Staging the scars of colonialism : no escape of characters of Caribbean drama

Abstract

This study delves into the negative effects of colonial scarring and how it manifests in the characters of three Caribbean plays, Dream on Monkey Mountain, Coups and Calypsos, and White. The three plays occur in different times and locations. Dream on Monkey Mountain takes place in St. Lucia in the mid 1900’s, White in the United Kingdom in present day, and Coups and Calypsos takes place in the early 1990’s in Trinidad and Tobago during a Muslimeen coup. The importance of the differences is to highlight how characters that have suffered colonial scarring share certain traumas despite the difference in their reality. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, this study examines the various forms of trauma experienced by said characters. These traumas include internalized racism, color stratification, indeterminacy, mental anguish, and the complicity of the church when it comes to trauma, among others. The negative effects of colonization and the scars it leaves behind can be seen and quantified. The characters in these three play display a level of self-loathing and either question, or flat out dislike being black. They show a preference for lighter skin and all suffer mental anguish due to their status as colonized people.