Themes In Zobel's La Rue Cases-Nègres

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The passage outlined in the question (p. 118 - 9) deals with Maryse Condé’s reaction after reading La Rue Cases-Nègres, it makes her reflect on different themes. The themes brought up in Zobel’s novel cross over with those raised by Condé in her own text. In Le Cœur à rire et à pleurer, Maryse Condé deals with many different themes, but there are three that are arguably the most notable: cultural identity, the history of Guadeloupe and the idea of “geographical space”. The above extract intertwines all these themes. I will discuss these three themes by referring to examples from not only the passage mentioned in the question but also how these themes are dealt with throughout the entire text.
Firstly, the idea of cultural identity is paramount in the text. Race, colour and class are topics dealt with abundantly. Maryse’s mother plays a very important part in the text to illustrate these themes. We should note at this point that Maryse’s mother was a woman of great pride, she wanted success for her and her family and this want of success is seen throughout the text. She wanted her life to be different to that of her own mother and grandmother: in Bonne fête maman (p.81), Condé tells us that her mother was adamant not to die like her own mother Élodie. We also see that Maryse’s mother marries a man not because of love, but because he was an ambitious man (and ambition/a desire to succeed was the most important thing to her). It is clear that this is a woman that does not want to identify with the same culture as her ancestors; she wants to make a difference and to mean something.
We see the idea of négritude appearing during the text – this is possibly the most important (and most nebulous) topic dealt with in the text. Négritude ...

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...erall society in Salut Galarneau! and her “reprieve” in Guadeloupe is similar to François’s retreat inside his walls, away from everyone else. There is an overarching common theme between all three texts on the course: the authors’ search for (and a struggle for) a cultural identity. All three authors explore this in different ways but the theme remains the common denominator.
It is clear that in the passage outlined on p. 118 – 9, Condé brings up very important issues that are central to the text. Her overall attitude towards her cultural identity is heavily influenced by colonial history (slavery, racism, prejudgements) and in Le Cœur à rire et à pleurer, she makes known her desire to leave this behind and become just as successful as others in the Western world (négritude), however as we see throughout the text, this is more difficult than she would have liked.

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