Critical Analysis Of Derek Walcott's 'Goats And Monkeys'

The term ‘miscegenation’ originates from the Latin miscere (meaning ‘mix’) and genus (meaning ‘race’); and stands for the marriage or cohabitation between two people of different racial groups. Fear of miscegenation then becomes an important issue in the context of the racial tensions and colonization process of the subalterns by the white Europeans. The themes of racial conflicts, cultural prejudice and political inequality pervade almost all postcolonial writings, of which Derek Walcott’s compositions form a substantial part. In the poem “Goats and Monkeys” Walcott unearths the underlying theme of miscegenation-fears in the story of Othello and Desdemona and also interweaves it with the context of the colonization of Africa by the Europeans. About the Author

The recipient of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature, Derek Walcott was born in Castries, Saint Lucia, the West Indies, on January 23, 1930. His

Conclusion

One question that arises while reading this poem is: who is to be blamed for subscribing to or perpetuating the fear of miscegenation? In a relatively microcosmic level, we see variants of miscegenation-fears leading to merciless honor killings in certain parts of the world including India. In the dehumanized version of the world today, there is very little space for emotions like love. Social stigmas still persist and prevail. It is all attributed to the deep seated racist ideologies in the mindset of society which found concrete voices since the beginning of colonization.

Nevertheless, transgression has not come to a halt. Watson writes, “…attitudes toward interracial marriage, while still frowned upon in certain circles, have transformed dramatically... According to a Gallup poll conducted between June 13 and July 5 of last year that surveyed 4,373 Americans… Black Americans approved of Black-White marriage at a rate of 96 percent, which is almost entirely universal. The percentage for Whites, while not as high, was still overwhelmingly supportive