Jamaican Fragment

 Reading 

1. What did the narrator like when his walk from his home to the tramcar lines?

The narrator liked his walk from his home to tramcar lines. It is pleasant to walk on the road flanked by red and green roofed bungalows, green lawns, and gardens.

2. How does the narrator describe the two boys whom he sees one morning?

The narrator saw two boys one morning. The elder of them is five years of age and the younger of them is of four years. The elder boy is sturdy and dark skinned with black eyes and matted coarse hair. The younger boy is white skinned with hazel eyes and light brown hair. Both of them are dressed in blue shirts and khaki pants.

3. What were the questions that arose in the narrator’s mind when he saw the two boys engaged in their game for the first time?

The narrator felt sure that since both the boys dressed in the same way they belong to same social class. He couldn’t understand why the big black boy was following the orders of the younger white boy. The narrator thought that both the black boy and white boy knew about their social positions and behaved accordingly. It was usual that white people order black people as whites were supposed to be superior and blacks were inferior.

4. What were the questions that arose in the narrator’s mind when he saw the two boys at their game again?

When the narrator saw the boys at their game second time, the black boy was giving commands to the white boy and the white boy was following the orders. Then the narrator realized that they were playing a game in which both the boys become commander and follower one by one.

5. What does the narrator imagine when sees a white man standing at the gate and watching the two boys?

The narrator sees a white man standing at the gate watching the two boys. He feels that the white man may be thinking that the black people are superior to white people. The narrator is of the opinion that the white man is also assuming just like what he himself assumed the day before.

6. ‘This is Jamaica, I said in my heart, this is my country, my people’. With what feelings does the narrator say this and why?

The narrator feels very proud after learning about the boys’ family. He thinks very high of Jamaican culture where different people like happily together.

7. The story shows us the stereotypes can make us narrow-minded in our thinking, whereas the reality around us can be full of pleasant surprises. Explain this statement in the context of the events in the story.

When the narrator saw the boys at play for the first time, he thought that the game they were playing was racially prejudiced. He saw a younger white boy giving orders to an elder black boy and the black boy was obeying the orders. In fact, the boys were playing a simple game. The narrator thought like a stereotype and that led to his narrow-minded conclusion. The next day, he saw the boys again. The scene was reversed then. The black boy was giving orders and the white boy was obeying. The narrator realized his mistake. He was surprised and felt proud of the Jamaican culture.