Educatoinal Language
When the Caribbean was "discovered" by Columbus in 1492 the Europeans quickly invaded the area. With the invasion came their way of life. The Europeans eventually killed off the natives of the Caribbean and thus needed to import new labor. With that came the African American and the African American culture. The Europeans would have nothing to do with the Africans way of life and language. "Europeans insisted that the language should be only that of European" (Brathwaite 627). Even though the blacks were forbidden to speak and express their ways of life, the two cultures (African American and European) slowly began to merge. "The African's language was influencing the way in which the Europeans spoke their own language" (Brathwaite 628). Edward Brathwaite addresses how the educational system in the Caribbean did not notice these various languages existed. Instead the educational system enforced the European language ..."and the contours of an English heritage" (Brathwaite 628). Novelist Merle Hodge writes in her novel Crick Crack Monkey about a child in the Caribbean who enrolls into school. Hodge illustrates just what Brathwaite's description of a typical Caribbean sch
After recess the children are left with Mr. Hinds. In the classroom behind Mr. Hinds is a picture of Churchill. If the children would start to be loud and become disorderly, Mr. Hinds would try and make them feel guilty. He would bring up the picture of Churchill saying it was unworthy behavior in front of the "greatest Englishman who ever lived" (Hodge 632). This is a bit ridiculous because these children obviously have no idea who Churchill is. This is exactly what Brathwaite is talking about when he says the system would try and instill American heritage into these children. Later on in the story Mrs. Hines recites some British hymns with the children. Here the children are forced to stand still and repeat after Mrs. Hines, who instructs, "Not an eyelid must bat not a finger must twitch when we honor the Mother Country" (Hodge 633). The children are once again being forced into this. Repeating British hymns has nothing to do with these children. British hymns are irrelevant to their lives. Many of the Children would misinterpret these prayers and hymns. The narrator of the story explains, "I gathered from my puzzlement I was being 'dragged up' and - how desirable a fate - that our Daddy was 'Up- there and was surely going to send for me" (Hodge 634). The narrator tries to figure out what the prayers mean and misinterprets that she is a sinner and will be dragged up and that it is a "des
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 944
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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