Graduate Program
English
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Semester of Degree Completion
2007
Thesis Director
Michael Loudon
Thesis Committee Member
Unknown
Thesis Committee Member
Unknown
Abstract
In this thesis, I examine the evolving concept of authentic identity, individual, cultural, and national in the post-colonial Caribbean context embodied in West Indian author Earl Lovelace's The Schoolmaster, The Dragon Can't Dance, and Salt. These three novels when analyzed together demonstrate Lovelace's emerging vision of a future for the Caribbean rooted in indigenous values, self-possession, historical reclamation, and, ultimately, true independence.
Additionally, this thesis explores Lovelace's paradox of the mask, in its many different physical and psychological forms, that simultaneously liberates and imprisons, and the consequences of masking on West Indian identity. In Lovelace's own words, these three novels confront the "uneasy fiction" of the "self we have for somebody else," and the crucial importance of "com[ing] home to [one's] self" (Dragon 119, 202, 146).
Lastly, this thesis attempts to clarify Lovelace's concept of a true multicultural community that recognizes, accepts, and builds upon the diverse human experiences that define the Caribbean. While the successive waves of colonial subjugation left behind an unprecedented historical mess, Lovelace clearly argues that such a fragmented and terrible history does not preclude the ability to construct an independent and authentic future for the island nations of the Caribbean.
Recommended Citation
Cornwell, Todd A., "The Search For Authentic Identity In Three Novels By West Indian Author Earl Lovelace" (2007). Masters Theses. 273.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/273
