that this is my own work and that I did not receive any unfair assistance from
others (including unauthorized collaboration) in its preparation.

5. I certify that this paper has not previously been submitted either in its entirety or in part
within the UWI system or to any other educational institution.

6. In the case of group work:

a. I certify that the individual work of each member of the group has been clearly
indicated;
b. that where no such indication has been given, I take the responsibility for the
work as if it were the section of the paper for which I am solely responsible; and
c. that I have not collaborated with any members of the group to breach the
University’s regulations.

Signature: Sharda Maharaj

Date: 18/03/2019
Funso Aiyejina was born in 1949 to Jane Wattley and Simon Lovelace and is best known as a
Nigerian poet, playwright and short storywriter. He is the author of Earl Lovelace and captured
his relationship in the introduction with Mr. Lovelace which started in the University of West
Indies in the late 1970’s. Earl Lovelace was born on July 13th, 1935 in Toco Trinidad but he
moved to Tobago to live with his grandparents at the age of three and later returned to his family
in Toco Trinidad when he was eleven. The first chapter gave recognition of his trials and
tribulation, one being the inability to pass the College Exhibition Exam. Funso Aiyejina also
linked Earl’s experiences with Earl’s fictional books, to justify how he felt in certain situations.
Earl Lovelace is known as a committed writer and play wright in the eyes of the readers of
Trinidad and Tobago. This allows him to be recognized as “an award-winning novelist,
playwright, short story writer and journalist who is best known for his descriptive dramatic
fiction on Trinidadian culture.” The biography of Earl Lovelace depicts Earl’s experiences,
timeline and lessons gathered. In the book highlights Lovelace’s contributions towards politics
and the Black Power Movement as well as his journey towards his achievements. Through
commitment persistence and desire Earl Lovelace gained the recognition as one of Trinidad’s
well-known literary talents. Following this critical themes such as Caribbean Identity and
Education, Caribbean family, Caribbean Culture with Religion and Ethnic Mix (racism) will be
analyzed.

Family played a vital role in Earl Lovelace’s life. Due to the divorce of Earl’s parents, he went to
live with his grandparents and cousins at age three in Tobago. In the novel Funso Aiyejina
quoted that the life in Tobago gave Earl Lovelace “a balance sheet of benefits as a nursery of
love and an anchor of generosity and caring” which prepared him “to engage the world.” The
importance of family to Earl Lovelace was then captured when he got typhoid fever at age five
or six and recited his family name because “he wanted to remember them before he died.” He
then returned home in 1948, to his grandmother and Aunt Lorna along with his cousin but to
ensure his success in his examination he went to live with his aunt in Belmont. At his aunt’s he
was given everything essential for him but he then later own choose to live with his mother.
Lovelace however failed his examination twice and was faced with the dilemma of what to do. It
was then his mother, Jane, suggested “to go and learn a trade” because they didn’t have the
money to send him to private school. However the suggestion to Lovelace “felt as if someone
punched him in his stomach”. However his maternal grandparents found the money which
allowed him to write the exam again. This showed that his family supported him in his
education, if it weren’t for them he wouldn’t have the opportunities which he wanted. He then
later met, Jean and had three children of his own; Walt, Che and Asha. “When Jean left the
United States to return home, they were already estranged from each other,” this quote suggests
that their relationship started to fall apart. However when Earl returned to create the writer’s life
in Matura; he asked for Jean and their sons to come back to share in the opportunity. He also
understood the pressure of a single parent family and how crucial it is for a proper functioning
family, which he didn’t have. Due to all these points it is seen that Ear Lovelace’s, experiences
and achievements were linked to his family’s support and financial help.

Identity and education are both intertwined in the novel and is an important theme. Caribbean
Identity is defined as the cultures, which includes ethnicity, beliefs and religions of the
geographical region of the Caribbean. The both are linked because Lovelace showed a large
amount of eagerness for knowledge at the age of ten. As a result of this he wanted to be a doctor.
Earl Lovelace sat the college exhibition exam and to his surprise failed it twice, once in Tobago
and once in Trinidad. As a result of these failures it strengthened his doubt to his identity of not
belonging to Trinidad or Tobago. “He was a stranger in Tobago and a stranger in Trinidad,” this
shows that he was no longer tied to an island. These failures also ended the possibility of him
wanted to go to a prestige school and becoming a doctor. This motivated him to migrate from
this mother country to pursue a career as a writer. Lovelace struggled with his identity from a
very young age and this is partly why he was so passionate towards reading. “I was looking to
the Black side and that made the idea of belong to slaves problematic,” this shows how he started
to link himself to slavery to find a sense of belonging, this was also the introduction of his
political consciousness. He eventually found an identity in writing and started to spend more
time on writing. He found solace in writing and when he went to obtain his agricultural diploma
and he went into his tent to read or write persons called him ‘mad’. This however didn’t deter
him from his career choice. This was proven fruitful when he won the BP Independence Literary
award and this award gave him assurance that this is his identity. “His success in the completion
seemed to have inspire him to concentrate on prose fiction,” he finally found his identity as a
writer. The “BP Independence Literature Award established Lovelace as a writer”. This award
enable him to identify himself with Tobago as his first break through in his identity of writing
occurred when he was in Tobago, where he first realized his love for reading and knowledge.
However he still left the motherland and went to Howard University in Washington DC. After a
year he decided to go back home, “Lovelace added a third reason for his return: he did not find
the time to write as he had wanted,” this showed on of the main reasons in which Lovelace
returned home. This created a clash of interest for Lovelace as the main reason for going to the
University was to better educate him in literature, however he didn’t have time to write due to all
the civil rights activities on campus. This also showed how devoted he became in his identity of
being a writer and also showed that he kept trying to better himself in literature. Due to all of
these vital points listed it illustrates why his identity was also tied in with his education and why
it was such an important theme in the novel.

Racism is very prominent theme illustrated in this novel as it started off in the year 1935 and is
still relateable. He became quite familiar with the Black Power Movement and politics as his
grandparents had a wide variety of books. “Lovelace’s reading exposed him to the struggle of
African Americans,” projection of his first encounter with racism. Although it was not personal,
he still empathized with the African American and was trying to find a way to be related to this
slavery instead of his Spanish Ancestry. His relationship with his Indian wife Jane gave rise to
racism. He experienced this first hand as her parents did not agree to the wedding. When he went
to study abroad at the Howard University he was fully exposed to racism: “He began to run for
shelter, “He didn’t then know that a black man couldn’t run on a street in DC without being
suspected of a crime.” Also, the scenario with him with a white girl: “It took him a while to
realize that he was the subject of their anger and that his crime was that he was with a white
girl,” this quote portrays another instance in which Lovelace was subjected to racism. Due to his
dark complexion white men thought that, he was prohibited to be with a white woman. The book
gave details of Lovelace’s initial admiration then rejection of the People’s National Movement. It
also details Lovelace’s own argument for reparations (an idea seen subtly in Salt) his personal
affiliation and dissolution with the Black Power movement (reflected in The Dragon Can’t
Dance and Is Just a Movie). Presently: In the early days salves gained their freedom after the
slave trade was abolished. In 1985, Trinidad and Tobago became the first country in the world to
declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery, this is celebrated on August
1 every year. The movement happened eight years after the country gained independence. “An
analysis of the available FBI data by Dara Lind for Vox found that US police kill black people at
disproportionate rates: Black people accounted for 31 percent of police killing victims in 2015,
even though they made up just 13 percent of the US population.” These statistics, obtained by
United States police department, show that even in the present day racism still exists therefore
the racism which Lovelace encountered back in the 1970s weren’t some kind of “rare occasion,”
it is a very prevalent and important issue which still endangers the lives of many African
Americans. Due to all of these pertinent points listed it illustrates why racism was such an
essential theme in the novel and how it significantly impacted Lovelace’s life.

Lastly, the theme of religion and culture is intertwined an important in the novel. Earl Lovelace
was a Spiritual Baptist however, growing up with his grandparents allowed him the opportunity
to attend a Methodist church. Lovelace and his cousins were all required to attend the church as
their grandfather was very religious “In his house there were two activities, at least for adults:
work and Church.” Growing up in the home of his grandparents he wasn’t allowed to partake in
Carnival because “These were activities of the Devil,” which was his grandfather’s perspective
on Carnival. However, he later participated in it and he analyzed carnival as a festival that began
as a French creole celebration but was transformed by Africans. (Dance traditions such as limbo,
stick fighting, bongo dance steps and the dances of possession were part of the carnival festival
in the early days. Also, African singing. This festival brings together people of many difference
race and ethnicity, it is a mixed of cultural expressions. Other popular cultural festivities in the
Caribbean includes Phagwa, Diwali, Eid, The festival of Roses and La Divina Pastora. This
shows the unique cultural diversity within the Caribbean.)As a result of his new found love of
Carnival, many of his novels contained the theme of carnival such as his award winning novel,
The Dragon Can’t Dance. Aiyejina described Lovelace’s growing belief in the New World
African and his desire to portray and uplift folk cultural in the Caribbean, both in the celebration
of traditional African song and dance, but also in its reinvented cultural forms such as, Carnival,
calypso, and the steel pan. On his return to Trinidad he stayed with his aunt Laura for a while,
due to one of his siblings being ill. He then went to live with his mother as he was given the
opportunity. Due to his mother’s dominant Methodist father she left Tobago and started to follow
spiritual Baptist. “My mother was something of a renegade” this quote states that she ran away
from her father due to his strong religious belief and perhaps her fragile belief in said religion.
When she got sick her faith in the Spiritual Baptist Church strengthen. “His mother finally
arrived at as the likely place of salvation,” justifies his mother’s realization and acceptance of the
importance of religion. “Members of the Spiritual Baptist Church in the West Indies engage in a
ceremony called "mourning," which involves prayer, fasting, and the experiencing of dreams and
visions while in isolation and is done to become more spiritually enlightened and closer to God.”
These points state why culture and religion are tied together and is a vital theme in the novel.

In conclusion, this book is tied with the themes Caribbean Identity and Education, Caribbean
family, Caribbean Culture with Religion and Ethnic Mix (racism) which was discussed in
Caribbean Civilization. Funso Aiyejina is a great writer who wanted to analyze and simplify Earl
Lovelace’s life to show the reasons behind his career choice and what makes Earl Lovelace one
of the greatest playwright of the Caribbean. It also gave an overall view of Lovelace’s work
within the changing political climate. From his initial admiration to rejection of the People
National Movement (PNM) due to their doings during the black power movement. In this
biography it helps history researchers to access information not only about Earl Lovelace but
also the perspective of ancient communities; although some are still very much relatable now.

References:
 Funso, Aiyejina. “Earl Lovelace.” The University of the West Indies, edited by Funso Aiyejina,
The University of the West Indies, 2017, pp.1/100.
 “PortCities Bristol.” Europe | The Places Involved | Slavery Routes | Bristol and Transatlantic
Slavery | PortCities Bristol, www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/after-slavery/wider-
world/african-diaspora/identity-and-roots/.
 Boström, Sally Anderson. “Review: Aiyejina, Funso. Earl Lovelace. University of West Indies
Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-976-640-627-1. Pp. 114. Cloth $25.00.” Karib – Nordic Journal for
Caribbean Studies, Stockholm University Press, 24 July 2018,
www.karib.no/articles/10.16993/karib.49/
 Dara, Lind. “Huge racial disparities in how US police use force.” The United State Guardian,
edited by Cody Ross, the US Guardian, 2015.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/8/13/17938186/police-shootings-killings-racism-racial-
disparities