Book Reports /
Term Paper, Comparing two novels with an original thesis. [4]
Any input in regards to my essay would be appreciated :)The British Empire is one of the largest colonies between the late sixteenth and eighteenth century with high regard towards the control of colonial territories and trades. The thirteen colonies that the British Empire controls provide the country with exotic trades and vast amount of wealth but prosperity comes at a price. Slavery, for the most part, is the catalyst and price for to generating wealth and goods for Britain. "The Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill and "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys provide a post-modern perspective towards the colonial downfall of the British Empire as each novel portrays Englishmen as controlling individuals in a business or family oriented environment by denying individualism through psychological, physical and financial means.
The concept of self is a subject of an individual's own experience, perception, emotion and thoughts that shape the characteristics of individuals and the only means of identity where people are differentiated. In a monarchial society, class identity plays a significant role towards the concept of self and the titles where Englishmen identify their subjects are a means of control. "Wide Sargasso Sea" explores the controlling aspect of Englishmen through the character, Rochester, as he discovers that his wife's name, Antoinette, is derived from his mother-in-law's name, Annette, who is seen as a woman which has lost all sense of morality, by both the community and Rochester. He sees his wife as a mirror image of her mother but what should be understood is Antoinette's identity is the by-product of her environment and the experiences she encounters. Her mother is an aspect of many people that shape her. He fails to form a connection between his wife and her past and tries to change his bias view by forcing the name Bertha upon her but his actions are met with resistance as she countlessly reminds him that "[her] name is not Bertha"(111 Rhys). By using a name which "[he] is particularly fond of" (111 Rhys), the name Bertha provides a mask that he uses to hide her past and allows him to insist characteristics upon Antoinette which he deems fit and in the process, denying any form of individuality.
Aside from an Englishmen's household, their plantations in the Americas also present controlling titles that show power over the lesser where slaves are especially prone to such ordeals. In the "The Book of Negroes", a slave named Amanita is in a constant struggle to hold onto her identity as she partakes in "different names, given by people who didn't even know her" (145 Hill). She views the names as a "second life of a girl who has survived the crossing" (145 Hill), signifying the importance of of her identity. Although she is taken to mysterious environments and treated inhumanly, her name is the only connection she has with her heritage and to her true self. By removing the spiritual connection with their homeland, they lose sight of the culture that defines them and makes them vulnerable toward conditioning into submission and acceptance of slave culture. In both novels, an individual's name is a means of identity and provides a spiritual and psychological connection to their past. By denying their right to their name, they lose sight of themselves and become submissive toward an Englishmen's control.
Control of the mind is not the only means of power over an individual but rather, it plays in hand with physical control. Freedom of choice reinforces and develops the concept of self in individuals but by denying choice, their life and identity are in the hands of the controller who has taken their freedom. In "Wide Sargasso Sea", Annette's parrot, Coco serves to symbolize the restrictiveness that Englishmen put on the lesser. Annette's husband, Mr.Mason- who is notably an Englishmen- "clips [Coco's] wings" (35 Rhys), leaving the parrot maimed and shacked and serves as a parallel between the state of the bird and Annette. His unexplained impulse to clip of the wings is a representation of his superiority in comparison to the rest of the family and his ability to abuse his control over the parrot. Coco's repeated question, "qui est la", translates to "who is there", after the clipping, pertaining to Annette's state of paranoia and issues with identity. Responding to himself, "I am Coco", the parrot repeatedly asserts his own name in an attempt to reassure himself of his own identity, mirroring Annette's predicament with her own identity.
In the slave trade, many individuals are also treated as such where they are identified as commodities and "The Book of Negroes" explores the relationship between slavery and identity through the character Amanita. From a young age, she has been becoming accustomed to the slave trade as she is treated as a second class citizen where her freedom is regarded as a privilege rather than a human right. During the conflicting ownership in court between his previous master, Mr. Applebee, and her current owner, Mr. Lindo, was treated as property and denies her choice to leave the American colony. His "obsessed desire to punish his slaves [for resisting] his authority" (348 Hill) is an attempt to subjugate his slaves into a submissive state. By enforcing his view on free choice among slaves through physical means, he removes any sense of self and breaks their will to resist in the future, giving him control over his slaves and further illustrating an Englishmen's controlling nature and his desire to present power over others. Lawrence Hill and Jean Rhys conveys the relationship between choice and individualism by showing how an Englishmen removes freedom of choice and subjugating the lesser with characteristics they deem desirable.
There are also economic aspects of control to consider during the colonial periods where financial gain through property and trade are priorities for most, if not all Englishmen but these gains occur only through subjugation of the lesser. In "Wide Sargasso Seas", Rochester's relationship with Antoinette poses complexities that distances their feelings for one another and influences his affair. Emotionally shattered, she seeks advice from Christophine and in response, suggests that she leaves him. Due to the English law, all assets in both monetary and capitals in which Antoinette possessed are transferred to her husband as the beneficiary leaving her without asset. She explains that "[she] is not rich, has no money of [her] own and everything she had belongs to him" (91 Rhys), showing how English law has left her vulnerable and dependant towards Rochester and is because of this law that gives him financial leverage to control her choices. During his confrontation with Christophine, she speaks of Antoinette's name, and at which his thoughts interrupts her flow of consciousness as he alternates between the name "Marionette [and] Antoinette" (127 Rhys) in his mind. The word Marionette pertains to a doll where children can manipulate and control. His alternating identity between the two names indicates his attempt to frame a relationship between his controlling nature toward Antoinette and a children's ability to manipulate a marionette. Rochester's financial superiority forces Antoinette into a submissive state and similar to a doll, is manipulated and loses all sense of identity.
Wealth, it seems, drives many Englishmen towards measures that deny human right or freedom of choice. In the "Book of Negroes", the character Solomon Lindo ingeniously enslaves his property through financials means rather than the stereotypical use of fear. He requires Amanita to pay him a "sum of ten shillings per week" (227 Hill) and uses this payment as a means of financial control. When she fails to make the payments, he responds with bitterness and threatens to give "no clothes, no meals, no benefits and no support" (256 Hill), showing his attempt to force an action upon Amanita that she cannot fulfill. Amanita's failure to comply with his demand reveals Mr. Lindo's controlling nature where his choice of words suggests assertiveness and superiority. Notice the repetition of the word "no" in front of each threat in an attempt to signify his ability of control over her and his tone exempts his certainty that Amanita has no choice but to accept his position of power. Control, it seems, can be achieved by financial means in which the oppressor exploits the lessor's financial dependence towards them, treating them as a commodities that does differ in characteristic from one another.
Between the two novels, each author explores the controlling aspect of Englishmen in a family or business standpoint. Their ability to control the lessor derives from three aspects: state of the mind, physical treatment of the lessor and financial dependence of the superiors. Within these aspects, they present a similar trait in which control is obtained through modification of identity where identity reinforces the concept of self and disallows people from controlling an individual's state of mind. Males of the Caucasian variety attempts to manipulate and force an identity upon these individuals and in the process, defacing their values and determination to preserve self-thought making them vulnerable to manipulation from superiors. From this interpretation, it suggests that identity does not derive from birth but rather, is a manifestation of external factors due to social interaction and their environment. If this is true, then reinforcement of one's identity is a viable solution towards denying oppressors and makes us question how our own identity and our actions are changed due to our environment.