Both Jean Rhys, a 20th century novelist from Dominica, and Sam Selvon, a writer of the same period from Trinidad, represent prose works of the Caribbean region in the diversity of authors’ styles, plots, frames of mind, and the language used by writers to narrate their stories. Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers by Jean Rhys is a story set at the end of the 19th century; it recounts the tragic experience of Mr. Ramage, a newcomer to Dominica, who committed a suicide after living on the island for two years. The story is presented through impressions of Rosalie, a 9 year-old daughter of the local doctor; it is characterized by distinct features of the white community’s national identity. The dominating position of the white community that controls all important spheres of local life is recounted in Standard English, with some typically British allusions, like the nursery rhyme about the black sheep sung by Mr. Ramage to Rosalie. Dialogues that make up a sufficient part of the story are also written in Standard English, with the only exception of “nasty beastly horrible” string of attributives used by a girl (Rhys 9) that is more appropriate for spoken English.
The basic difference in style and language of the two writers becomes evident after comparing the very first lines of both short stories, as Selvon introduces into The Cricket Match specific, creolized English, also known as “nation language”. The author does that not only in dialogues but in the narrative as well. The grammar is simplified; vocabulary includes words like “fellars”, and sentence patterns are sometimes not so easy to comprehend, for they remind an unrestrained flow of highly expressive speech. This type of the “nation language” is authentic; it is used to tell the story of the match won by West Indies cricket team in England. West Indians “bowl out them English fellars” (Selvon 91) and are very proud of scoring this victory. The author reflects the excitement of the characters by mentioning that Algernon was “all day singing a calypso” he composed about the match. Factory workers in England, Algernon and his compatriot Roy are proud of their national identity; they have no inferiority complexes. Instead, they try to show their superiority over “Englishers” where they can do that. Roy’s English is better than Algernon’s, and the author skillfully demonstrates how national identity is reflected in overlapping stories, common heritage, and the ability to communicate without being racially or culturally prejudiced. Caribbean immigrants live in psychological dimensions dramatically different from those described in Rhys’ story; their cultural voices support the Nigerian author’s claim that “the danger of a single story” (Chimamanda), the biased representation of the national culture in terms of a different, dominant culture may result in undermining the world’s national diversity and increasing risks of critical cross-cultural misunderstandings.
Works Cited
Chimamanda, Adichie. The Danger of a Single Story. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.
Rhys, Jean. “Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers.” The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories. Ed. Stewart
Brown and John Wickham. New York: Oxford University …