A Review of the Book Calabash Parkway
At first glance, Dr. Brenda DoHarris’ Calabash Parkway appears to be a novel about a Guyanese woman meeting an old friend from her native land, in New York, after several years. Upon further reading, the novel has resilient records of feminism in the protagonists Agatha, Evadne, and Gwennie. The three are emasculated by poverty, neglect, and abuse. Living in a masculinized country the three women refuse to succumb to their struggles of life. These powerless characteristics of the three young women are overcome after immigrating to New York and Canada.
The first reflection of feminism is ‘Gatha’s life of poverty. “The shadow of political tyranny and economic malaise loomed over the country” (DoHarris 6)1.Those living in Guyana struggled to afford the daily necessities of life. “Classically, political and cultural superstructure rests on the foundation of economic substructure, and not the other way round. In other words, the social (or anti-social) behavior of our people is a function of our economic well being according to most theorists. Hence, any government, even that of Guyana, has the power and resources to influence the social behavior through effective economic policies, and can shift these resources to areas where it wishes to have political influence. Unfortunately, the government behaves as if it is politics (of the PNC) that influences the economic, and hence the political destiny of our country. (But Guyana, like other plural societies, is stressed with ethnic polarization and concomitant violence.) Professor Thomas tried to prove the nexus between the two structures but unfortunately his statistical analysis was as skewed and suspect as that of Dr. Misir’s, and thus his conclusion was as damaging as that of Dr. Misir’s” (Sukhdeo, para 5).
Dr. DoHarris articulates how ‘Gatha is heartbroken from the loss of a child and the love of her life, Eustace, with whom she has two sons. After the desertion of Eustace she will meet and marry Leon, though not in
The first reflection of feminism is ‘Gatha’s life of poverty. “The shadow of political tyranny and economic malaise loomed over the country” (DoHarris 6)1.Those living in Guyana struggled to afford the daily necessities of life. “Classically, political and cultural superstructure rests on the foundation of economic substructure, and not the other way round. In other words, the social (or anti-social) behavior of our people is a function of our economic well being according to most theorists. Hence, any government, even that of Guyana, has the power and resources to influence the social behavior through effective economic policies, and can shift these resources to areas where it wishes to have political influence. Unfortunately, the government behaves as if it is politics (of the PNC) that influences the economic, and hence the political destiny of our country. (But Guyana, like other plural societies, is stressed with ethnic polarization and concomitant violence.) Professor Thomas tried to prove the nexus between the two structures but unfortunately his statistical analysis was as skewed and suspect as that of Dr. Misir’s, and thus his conclusion was as damaging as that of Dr. Misir’s” (Sukhdeo, para 5).
Dr. DoHarris articulates how ‘Gatha is heartbroken from the loss of a child and the love of her life, Eustace, with whom she has two sons. After the desertion of Eustace she will meet and marry Leon, though not in
Cited: Primary Source DoHarris, Brenda Chester. Calabash Parkway. Lanham; Tantaria Press, 1997. Secondary Sources Birbalsingh, Fank, Kaieteur News, online review of DoHarris, Brenda Chester. Calabash Parkway. Lanham; Tantaria Press, 1997. Bureau of Public Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 6, 2007. Maaga, Mary McCormick. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown. Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, NY. 1998. Page Number: 55. Palmer, Colin A. Cheddi Jagan and the politics of power : British Guiana’s struggle for independence, Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c2010. Sukhdeo, Gokarran. Calabash Parkway: A Novel by Brenda Chester DoHarris. Tantaria Press, 2005, 158 pages Sukhdeo, Gokarran. The Conference At Howard University Conflict Resolution A Critique, Howard University, Center for International Affairs, December 14.