Evoking the past is one of the most important strategies in the practice of West Indian Writers. Discuss with close reference to Dennis Scotts An Echo in the Bone.

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Question 1 - “Evoking the past is one of the most important strategies in the practice of West Indian Writers.” Discuss with close reference to Dennis Scott’s An Echo in the Bone.

When studying history one often learns that without knowledge of the past, understanding the present is indeed futile. According to Spanish philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  This also resonates in West Indian Literature. It can be deduced that, it is a principle by which many West Indian writers abide, hence ‘evoking the past’ is an important strategy of West Indian writing. Dennis Scott is an esteemed Jamaican playwright, a founding father of Ritual Theatre, as well as a recipient of the Prime Minister’s medal for service to the arts in Jamaica in 1983. Although Scott has achieved so much, one cannot overlook the fact that many of his works goes unnoticed and unrecognized towards an international audience. Nevertheless, Scott managed to create outstanding pieces, with fundamental messages to not only entertain but inform audiences of varying issues which were present in the past and still plague the present. An Echo in the Bone  is Scott’s revelation of the past, as it relates to Jamaica, specifically highlighting Slavery as a system of exploitation for the back race as well as a tool for mental enslavement. The play discloses various issues of oppression, hegemonic ideology being infiltrated and perpetuated throughout the society, as well as racial prejudices. It is through his characterization, the construction of the plot, and also the use of props, which are key techniques he employs, that he is able to link the present with the past, both the ancestral and personal.

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The main plot of this piece is centered on the Nine-night ceremony. In Jamaica it is believed by the Negroes that “nine nights after death, the spirit rises out of the grave and returns to its familiar haunts,”(Beckwith) visiting his friends and relatives. It is customary at this ceremony that the friends and relatives of the deceased celebrate, reminisce and reflect the life of their loved one. The ceremony “aims to free the dead, of the past, so that the spirit may move forward to the next stage in afterlife.”(Renu Juneja). This traditional ritual impels the characters to re-enact their history ...

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