“To me, I no man yet!”: Indo-Trinidadian Manhood in Samuel Selvon’s A Brighter Sun and V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas (original) (raw)

2020, Journal of West Indian Literature

Abstract

The search for manhood transgresses race, ethnicity, culture and social class and the Indo-Trinidadian male protagonists in Samuel Selvon’s A Brighter Sun and V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas bears testimony to this. Noted anthropologist Michael Kimmel avers that masculinity is elusive and is characterized by the flight from the feminine. When it comes to canonical characterizations of the Indo-Caribbean male, however, Kimmel’s dictum takes an interesting turn that points to masculinity and femininity appearing as flip sides of the same coins through a journey that encompasses love, intimacy and sexuality depictive of a heteronormative stance. In the representation of the Indo-Trinidadian male, Selvon’s Tiger and V.S. Naipaul’s Mr. Biswas are crafted as almost passive masculine figures who are in a continuous search for manhood, a search that integrates all dimensions of traditional masculinity culminating in their eventual reward being androgynous male figures. These are the masculine identities the reader encounters in the pages of these literary imaginaries and the journey allows the reader to feel the tensions, trials and triumphs each protagonist feels in his quest to attain manhood and eventually declare himself a man. Indeed, these novels are potent works to explore these dimensions as supported by Baksh when she says, “Caribbean literature has been a fruitful site for explorations of Indo-Caribbean masculinities. Perhaps the most well-known examples are…Samuel Selvon’s A Brighter Sun and V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas” (94).

Key takeaways

sparkles

AI

  1. The text examines Indo-Trinidadian manhood through Selvon's and Naipaul's protagonists' quests for identity.
  2. Selvon's Tiger and Naipaul's Mr. Biswas represent passive masculinity struggling against cultural expectations.
  3. Both novels reflect the complexities of masculinity, intimacy, and domestic violence within Indo-Caribbean society.
  4. Marriage is a critical social institution for Indo-Caribbean men, shaping their masculine identities and roles.
  5. The narrative reveals that masculinity and femininity coexist, presenting a hybrid identity in male characters.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (29)

  1. Nasta states that this shift in migration patterns was frequent and expected. During the period of Selvon's youth, in particular, a significant process of urbanization had begun, and many younger East Indians had started to move away from their traditional agrarian cane-based communities into the towns, attracted by new forms of employment such as were provided by the newly instituted American military bases. S. Nasta, ed. Critical Perspectives on Sam Selvon. (Washington D.C., Three Continents Press, 1988) 3.
  2. Bap refers to father. See Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago: On Historical Principles, ed. Lise Winer. (Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009) 52.
  3. Mai refers to mother. See Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago: On Historical Principles, ed. Lise Winer. (Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009) 553.
  4. Beti refers to daughter. See Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago: On Historical Principles, ed. Lise Winer. (Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009) 73.
  5. Tubal Uriah 'Buzz' Butler, associated with the later Oilfield Workers' Trade Union, fought for the rights and better terms and conditions for workers in the oil industry. Adrian Cola Rienzi was a labour and political leader of the 1930s and 1940. Their role in the labour and political dimensions of Trinidad society saw a gradual shrinking of separate religious and cultural ideologies and the emergence of a new social and political order than featured both African and Indian ethnicities in the public sphere. See Bridget Brereton's A History of Modern Trinidad 1783- 1962 (London, Heinnemann, 1981) 227-232.
  6. 6 Jatis are grouped into a system of four varnas (orders), ranked in descending order of purity and prestige from Brahmin (priest), Kshatriya (warrior), Vaisya (trader), and Sudra (menial servant/artisan). Outside of these four orders and below even the Sudra are the Untouchables, indigenous tribes, who were thought to be so unclean as not to be fit enough to live within the village proper. Barry Chevannes quotes Bailey, 1960, in Learning to be a Man: Culture, Socialization and Gender Identity in Five Caribbean Communities (Mona, University Press, 2001), 69-70. Works Cited
  7. Baksh, Anita. "Indo-Caribbean Working-Class Masculinities at Home and Abroad: David Chariandy's Soucouyant and Ian Harnarine's Doubles with Slight Pepper." Journal of West Indian Literature. Vol. 25. No. 1. April 2017. pp.94-111.
  8. Barratt, Harold. "Dialect, Maturity, and the Land in Sam Selvon's A Brighter Sun: A Reply." Critical Perspectives on Sam Selvon. Ed. Susheila Nasta, Three Continents Press, 1988. pp. 187-195.
  9. Beneke, Timothy. Proving Manhood: Reflections on Men and Sexism. University of California Press. 1997.
  10. Bola, J. "Real Men: Myths of Masculinity." Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined, Pluto Press, London, 2019, pp. 10-21. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvpbnnkh.5.
  11. Brereton, Bridget. A History of Modern Trinidad 1783-1962. Heinemann, 1981.
  12. Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge, 1990.
  13. Chavannes, Barry. Learning to be a Man: Culture, Socialization and Gender Identity in Five Caribbean Communities. UWI Press, 2001.
  14. Connell, Raewyn. "Masculinities in Global Perspective: Hegemony, Contestation, and Changing Structures of Power." Theory and Society, vol. 45, no. 4, 2016, pp. 303-318. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44981834.
  15. Connell, Robert, W. Masculinities. Polity Press, 1995.
  16. ---. "Masculinities and Globalization." Issues in Feminism: An Introduction to Women's Studies. Ed. Sheila Ruth. 5th Edition. Mayfield, 2001, pp. 117-123.
  17. Cornwall, Andrea and Nancy Lindisfarne. Eds. Dislocating Masculinity: Comparative Ethnographies. Routledge, 1994.
  18. Kimmel, Michael. "Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity." Paper presented at the Centre for Gender and Development Studies Symposium on the Construction of Caribbean Masculinity: Towards a Research Agenda. CGDS, UWI. 1996.
  19. Matlon, Jordanna. "Racial Capitalism and the Crisis of Black Masculinity." American Sociological Review, vol. 81, no. 5, 2016, pp. 1014-1038. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44245491.
  20. Mohammed, Patricia. "Unmasking Masculinity and Deconstructing Patriarchy: Problems and Possibilities within Feminist Epistemology." Interrogating Caribbean Masculinities: Theoretical and Empirical Analyses. Ed. Rhoda Reddock. Mona: UWI Press, 2004. 35- 67.
  21. Mohapatra, Prabhu. "Restoring the Family: Wife Murders and the Making of a Sexual Contract for Indian Immigrant Labor in the British Caribbean Colonies, 1860-1920." Studies in History, vol.11, no. 2, 1995, pp. 227-260.
  22. Morgan, Paula. Analysing Prose Fiction. Pilot Version 2002. Unpublished, n.d.
  23. Nasta, Susheila. Ed. Critical Perspectives on Sam Selvon. Three Continents Press, 1988.
  24. ---. "Setting Up Home in a City of Words: Sam Selvon's London Novels." Tiger's Triumph: Celebrating Sam Selvon. eds. Susheila Nasta and Anna Rutherford. Dangaroo Press, 1995, pp. 78-95.
  25. Nasta, Susheila and Anna Rutherford. Eds. Tiger's Triumph: Celebrating Sam Selvon. Dangaroo Press, 1995.
  26. Nurse, Keith. "Masculinities in Transition: Gender and the Global Problematique." Interrogating Caribbean Masculinities: Theoretical and Empirical Analyses, edited by Rhoda Reddock, U of the West Indies P, 2004, pp. 3-37.
  27. Ramchand, Kenneth. The West Indian Novel and its Background. Ian Randle Publishers, 2004.
  28. Reddock, Rhoda. "Indo-Caribbean Masculinities and Indo-Caribbean Feminisms: Where are We Now?" Indo-Caribbean Feminist Thought: Genealogies, Theories, Enactments, edited by Gabrielle Hoseinand Lisa Outar, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, pp. 263-82.
  29. Salick, Roydon. The Novels of Samuel Selvon: A Critical Study. Greenwood Press, 2001.

FAQs

sparkles

AI

What key transformations occur in Indo-Trinidadian manhood throughout these narratives?add

The papers reveal that characters like Tiger and Biswas undergo significant transformations in their quests for manhood, particularly through their complex relationships with women, resulting in a dual development of identity and agency. This evolution highlights the intersection of cultural expectations, gender performance, and personal realization within the fabric of Indo-Trinidadian society.

How does Selvon’s portrayal of masculinity differ from Naipaul’s?add

Selvon’s A Brighter Sun depicts masculinity through the lens of struggle and intimacy in domestic life, where Tiger faces pressures from both cultural tradition and personal agency. In contrast, Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas presents a more isolated and passive masculinity, where Biswas grapples with expectations imposed by family and society amidst his longing for autonomy.

What cultural factors shape Indo-Trinidadian masculinity in these texts?add

Findings indicate that cultural factors such as arranged marriages and patriarchal legacies significantly shape the protagonists' identities, reinforcing traditional gender roles within the Indo-Caribbean context. The narratives illustrate how characters' quests for selfhood are often mediated by adherence to these cultural scripts, leading to a re-negotiation of their masculinity.

How do domestic relationships influence masculine identity in these novels?add

The study highlights that domestic relationships serve as critical sites for the construction of masculinity, with characters like Tiger exhibiting aggression as a means of asserting power over their wives, reflecting broader patriarchal dynamics. Such interactions underline the complex interplay between love, violence, and identity formation within the Indo-Trinidadian male experience.

What evidence supports the contention of violence in Indo-Caribbean masculinities?add

The analysis shows that episodes of domestic violence, particularly from characters like Tiger, exemplify the aggressive assertion of masculinity, which is further contextualized within cultural expectations of male behavior. Thereby, they reflect the difficulties faced by Indo-Trinidadian men in reconciling their identities in a rapidly changing socio-cultural landscape.