“Jamaican Fragment” is a poignant poem by Derek Walcott, which beautifully encapsulates the essence of the Jamaican landscape and culture. Read More Class 8 English Summaries.
Jamaican Fragment Summary
Jamaican Fragment Summary in English
In the prose ‘Jamaican fragment’ the author A L Hendricks says how prejudice misleads the person’s opinion. This incident happened in the author’s life. He depicted it very nicely.
Every day the narrator used to walk a half-mile from his home to the railway track in the morning and evening. The walk is pleasant to him because of the red and green-roofed bungalows, green lawns, and garden on either side and it gives good exercise.
One morning the narrator noticed that two little boys were playing in the garden. One is black and another is white. The narrator observed the children. The black boy might be 5 years and the white boy is a little lesser maybe 4 years old. The white boy is shouting and commanding the black boy. Whatever the white boy orders, the black boy did the same. The narrator was also a Jamaican black man. He was puzzled within himself. Hundreds of questions came into his. mind.
The children were very small, really they were infants. At a very small age how could they discriminate? Who were they? Was the black boy a servant’s son? Who was he? They wore the same type of dress. Were they neighbors or playmates. Whoever might be? Were we, as a race really inferior that even in our infancy we realized our deficiencies and accepted a position as the white man’s servant?
The author went on asking these questions to himself for a whole day. His faith in his people was shaken. He didn’t find the boys in the afternoon. Again he thought deeply.
The next morning he found the boys and observed them. To his surprise, the dark boy was commanding and white boy did everything.
Then the narrator understood that was a game and he remembered what he played in his childhood. He smiled within himself. A white man was standing by the gate. The narrator recalled what he thought the previous day and night. The thought came to his mind that the black race is superior to white. How silly the grown-ups are to misinterpret a child’s action. Then he would try to clarify and drive away all the doubts from his mind. The narrator said these to these white men. He was surprised to hear the outburst of the narrator and said that the two boys were brothers and his children and introduced a brown woman as his wife.
The narrator smiled and his soul laughed within him. He said to his heart about his country and his people’s greatness and he was left proud of both. The white man smiled at the narrator and went away to catch the train.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, “Jamaican Fragment” by Derek Walcott is a lyrical tribute to the vibrant spirit of Jamaica, celebrating both its lush landscapes and the indomitable strength of its people.
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