Other Americas 3299

    The stories, "The Cricket Match" and "Sunday Cricket" both showcase the importance of the sport in Caribbean culture. In Sunday Cricket there seems to be a struggle to pick between religious ceremonies and watching the cricket game, something very similar to football in the United States. As we've read in previous stories there is time after time the importance of religion so it is surprising to see something, especially a sport cause people to have to decide which they will attend. This piece is also hard to comprehend fully as it is written in the dialect of the time. The second piece, The Cricket Match, I feel like it shows how a sport can bring two different cultures together as both the English and the Caribbean natives both play and love the sport. The game between them for a small period of time puts the differences behind them and they all get into the game of cricket. For once there isn't a status gap or anything of this sorts, its just a group ...

    The article, "The Fold Roots of Jamaican Cultural Identity"  was very eye opening to the culture and development of a person from birth to their older ages. It is very nicely broken up into many parts, titled in a way that makes sense for us to look closely at Jamaican culture. One section I found particularly interesting was the Scarcity and Struggle section. This is something that greatly impacts a persons life and their morals as having to fight for ones food and materials can have an affect on someones life and cause them to be more aggressive throughout their life. This makes sense even in the United States how people from the city are typically faster-pace, more aggressive, and self-centric versus people from rural areas are typically more laid back, family oriented, and community centered. The Jamaican culture seems to be formed so much by the location of where you live, depending where you live depends on how much you struggle or succeed and many other things....

     The story "Dream Haiti" is a first person story but is relatable to most Haitians at the time, as they want a better life. He takes the leap that most people aren't able to take and this a voyage to hopefully a better life. The title of the story I feel like is accurate as the dream for most of the Haitians at this time was to seek a better life in a different country as during this time Haiti was very unstable. During his time on the boat he seems to be trapped and feels like where he is going won't make his life better like promised. Upon arrival he knows this is the place he is destine to be and wants to help other Haitian Natives find work and a better life by doing the same voyage he did. I find it interesting that the piece is written from a first person view and the uncertainty he has when he gets on the boat but is later overwhelmed with satisfaction upon arrival and knows he must help others who are seeking the same. One of the hardest things for people ...

     "Rosena on the Mountain" takes a close look at ones connection with religious life and how cultural practices can impact ones connection with their faith. At the beginning of the story Alain was committed to the lord and was going to a seminary to become a priest. When Rosena comes into play Alain is quick to sexualize Rosena and want to commit what in his mind is a sin and be with her. This is a temptation for Alain which is something that gets in the way of Alain pursuing his religious wants to become a priest and be faith for to the lord. I personally feel like this story shows both the temptations of the good and bad sides. As Alain is wanting to become a priest but is easily tempted by Rosena who is like the devil on his shoulder. For another time in the Caribbean short stories we see two people who cannot be together. This time is a little different as for once it isn't an issue related to social class and economic status but instead there is an issue with reli...

      This documentary about Haiti did a great job highlighting the reality of the situation in Haiti and their struggling economy. It gives the viewer an excellent look into Haiti with accurate and correct facts. It does show how democracy is relatively new to Haiti compared to all the other first world countries in the world and that it takes many years for new forms of government to begin to rebuild. One of the people in the documentary makes a good point that Haiti has been at a disadvantage since the beginning. Since they were formed as a rebellion as a threat to the slave trade for the colonists in America. During this time of slave trade Western powers were making a lot of profit off this and Haiti was going to negatively impact this therefor they made sure it would fail. Since the early stages of Haiti there has never really been a stable government and or any form of power. It was a continuous change of power with no formal structure of the governm...

    "The Doors Open at Three"  by Infante focuses on the ceremony of death. It breaks death into two different events, the mourning of death itself and then the funeral. The main character is a symbol of mourning as he works at a funeral home. In the piece we can see he goes through the stages of grieving such as anger, depression and acceptance. Another important part of this piece is how Silvestre wants Virginia but can't have her as she's apart of the upper class while he's stuck in his "dead" end job. Virginia also wants to be with Silvestre but knows she will be looked down upon as she is a woman in the upper class with endless possibilities. The fact that Silvestre can't have Virginia sends him into a state of depression which conveniently is one of the stages of mourning a death. Toward the end of the piece there is another stage of mourning seen, this being acceptance. You can see this when he says, "I realized that I was quite alone, al...

     In the story "Red Dirt Don't Wash" is an interesting piece for this time as the main character is a female Miranda who seems to be above Adrian. This is an uncommon scenario as women at this time were typically seen as below men. The story continues to show how Miranda even has power over Adrian and controls what he does. It was also rare at this time for women to have more and better opportunities then men, but as we see throughout the piece Miranda has countless more opportunities that Adrian does not. One thing that did not change in this piece that we've seen throughout the course is how two characters from different walks of life have lust for each other but due to the times it is difficult for them to be together. We see Miranda wanting Adrian but due to the fact she is part of the upper class she is left wanting something she cannot have as she would be looked down upon. I feel all these pieces are written like this during this time as they were trying to ...

      On Reeve's tour of a Caribbean we take a look at Monkey's Point. This is an interesting dynamic as it is home to Creole, former slaves of the English, and natives. The island of Monkey's Point is in a time of political tension as the citizens are not happen with little to no say in the government and having bills and other things passed without approval of the citizens. Such as the Inter Oceanic Canal project was funded without the say of the citizens. A trend seen during these documentaries is the political tension between natives and money hungry outsiders. Another example of this is when Reeve's goes to Rotan, here he is shown what happens when a place becomes a tourist destination. He was shown the coral reef which is getting smaller and smaller by the day due to the tourist destruction from things like over fishing and pollution from watercraft. The governments of these places are put in difficult situations as tourists bring in most of the revenue fo...