Themes Is Wine of Astonishment
The Wine of Astonishment - LITERATURE NOTES
ABOUT EARL LOVELACE
* Born in Toco, Trinidad * Born in 1935 * Spent most of his early years with his maternal grandparents in Tobago * He was an avid reader * He currently lives in Trinidad and Tobago * His passions in life are cricket and football
EARL LOVELACE’S NOVELS
* While God’s are Falling, 1964 * The Schoolmaster, 1968 * The Dragon Can’t Dance, 1978 * The Wine of Astonishment, 1982 * Jestina’s Calypso and Other Stories, 1984 * Growing in the Dark, 2003 * Is Just a Movie, due for publication in August 2010 on
SUMMARY
The book is about Eva and Bee Dorcas, members of the Spiritual Baptist Church. It is about their experiences of being persecuted for their religious affiliation and the faith that they have in Ivan Morton to change their situation. The character Bolo is also at the forefront of this story because he embodies the result of not being able to be a man in a society that does not view being Black as valuable.
SETTING
Time / Place:
* The story is set over a 20 year time period, 1932 – 1951 * Set in a small, remote village in Trinidad called Bonasse
Political structure:
* Trinidad was still a colony under the British Empire * Trinidad was ruled under the Crown Colony system – Head of State in England governed the island via the Governor, who was his or her representative * Political power, therefore, lay in the governor, assisted by a Council * Universal adult suffrage (right of all adults to vote) did not occur to Trinidad until 1946. * Power still lay in the hands of those who owned plantations and these people, in turn, controlled the instruments of power; the legislature, the courts and the police.
Economy:
* The economy was still predominantly agricultural; sugar, cocoa, coffee, coconuts and citrus. * The petroleum industry was just beginning to make an impact. * Subsistence farming
ABOUT EARL LOVELACE
* Born in Toco, Trinidad * Born in 1935 * Spent most of his early years with his maternal grandparents in Tobago * He was an avid reader * He currently lives in Trinidad and Tobago * His passions in life are cricket and football
EARL LOVELACE’S NOVELS
* While God’s are Falling, 1964 * The Schoolmaster, 1968 * The Dragon Can’t Dance, 1978 * The Wine of Astonishment, 1982 * Jestina’s Calypso and Other Stories, 1984 * Growing in the Dark, 2003 * Is Just a Movie, due for publication in August 2010 on
SUMMARY
The book is about Eva and Bee Dorcas, members of the Spiritual Baptist Church. It is about their experiences of being persecuted for their religious affiliation and the faith that they have in Ivan Morton to change their situation. The character Bolo is also at the forefront of this story because he embodies the result of not being able to be a man in a society that does not view being Black as valuable.
SETTING
Time / Place:
* The story is set over a 20 year time period, 1932 – 1951 * Set in a small, remote village in Trinidad called Bonasse
Political structure:
* Trinidad was still a colony under the British Empire * Trinidad was ruled under the Crown Colony system – Head of State in England governed the island via the Governor, who was his or her representative * Political power, therefore, lay in the governor, assisted by a Council * Universal adult suffrage (right of all adults to vote) did not occur to Trinidad until 1946. * Power still lay in the hands of those who owned plantations and these people, in turn, controlled the instruments of power; the legislature, the courts and the police.
Economy:
* The economy was still predominantly agricultural; sugar, cocoa, coffee, coconuts and citrus. * The petroleum industry was just beginning to make an impact. * Subsistence farming