The Virgins Imperialism

It is of no doubt that without imperialism the world would not be as advanced and changed as it is today. However the fact of what happened in the regions effected during the era of imperialism is another story altogether. Many accounts from this time period have been documented, those made from the point of view of those entering the lands, and those who were already there and who also witnessed the dehumanizing nature of the newcomers. Out of these documents there is The Virgins which is a poem depicting the striped land of a once thriving and peaceful island which is now a deserted tourist attraction due to American westernization. Another document would be Dead Men’s Path, which tells the tale of Nigerian headmaster trying to force western

The Virgins is about a native islander who reminisces about his past life on the island that has changed so much today. He comments about the struggles it has brought on rather than wealth, and the how life was much simpler back then than it is now. This poem is very critical of imperialism despite how short it may be. It explains its consequences and unseen aftermath of the western remodel of the island and how the island would have been better off without imperialism ever happening to the island. An example of this is shown in the line “but our small island simplicities can’t better our new empire’s civilized exchange of cameras, watches, perfumes, brandies for the good life, so cheaply underpriced that only the crime rate is on the rise.” (Walcott 6-9). This excerpt explains to the reader of how that before it was a simple life but now all we have is cheap goods to sell and crime running amok. Another example of criticism from this poem is “Down the dead streets of sun stoned Frederiksted, the first free port to die for tourism, strolling at a funeral pace,” (Walcott 1-3). Here this passage from the poem suggests how the islands town has died from tourism and westernization and shows how he feels dead as well by walking at a funeral pace in this dead town. And lastly there is “A condominium drowns in vacancy; its bargains are dusted but only a jeweled housefly drones over the bargains. The roulettes spin rustily to the wind.” (Walcott 12-16). This part of the poem shows the way the island was a tourist attraction but soon the westerners lost interest to it, so now all that remains is the decaying and forgotten relics and ideals that sit unused. So as seen The Virgins in many ways critics the western ideals of imperialism by saying it ruins the simplistic lives and values people have and it also may ruin an area in its aftermath