Literature Homework

A Brief Biography of  Roger Mais.

Roger Mais was born on the 11th of August 1905 in Kingston Jamaica into a "brown respectable, middle-range-landowning, middle class family.  He began writing in the 1930s.  He wrote the anti-British Satirical Trade " Now We Know " in 1944.  This caused him to suffer six months of inprisonment in the Spanish Town Penitentiary.  Roger left Jamaica when he learned that "The Hills Were Joyful Together ", his first published book had been accepted by Jonathon Cape in London.  He was the first Jamaican writer to bring into the novel the powerful subterranean influence of Rastafarianism.  Roger Mais was a fine writer of three books including ' The Hills Were Joyful Together ' in 1953, ' Brother Man ' in 1954 and ' Black Lightning ' in 1955.  He was a novelist adept at depicting the lives of the underprivilege and he won ten prizes in West Indian literary competitions in 1951.  Roger Mais passed at the tender age of 49 due to cancer. His integral role in the development of political and cultural nationalism is however evident in his being awarded the high honor of the Order of Jamaica in 1978.


What Does Critics Say About Brother Man?

It is said by Annie Paul that Brother Man is an interesting book to read today when Rastas and things Rastafarians have acquired such as cultural charisma that their image, carried abroad by stars such as Bob Marley and other dreadlocked musicians is now routinely used to advertise Jamaica as a tourist destination.
Brother Man was the first Jamaican novel to portray a Rastafarian protagonist in positive terms.  It is significant as an exploration of life in the Jamaican Ghetto and how the people relate to their leaders, making them deities and throwing them away when they fail to entertain them.


Explore The Religious Aspect In Regards to Rastafarianism.

Rastafari developed in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica in the 1920s and 30s.  In an environment of great poverty, depression, racism and class discrimination, the Rasta message of black pride, freedom from expression and the hope of return to the African homeland was received. 
Followers of the Rastafari movement are known as Rastafarians, Rastafaris, Rastas, or Ras Tafarians. The movement is named for Ras Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia in 1930.
Rastafaris dislike the term "Rastafarianism" because they reject the "isms and schisms" that characterize oppressive and corrupt white society. The movement is referred to as "the Rastafari movement," "Rasta," or "Rastafari."
  The Rastafarian movement began with the teachings of Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), a black Jamaican who led a "Back to Africa" movement. He taught that Africans are the true Israelites and have been exiled to Jamaica and other parts of the world as divine punishment.
Garvey encouraged pride in being black and worked to reverse the mindset of inferiority that centuries of enslavement had ingrained on the minds of blacks. Garvey is regarded as a second John the Baptist and famously prophesied in 1927, "Look to Africa, for there a king shall be crowned."
   On November 2, 1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned emperor of Ethiopia (he ruled until 1974). At his coronation he took the name Haile Selassie, meaning "Might of the Trinity."
   Rastafarians believe in the Judeo-Christian God, whom they call Jah. In general, Rastafarian beliefs are based in Judaism and Christianity, with an emphasis on Old Testament laws and prophecies and the Book of Revelation. Allegorical meaning is often sought in the Holy Piby.
   Jah was manifested on earth as Jesus, who Rastas believe was black, and Emperor Haile Selassie. Selassie is referred to as His Imperial Majesty or H.I.M. and believed to still be alive - his death was a hoax and he lives in protection awaiting the Day of Judgment. Selassie is worshipped as divine.
   Rastafarians are perhaps best known for their religious use of marijuana, which grows plentifully in Jamaica. Rastas know it as ganja, the holy herb, Iley or callie, and believe it was given by God.

Glossary of Literature Terms

Forms of Fiction

Novels - these are long works of prose fiction, especially one that is relatively realistic.

Novella - this is a work of prose fiction longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.

Short Story - this is a fictional narrative, usually a prose, rarely longer than thirty pages and often much briefer.

Elements of Prose Fiction

Narative Techniques - these are techniques used by the writer when writing a story.

Point of View - this is the method of narrating a short story, narrative, poem or work of nonfiction .

Characterisation - this is the presentation of a character, whether by direct discription, by showing the character in action, or by the presentation of other characters who help to define each other.

Theme - this refers to an underlying idea of the work.  It is a conception of human experience suggested by the concrete details.

Setting - This refers to the time and place a story, poem or play takes place.

Plot - This refers to the episodes in a narrative or dramatic work - that is what happens.

Style - this refers to the manner of expression, evident not only in the choice of words but also in the choice of certain kinds of sentence structure, characters, settings and themes.

Literary Devices

Irony - this refers to the contrast between what is said and what is meant.

Imagery - this refers to the words and phrases that create vivid, sensory experiences for the reader.

Symbol - this is a person, place, object or activity that stands for something beyond itself,

Satire - this is a literary technique in which ideas, costums, behaviours or institutions are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society.

Allusion - this is reference to a historical or fictional person, place or event with which the reader is assumed to be familiar.

Structural Devices

Stream of Consciousness - this is a style of fiction that takes as its subject the flow of thought, responses and sensations of one or more characters.

Interior Monologue - this is a passage of writing which presents a character's inner thoughts and emotions in direct, sometimes disjointed or fragmentary manner.

Flashback - this is an account of conversation of na episode or event that happened before the start of the story.

Foreshadowing - this is when a writer uses hints or clues that suggests what events will occur later in the narrative.

Time Frame - this is the period in a story in which something takes place or is projected to happen.

Motif - this is a recurring word, phrase, image, object, idea or action in a work of literature.

Juxtaposition - this is the use of two themes, characters, phrases, words or situations together for comparisons or contrasts.

Eight Types Of Fictions

1. Science Fiction
2. Realistic Fiction
3. Mystery Fiction
4. Animal Fiction
5. Fantasy Fiction
6. Autobiography Fiction
7. Folktales
8. Humorous Fiction

Literary Context

Social Context - this refers to the environment of people that surrounds an intended audience.

Political Context - this reflects the environment in which something is produced indicating its purpose of agenda.

Historical Context - this reflects the time in which something takes place or was created and how that influences how you interpret it.

Religious Context  - this refers to the religion in which someone belongs to and the way in which people from different religions interpret things.

Cultural Context -  this refers to the way in which people with different cultural backgrounds interpret things.