Negritude is still relevant

Today, Césaire is highly criticized for his call for negritude. Those who attack Césaire believe negritude is too limiting and too Africa-oriented. Therefore, they propose “Creolity” as an alternative to Negritude. Creolity is a movement that is dedicated to studying, writing, publishing, and teaching Creole as the medium of expression of the Antillean soul, as opposed to the exclusivity of French, which is spoken by adherents of Negritude. Thus for many, the quest of negritude is no longer relevant. However, I believe the quest of negritude is still today the soul of black Diasporas’ search of an identity.

The New Novel in Latin America

I was surprised to see how the new novel in Latin America is similar to the New Novel in France. I was wondering about the relationship that existed between the Boom writers and the French writers. Does the influence come directly from USA, or does it come directly from France? When I was reading the Cubs, I could not stop myself from thinking that a French new novel writer wrote it. As in the French new novel, the author plays with the persons, the story is fragmented, and the story is not reader-friendly. Moreover, the reader must participate a little bit in the story in order to interpret it. I do not know enough about the writers of the Boom to trace their relationship with the French new novel writers, but I have strong feeling that one influenced the other. What do you think?

A Quest for Negritude

The Notebook of a Return to the Native Land is a work of immense cultural significance. However, the difficulty to understand the language uses by Césaire in this great masterpiece causes many to question the true recipient of this work. I agree that Césaire makes usage of a knotty language in the Notebook, but I will also argue that he addresses it to everyone in the black community. I argue for this view point because I believe the difficult language symbolizes the challenge of the quest for negritude. The quest for negritude is not a simple adventure. It is difficult in all aspects of life. One word is not enough to explain it. It takes a whole set of structure, of style, and of vocabularies to express the deepest level of this challenge. I do not think that Césaire uses this kind of style and vocabulary accidentally. The difficult language is used purposefully. It is Cesaire’s way to say, “Be ready for a challenge.” One who is after his negritude has to travel deep into the African continent. He must be in the relearning mode. He has to relearn the African’s true history. He has to relearn to take proud in the civilization of his African ancestors. And most importantly, he has to relearn the custom of the people that he has been separated from for centuries. The whole process requires patience. Therefore, Césaire manipulates language in order to symbolize the level of patience that one will need to make the quest.

The Spirit of the Modernists

I do not know a lot about the modernist movement, but I do have a feeling that it enriches the Spanish language. Jean Franco tells us the Modernists felt that the Spanish language and poetic form were inadequate for the expression of their new sensibility. Therefore, they introduce non-Spanish vocabulary to up to date the Spanish language. For example, words from the French language have been introduced in the writings of the Modernists. I imagine after a few years, those words are considered as Spanish words which have their roots in the French language. I am not surprise about the decision of those writers. Languages are not self-sufficient. They have to trade with each other in other to survive. Many words in the French language come from Latin and Greek. Languages are neighbors. Thus, they borrow from each other. I believe many Spanish words using by today’s Latinos might be French words of the modernist movement. I do not know the movement and Spanish enough to give an example. However, I have a feeling that we have many Europeans words used by the Modernists that are still alive in Spanish.

A genuine Leader

Martí's call in Our America for the countries of the South America to step forward with their own ideas is the sign of a strong leader. A leader who recognizes the importance of unity. I am so impressed by Martí because he was not a big talker but a real doer. He is a national hero in Cuba. He fought for the independence of his country. He was the one with Máximo Gómez who published the Manifesto of Montecristi proclaiming the independence of Cuba and an end to all legal distinction between the races. He was not the leader of a special group. He supported the emancipation of all the races in Cuba. What a great leader he was? He is considered by many as the father of the Modernismo movement. Surely he is. Is he not the one who calls for creation? Listen! Modernismo was the first real literary movement created by the writers of the Latin America. Mordernismo is a real creation that the Latin Americans can proudly call their own. Yes, Martí is a great example of a true genuine leader. He wanted a South America free. He died in battle trying to free his own country, so others will always say: he talks the talk and he walks the walk.

Where do we draw the line?

Many argue that it is presumptuous to believe that we can write about the reality of a certain period. Reality in itself is relative. What one considers as reality can be a fiction for another. If it is so difficult to represent reality, can we ever know the truth about a period? How can someone determine what is reality in a literary work? Maybe the reality is what those writers are not saying to the readers. If they are, how we will ever know the truth. I have a feeling that the real is false. Does Flaubert in Sentimental Education present the reality of his period? I don’t know. Maybe the reality is there, but it is tinted by Flaubert’s subjectivity. What do you think?

We are making Progress

A week ago, I wrote that I do not believe in that whole notion of perfectibility of man, but I also wrote that I believe in the progress of mankind. I cannot say we have today the perfect society. However, one thing is really clear; we are making progress. The fact that we have a class mixed with different races gather together to talk about sensitive subject, like race, is already major progress. I love reflecting back on history because it gives a chance to mankind to measure his progress. Back in the past, people used code language to express the injustice that existed in society, against blacks, women, and so on. For us, it is easy to judge what those people fail to say or to explain. Yet, we need to realize that they were writing against the very foundation of society. By doing that, they were putting their lives in danger. Therefore, they had to find ways to express the truth without paying the ultimate price. Today, we can debate on the issue of race without fearing death. It was not the same case for writers like Gertrudis Gómez. Even today, talking about race relation is a subject that makes many uncomfortable. Nevertheless, we cannot neglect to talk about it, because I believe talking about it makes us more tolerant with each other. Moreover, we cannot be afraid to talk about mistakes made not by us but by earlier generations. We have our own history to write. We do not have the perfect society. We still have struggles among the races. However, race relation is getting better and better. Who will never thought that a black man would be the governor of a major State in America? Who will never thought that a black man would be a major candidate in a presidential race in America? I cannot let my past blind me. We are living in a different time. I predict in another hundred years, nobody will be judged on the color of his skin, but on what is really matters. In talking about progress, Cuba is the perfect example. When reading Sab, we see a Cuba that was not in favor of black people. Yet, today Cuba is one the greatest supporter of Haiti, a black nation. Every year, Cuba offers hundreds of scholarship to young Haitians, and once finish with their studies those students are allowed to return to Haiti to develop their country. As a proud Haitian, I cannot judge Cuba for its past, but I am contrasting the past with the present to show how great Cuba has become in race relation. Finally, I would like to say that I am thankful to such king of literature work because they show me a glimpse of the past, and they make me also aware of how much progress we have made since then.

The notion of perfectibility of mankind

The eighteen century is known as the century of the enlightenment in Europe. The century is marked by philosophical rationalism and the exaltation of sciences, as well as the criticism of the social order and the religious hierarchy. Reason became the basic column of the society and triumphed over the church dogmas and the authority of the government. However, if one looked deep in the century he/she can see that darkness was the closest neighbor of the enlightenment. This whole idea of the perfectibility of mankind seemed unclear. When they were talking about perfectibility, the war of succession was ravaging Europe. In Addition, The seven’s years war was creating orphans in mass in Europe. This war was so cruel that Winston Churchill described it as the First World War. Moreover, the church stayed powerful in all Europe. It continued to condemn people to death without solid ground, and the protestant countries showed the same kind of intolerance. Add to all of that, black people were kidnapped from their family, country, culture, and brought to everywhere in America to make profit for Europe. An absurd triangle trade was put in place. Ship were filled with cheap goods and sailed toward Africa. Then, the cheap goods were exchanged for men and women who were brought in horrible conditions to the New World. I know the philosophers of the enlightenment were criticizing this kind of behaviors. However, they are the ones that profess also the doctrine of perfectibility of mankind. I will be the first one that will acknowledge that we really make progress in several fields since the eighteen century, but in the same token, I will say that men also become greedier. Since this idea of perfectibility, we cannot count how many people that are died because of foolish wars, selfishness, and cupidity of mankind. Take a moment and think about these questions, “Why we have wars?” Why we have those expensive weapons, and children around the world are going to bed every day with an empty stomach?

Yes, when I read Candide, I see Voltaire criticized the dark side of society. He describes a world that is governed by deception, and paints a Europe corrupt by cupidity. Montesquieu for his part describes in l’Esprit des Lois the result of this cupidity:

Les peuples d’Europe ayant exterminé ceux de l’Amérique, ils ont dû mettre en esclavage ceux de l’Afrique, pour s’en servir à défricher tant de terres.

And he adds, “Le sucre serait trop cher, si l’on ne faisait travailler la plante qui produit par des esclaves. However, I truly believe that men are not working toward perfection. Men do not hesitate to fly airplanes in buildings with the purpose of killing. Men do not hesitate to fly sophisticated airplane to drop bombs on innocent lives. Men are starving people to death claiming they do not have the money to feed them. However, they find money to build destructive weapons. Are we really going toward perfection?

The power of literary text

“Far from being divorced from the world, literary production is itself a form of social practice: texts do not merely reflect social reality but create it,” wrote Lee Paterson in his article, Literary History. Paterson’s statement strikes the inner part of my heart. It helps me realizing the power and influence a literary work can have on a society and culture. Truly, an individual can use such kind of writing to create a world within and around him. For example, Patrick Modiano, in his novel, Dora Bruder, tells a story of a young woman’s experience of the atrocities of the Nazis against the Jews. Bruder serves as a bridge that enables readers to travel in the past. Through the text, they are able to connect with the Jews, the French, the social structure, the Nazis, and so on. Without being there, readers become sympathetic with the young lady. As result, they are able to judge for themselves the condition of life of the Jews during the occupation of France by the Nazis. Through this literary work, Modiano creates an environment whereby the readers can interact with the actions of mankind. In addition, it engenders a backup memory for us, so we can never forget the past. A literary work can create a reality, and from it all can learn not to reproduce the mistakes of the past.