Sugar Cane Alley Analysis

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In particular, the low-key lighting used in the Sugar Cane Alley depicts the lack of resources in the village. The dim lighting used by Palcy reflects the reality of life in the Sugar Cane Alley in the 1930’s which was that the inhabitants of the plantation village did not have access to electricity and advanced technology like the capital in which high-key lighting and electricity is considered the norm. Moreover, the sound is also used to emphasize the simplicity of life in the village. Seeing that work in the cane field is the primary means of survival for the Martinican villagers, the incessant sound of nature and sugar cane being chopped reflects the typical day of life in the Sugar Cane Alley. Alternatively, the sounds in Fort-de-France of cars represents the assimilation and advanced technology in the city. Hence, the experiences of the people of Martinique are authenticated because the visuals and sounds show the realhardships of villagers and their scarce resources in comparison to the idealized version of the Caribbean in the city.
Finally, Euzhan Palcy uses storytelling in order to demonstrate the importance of both formal education and …show more content…

He is the personification of wisdom as well as the memory, history, and cultures of José’s ancestors. When Medouze states that the “Master had become the Boss,” this directly speaks to the rebirth of slavery into colonial oppression and the untold story of exploitation with a new face. Despite the formative non-formal education of Medouze, this education alone is not enough for José. Rather, to be successful José must also receive the formal education of the French because according to Ma’Tine it is José’s formal education that will free him from “the white man’s cane fields”(Palcy). Consequently, as José’s informal education motivates him to break the cycle of exploitation, his formal education gives him the opportunity to enact his