All 1 entries tagged Change Burns

Change burns

Change burns […] in that space […] sandals swung by one hand (1.VI.ii).

Here Helen stands on a beach thinking about her troubles, having just revealed that she is pregnant. She has to make a decision about her future, 'to enter the smoke or to skirt it'. This may refer to a decision whether to go with or against the tourism taking over the island. She is in a 'space', seeming to be caught between the two worlds of St Lucian tradition and Western influence. She is also compared to 'white Helen' of Troy, whilst she herself is a 'black shadow'. This is an example of the black and white imagery recurrent throughout the poem. The image of smoke and the division of it with the sword implies that the smoke is the tourist industry of St Lucia, which clouds the history of the island and the familiarity of Helen’s home. Dividing the smoke with the sword suggests that the white colonizers and the island's natives are separated violently. Moreover, smokiness implies difficulty in seeing; in this case, this may refer to difficulty in seeing into the future and what will come Helen's way, especially in terms of her pregnancy. The unknown father of her baby from the previous section ('Girl, I pregnant,/but I don’t know for who', 1.VI.i) and the imagery of entering or skirting around the smoke suggests that Helen is conflicted in her desire to find out the paternity of her baby or to act as though it is Achille's. Finally, the image of 'white Helen' dying suggests that Helen no longer tries to act as though she is one of the Westerners: in her pregnancy, she embraces her heritage.

Amanda Hopkins : 23 Jun 2007 12:47 |  Tags: Change Burns Characters Colonialism Helen Helen Of Troy Identity & Naming St Lucia Tourism |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem