Jamaican Fragment 

 

GLOSSARY

 

1. Denominational- biased or unjust

2. Prejudice- unfair opinion about something especially it is based on race, religion etc.

3. Modest- poor

4. Conscious- aware

5. Astonishment- state of being surprised greatly

6.  Imperiously- very proudly

7. Striding- walking

8. Abjectly- in a degraded manner

9. Outburst- a sudden expression of a strong feeling

10. Anguish- grief or suffering

11. Puzzle--- confuse

12. Racism-- unfairness or discrimination on the basis of color, race or religion.

13. Misinterpret- misunderstand

 

 

OBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS

 

1. By whom was the Jamaica discovered and conquered?

ANS _ By the Spaniards.

 

2. What is the continuing problem in Jamaica?

ANS _Itis the problem of racial discrimination.

 

3. What was the distance between the author’s home and the tramcar lines?

ANS - Half a mile.

 

4. What did he see in the garden of a modest cottage?

ANS - He saw two little boys playing in the garden

 

5 Name the game that was played between the white boy and the black boy.

ANS - It was the game of the boss and the servant.

 

6. Who was the master on the first day of the game of boss and servant?

ANS - The white boy.

 

7. What was the age of the white and the black boy?

ANS - The white boy was about four years old and the black boy was five years old.

 

8. Who was the boss of the game on the first day?

ANS - The white boy.

 

9. What were the white’s boy orders for the black boy?

ANS - The white boy ordered the black boy to pick up the sticks, jump into the flowers and get him water.

 

10. What did the little black boy ask the white boy to do

ANS- The little black boy asked the white boy to bring a banana for him.

 

 

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

 

1. What was the author’s daily routine?

ANS - The author walked a half mile from his home to the tramcar lines in the morning and from the lines to his home in the evening.

 

2. What did the narrator notice one morning?

ANS - The narrator noticed that the two little boys were playing in the garden in front of a modest cottage. One little boy was a black Jamaican and other was a white boy. Although the two boys were of two opposing colors, they were dressed in blue shirts and khaki pants. They wore no shoes and their feet were muddy.

 

3. Why did the narrator feel amazed on seeing the two little boys?

ANS - The narrator felt amazed because the white boy was commanding the black boy and imposing his will on him and the black boy was obeying him like a slave.

 

4. What surprised the narrator the next morning? Why did he feel relieved?

ANS- The narrator was astonished to see the black boy ordering for a banana and the little white boy obeying him. He felt greatly relieved when he realized that the two boys were only playing the game.

 

5. Why did the narrator explain the game to the white man?

ANS - The narrator saw that a white man was standing at the gate, watching the children playing. He thought that the white man was also feeling hurt at the sight of a black giving orders to a boy of his race. The narrator explained the game to the white man in order to clear the confusion that it was just a game the children played.

AUTHOR- A.L.HENDRICKS

 

. A.L.HENDRICKS (1922 - 1992) was a Jamaican poet, writer, and broadcasting director (known as Micky Hendricks in his broadcasting career).

. He was particularly well known for his contributions to The Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Gleaner, and BIM, he also contributed as a columnist and literary critic to the Daily Glea.

. A. L. Hendricks was born in 1922 in Kingston, Jamaica, to a Jamaican father and a French mother.

. Hendricks was educated at Jamaica College and 1961, he was General Manager of the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, after which he became a television director in London.

. In the late 1960s, he moved to Bermuda, where he was resident director of Thomson Television. After this he settled in England, he became a freelance writer in 1971. He wrote both poems and short stories.

. He died in 1992 at the age of sixty-nine.

 

ABOUT THE TITLE

 

"In order to understand the story of 'Jamaican Fragment’ we need to know something about the historical background of the West Indies. The West Indies islands including Jamaica, were discovered and conquered by the Spaniards. In all the Islands racial discrimination has been a problem and continues to be one.

. "Jamaican Fragment’ deals with a Jamaican’s internal suspicions regarding racial inferiority in his homeland.

. ‘Jamaican Fragment’ tells us the story of a magician who witnesses a young white boy imposing will upon a little black boy.

. The lesson brings out the prejudice that almost every person suffers from denominational issues like colour, caste etc.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

In the lesson ‘Jamaican fragment’ the author A. L. Hendricks says how prejudice mislead the person’s opinion. This incident happened in author’s life. He depicted it very nicely.

 

The narrator was a black Jamaican. The narrator used to enjoy his half- mile walk to and from the tramcar lines in the morning and evening because the walk was pleasant. The red and green- roofed bunglows, green lawns and gardens on either side of his walking lane made him happy.

 

One morning, about halfway between his front gate and the tram track, the narrator noticed that two boys were playing unusual game in the garden in front of a modest cottage. The narrator observed the children. They were both very little boys, one was a black Jamaican and another was White. The black boy was around five years and white boy was little lesser may be four years old. Both were dressed in blue shirts and khaki pants; they wore no shoes and their feet were muddy. They were not conscious of narrator's standing there and watching them. They played on.

 

The narrator saw that the smallest white boy behaved as a master and the black boy as a slave. He walked majestically up and down, commanding the black boy to pick up the sticks, jump into the flowers and get him some water. The black boy obeyed him unquestioningly, he ran inside and the white boy sat down on the lawn. The narrator was amazed to see a little boy imposing his will on the a little black boy.

 

The narrator was also Jamaican black man. He was puzzled within himself. Hundreds of questions came into his mind. The children were very small, really they were infants. At the very small age how could they discriminate? Who were they? Was black boy a servant’s son? They wore same type of dress. Were they neighbors or play mates? The narrator went on asking these questions to himself for a whole day. It was hard for the narrator to believe that the two boys were playing a game because the game looked more like the White boy torturing the black boy. His faith in his people was shaken. He did not find the boys in the afternoon. Again he thought deeply.

 

The next morning the boys were there again playing another game. To his utter astonishment, the little black boy was striding imperiously up and down the lawn, while the white boy walked abjectly behind him. The black boy was ordering the white boy to bring him a banana and the white boy obeyed him- brought the banana and peeled it and handed it over to the black boy. Then the narrator understood that it was just a game that the children played and he remembered what he played in his childhood. He smiled within himself. There was nothing about the racism. He felt relieved.

 

There was a white man standing at the gate, watching the children.  The narrator was an easy prey to deceptions. When he saw the white man, he thought that the white man had been wondering at the game, the boys played. He did not know who the man was. All he thought that the white man was feeling hurt at the sight of a black boy giving orders to a boy of his white race. He was pleased to see the white’s man anguish at the sight of a white boy taking orders from a black one.

 

Considering the misunderstanding he had about the boys,he thought that the adults often fail to understand the innocence in children. Due to over concern for children, they fail to see the goodness in them. Seeing the white boy obeying the black boy on the second day, he felt extremely relieved and realized that it is the grown-ups who infuse discrimination in the minds of the children.

 

The narrator thought that the white man was a passerby. He thought that the white man would be in the same situation as he was yesterday. To save him his puzzle, the narrator went to the white man and explained that the children were playing a mere game and there was nothing regarding racism. The white man was surprised to hear the outburst of the of the narrator because the narrator misinterpreted the children's play and with prejudice he thought too extremely suffered a lot within himself. He smiled and informed that he knew all about the game and the two boys were brothers and his children because he married a black Jamaican woman and their sons were black and white.

 

The narrator smiled and his soul laughed within him. He said to his heart about his country and people’s greatness and he left proud of both. The white man smiled at the narrator and went away to catch the train.