School days Patrick Chamoiseau

Introduction

‘School Days’ by Patrick Chamoiseau is a novel that focusses on the memoire of Chamoiseau as he goes through schooling; preschool and elementary. He gives connects his experiences in Fort-de-France and relation with other people. The book has been structured into two parts; the first one is titled, ‘Longing’ which focuses on Chamoiseau’s inner need to see the world with the help of art. He has a great desire to learn, a notable theme in the book. While the second one is ‘survival’, the experiences by Patrick Chamoiseau grew to be a threat though he was able to manage it with the hope of getting to learn and interest. The other part of Chamoiseau’s life was filled with tensions that was brought by colonial expectations in the school and celebration of a great culture. Even with the pressure at school he was able to express his connection for words and life and came up with memoire. This paper looks to focus on the relationship between varied aspects in Chamoiseau’s life and the connection that arises with Papa’s warning to Baroness.

Relationship between language and culture, language and status, and language and power. How does the novel address these connections?

Language and Culture

Chamoiseau’s experiences in primary school was quite different from what he went through in pre-school. The book presents a teacher, a black Francophile man, who was keen on banishing children’s uncivilized way of life and substituting it with the ‘universal’ and therefore, civilized French language and culture. The learners were called pet names or demeaning tags like ‘shameless monkeyshines’ (Chamoiseau, p. 45). The pets with light skin and fluffy hair were in most cases children who were Fresh-from-France. They were able to turn down the Creole culture from their homes. Even if they failed in certain areas, they were accorded praise for trying. While other students were punished and treated badly for shifting from French to Creole. Any solution that they gave was reluctantly accepted or overlooked.

Big Bellybutton, a classmate to Chamoiseau was seen as a symbol for Creole. This was since he could not pronounce names properly. He however kept his head up through taking part in cultural activities of Creole. He kept in through with his culture through stories, different from the French culture prevalent in the class.

Language and Status & Language and Power

Language is a means through which people can get inspired, educate and motivate or used as a way through which domination is met or social capital. The way a person speaks can model their social power and status. It can show if one is civilized or not. In the book, the children’s ability to use language in school, they were called pet names: ‘a Fresh-From-France’ had the ability to communicate fluently in the right accent (Chamoiseau, p. 62). While an imbecile filled their heads with irrelevant things (Chamoiseau, p. 61). This form of tagging using names were applied to know who they were and model their identity without looking at their behaviour.

The book, ‘school days’ shows that meaning and power was necessarily supposed to arise from the written word. The oral speech is the main aspect in the Creole culture. A good instance is that every kid has a central part for joy, delight and peace (Chamoiseau, p. 102). The children turned back to their origins as a form of status using language. This was since it had value and connected with their language. A unique form of jargon thrived there. The pecking order that had been set did not show the hierarchy of scholastic excellence set by the teachers (Chamoiseau, p. 98). Generally, the books, chalk ad satchel had all been connected to power that Chamoiseau desired to acquire. This had the impact of rising him in the social status of his community which they turned back to as a sign of origin.

How are these connections related to the Papa’s warning to the Baroness?

Papa saw learning as irrelevant and warned that they through education would be turned into their followers. This was prevalent in language and culture where the French culture was noted as the most advanced and civilized. It was hence upon the French to civilize the cultures they found. This was done through colonization and specifically by education (Chamoiseau, p. 49). Papa was opposed to a change of culture to the ‘civilized’ culture brought by the French.

In language and power, the French felt that their race was more superior to the others and had the right to ‘civilize’ the race that they found. It is through the education that they provide that the locals would acquire power that the French had possessed. Papa saw this as irrelevant, through the education they provided. He felt the child was stupid to follow the French way of life and leave theirs for a foreign one. They were not aware what they were getting themselves into.

In language and status, the French thought through their civilized way of life, one will acquire a higher status in life. The French attributed them to be ugly in skin and evil (Chamoiseau, p. 118). This offered a basis a dichotomy of good and evil between the Creole and French. Papa’s warning was hence shown in this case.

Work Cited

Chamoiseau, Patrick. School Days. Trans. Linda Coverdale. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P. 1997.