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Abstract
The study set out to identify, examine and analyze the image of the “White man” in Francophone Caribbean islands and the calvary the black Caribbeans went through in the hands of the White man. The treatment of this subject is found mainly in the selected works of Francophone Caribbean writers such as Salvat Etchart, Aimé Césaire, Edouard Glissant, Maryse Condé and Patrick Chamoiseau. These selected works include Les Nègres servent d’exemples, Le Monde tel qu’il est, La Tragédie du roi Christophe, Moi, Tituba Sorcière noire de Salem, Dieu nous l’a donnée, Mort d’Oluwémi d’Ajumako, La Migration des cœurs, Le Quatrième siècle and Texaco. These selected works were analysed using sociocritical approache to identify, uncover and interprete specific literary periods, ideas and perspectives that each author developed in their writings.The objectives were to examine and analyse the place of the White man in Francophone Caribbean islands’ history through Francophone Caribbean Literary creations, analyse the experiences of the black Caribbean people in the hands of the white over-lords, identify the reactions of the black Caribbean people against the servile, forced labour and different kinds of impositions of the White man and identify points of convergence and divergence in the ideas and reflections on white racism shown in the texts studied.
The methodology adopted in the study were textual analytical approach and comparative approach. The authors’ works vividly depicted white racism and the sufferings the black Caribbean people went through in a society that is regulated by the racial ideology of socio-political, cultural and economic imperialism of the White man. The theoretical framework was rooted in postcolonial and sociological theories.
Based on the identification of the objectives, the research found that the White man sought to perpetually occupy, dominate and control the small Francophone Caribbean islands, assimilate and dominate the native population who are predominantly Blacks. The study also found that most Black Francophone Caribbean indigenous population have remained victims of racial discrimination, enslavement, systematic inferiorisation, subjugation, otherness and brain-washing in Francophone Caribbean islands. It concluded that this situation leaves much to be desired with regard to the liberation of the Blacks from White man’s control and domination. The study recommends protest and revolt of the black Caribbean people against the White man’s mistreatment and “organized” resistance of the black Caribbean people against the imposition of White man’s culture and values. This will help the black Francophone Caribbeans liberate themselves from the White man’s control and break loose the chain of neocolonialism in Francophone Caribbean islands. This thesis is divided into three major parts. The first part which is divided into three chapters explores pertinent literatures, identifying research gaps while establishing theoritical framework that grounds our textual analysis. It also touches on racial interactions in the slave trade era and their effets. The second part concentrates on the White man in the colonial era, focusing on the textual analysis and comparative study of the chosen texts. The third and the last part continues with thematique analysis, specifically focusing on the White man in modern or contemporary era. The impact of racial interactions and the stylistics approach as amply enunciated in the selected texts is also studied in this part. The stylistic devices employed by the writers of the selected texts enhances the import of their message in the texts The main body of the work is preceeded by an introduction and ends with conclusion
The methodology adopted in the study were textual analytical approach and comparative approach. The authors’ works vividly depicted white racism and the sufferings the black Caribbean people went through in a society that is regulated by the racial ideology of socio-political, cultural and economic imperialism of the White man. The theoretical framework was rooted in postcolonial and sociological theories.
Based on the identification of the objectives, the research found that the White man sought to perpetually occupy, dominate and control the small Francophone Caribbean islands, assimilate and dominate the native population who are predominantly Blacks. The study also found that most Black Francophone Caribbean indigenous population have remained victims of racial discrimination, enslavement, systematic inferiorisation, subjugation, otherness and brain-washing in Francophone Caribbean islands. It concluded that this situation leaves much to be desired with regard to the liberation of the Blacks from White man’s control and domination. The study recommends protest and revolt of the black Caribbean people against the White man’s mistreatment and “organized” resistance of the black Caribbean people against the imposition of White man’s culture and values. This will help the black Francophone Caribbeans liberate themselves from the White man’s control and break loose the chain of neocolonialism in Francophone Caribbean islands. This thesis is divided into three major parts. The first part which is divided into three chapters explores pertinent literatures, identifying research gaps while establishing theoritical framework that grounds our textual analysis. It also touches on racial interactions in the slave trade era and their effets. The second part concentrates on the White man in the colonial era, focusing on the textual analysis and comparative study of the chosen texts. The third and the last part continues with thematique analysis, specifically focusing on the White man in modern or contemporary era. The impact of racial interactions and the stylistics approach as amply enunciated in the selected texts is also studied in this part. The stylistic devices employed by the writers of the selected texts enhances the import of their message in the texts The main body of the work is preceeded by an introduction and ends with conclusion
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