Fiction and Justine
SUMMARY
The short story begins with Justine's antagonistic "Look me here, yu see me? Yu stan up up over deh watchin me,you tink ah don see you?.At this point in the story we do not as yet know why she carries such an antagonistic tone, nor do we as yet know to whom she is directing this antagonism. We are to learn later in the story that she is addressing a character who remains nameless throughout the story; a character who has watched her for a long time from a mango tree, Interestingly enough to be mentioned, a Julie mango tree, a tree whose tasty fruit bears the name of a female.
On his annual visits to his grandmother's home, the protagonist - a young boy - becomes fascinated with a girl in a neighboring yard - Justine, called Shabine. As the "outside child" of a high-colored man, M. Cazaubon, by his black maid, Justine was rejected by her father and turned to prostitution. The story opens with the narrator explaining that she had a fiery temper, which she unleashed on her tormentors when provoked. The story give us some insight into Justine's childhood years before her two sons named Gold and Silver were born. Her two sons, Gold and Silver, were subjected to similar taunts, with Silver reacting in the same way as his mother, while Gold tried to do damage control.
About mid-way through the story, the focus moves slightly from Justine and her life, to the life of the, now young man, who has returned to watch her admiringly from the mango tree. There is a fence between them, When he was younger and came to visit his grandmother he would place the paradise plums where she could reach them. she would take the plums and play provocatively with them on her tongue before consuming them. The boy is grown now, and although Justine is slightly older than he is, he still admires her. She " always fascinated" him, the writer says.
The reader then learns that Justine had lived with her mother, who was a maid in Justine's father's house. It is implied, by the
The short story begins with Justine's antagonistic "Look me here, yu see me? Yu stan up up over deh watchin me,you tink ah don see you?.At this point in the story we do not as yet know why she carries such an antagonistic tone, nor do we as yet know to whom she is directing this antagonism. We are to learn later in the story that she is addressing a character who remains nameless throughout the story; a character who has watched her for a long time from a mango tree, Interestingly enough to be mentioned, a Julie mango tree, a tree whose tasty fruit bears the name of a female.
On his annual visits to his grandmother's home, the protagonist - a young boy - becomes fascinated with a girl in a neighboring yard - Justine, called Shabine. As the "outside child" of a high-colored man, M. Cazaubon, by his black maid, Justine was rejected by her father and turned to prostitution. The story opens with the narrator explaining that she had a fiery temper, which she unleashed on her tormentors when provoked. The story give us some insight into Justine's childhood years before her two sons named Gold and Silver were born. Her two sons, Gold and Silver, were subjected to similar taunts, with Silver reacting in the same way as his mother, while Gold tried to do damage control.
About mid-way through the story, the focus moves slightly from Justine and her life, to the life of the, now young man, who has returned to watch her admiringly from the mango tree. There is a fence between them, When he was younger and came to visit his grandmother he would place the paradise plums where she could reach them. she would take the plums and play provocatively with them on her tongue before consuming them. The boy is grown now, and although Justine is slightly older than he is, he still admires her. She " always fascinated" him, the writer says.
The reader then learns that Justine had lived with her mother, who was a maid in Justine's father's house. It is implied, by the