Think Piece
FOUNDATION 1101
CARIBBEAN CIVILISATION
THINK PIECE
STUDENT NAME: SHIVANA RAMBHARAT
I.D. NUMBER: 814002557
FACULTY: LAW
DEGREE PROGRAMME: UNDERGRADUATE
DATE: 25TH SEPTEMBER, 2014
ESSAY
For contemporary social commentary on the Caribbean ‘Tantie Merle at the Oval’ is a comedic tale that highlights certain issues that are facing the Caribbean even now in present times. For instance, a major theme that arose from this piece is the Caribbean identity which is explored through flambouyant Caribbean language which emphasizes the Caribbean’s own special dialectal language as well as it brought attention to the camaraderie and friendly rivalry that cricket brings to these Caribbean countries as well as how cricket acts as a factor in integrating the territories. Furthermore, this piece brings attention to serious gender issues.
“Cricket is, and has been, the single most powerful integrating factor in creating and fashioning a unique Caribbean identity.”1 This theme is explored in that this piece had begun with the narrator lamenting the fact that Trinidad had lost the cricket match to the Combined Islands (Tanti Merle was supporting that team.) From these opening lines one sees the importance that cricket has in the Caribbean. The writer CLR James had commented “Cricket is a game of high and difficult technique. If it were not it could not carry the load of social response and implications which it carries.” 2This implies that as one can observe since the early 1900s up to present cricket has been a central part in bringing the Caribbean islands a sense of belongingness as well as solidarity as in the formation of a combined West Indian cricket team to compete internationally and thus it has become almost commonplace in the Caribbean countries to have cricket as a national sport, hence has been a marker to identify the Caribbean.
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1- Hall Kenneth and Chuck-A-Sang Myrtle, The Caribbean Integration
CARIBBEAN CIVILISATION
THINK PIECE
STUDENT NAME: SHIVANA RAMBHARAT
I.D. NUMBER: 814002557
FACULTY: LAW
DEGREE PROGRAMME: UNDERGRADUATE
DATE: 25TH SEPTEMBER, 2014
ESSAY
For contemporary social commentary on the Caribbean ‘Tantie Merle at the Oval’ is a comedic tale that highlights certain issues that are facing the Caribbean even now in present times. For instance, a major theme that arose from this piece is the Caribbean identity which is explored through flambouyant Caribbean language which emphasizes the Caribbean’s own special dialectal language as well as it brought attention to the camaraderie and friendly rivalry that cricket brings to these Caribbean countries as well as how cricket acts as a factor in integrating the territories. Furthermore, this piece brings attention to serious gender issues.
“Cricket is, and has been, the single most powerful integrating factor in creating and fashioning a unique Caribbean identity.”1 This theme is explored in that this piece had begun with the narrator lamenting the fact that Trinidad had lost the cricket match to the Combined Islands (Tanti Merle was supporting that team.) From these opening lines one sees the importance that cricket has in the Caribbean. The writer CLR James had commented “Cricket is a game of high and difficult technique. If it were not it could not carry the load of social response and implications which it carries.” 2This implies that as one can observe since the early 1900s up to present cricket has been a central part in bringing the Caribbean islands a sense of belongingness as well as solidarity as in the formation of a combined West Indian cricket team to compete internationally and thus it has become almost commonplace in the Caribbean countries to have cricket as a national sport, hence has been a marker to identify the Caribbean.
_____________________________________________________________
1- Hall Kenneth and Chuck-A-Sang Myrtle, The Caribbean Integration
Bibliography: Jeffery S. Nevid, Psychology Concepts and Applications. Boston, USA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009. Kenneth Hall and Myrtle Chuck-A-Sang, The Caribbean Integration Process: A People Centered Approach. Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, 2007. CARICOM Press Release: “Cricket as a unifying force in the Caribbean,” 16th February, 2007. http://www.caricom.org/jsp/community/regional_issues/cwc_2007/pr_unifying_force.pdf Date Retrieved: 10th September, 2014 Kamau Brathwaite. “History of the Voice.” Roots: Essays in Caribbean Literature. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1993. (p 2) http://www.rlwclarke.net/courses/lits2306/2008-2009/12CBrathwaiteHistoryoftheVoice.pdf Date Retrieved: 24th September, 2014