The multiculturalism policy was first embraced by Canada in 1971. The country is committed to showing the significance of cultural diversity in the world today, and until to date, it is obvious that Canada still sees herself in the frontline when it comes to the side of interrelating with immigrants. Nevertheless, a couple of years have passed, and the country is still challenged by the sad reality of racism and discrimination. In the short story the man by Austin Clarke, the reader understands the scuffles and racial conflicts of a man who comes from Barbados to find a better living in Canada. The Barbadian sees Canada to be welcoming to him and goes to live there with the high hopes of making a better life in Canada. The story is copious in symbolism, and the main character is antagonized by oppression, hardships, and sufferings in the setting multiculturalism that troubles Canada. This paper pursues to clarify some themes in Clarke’s short story, the man. The article will also discover the significance of the symbols in short story and how they assist to mound the central theme.
The man, a short story by Clarke, states the involvements of a man who migrates to Canada from Barbados, and he is ultimately antagonized with the unacquainted culture of the society. Hardship, discrimination, oppression, and suffering are themes identified in the short story. Moreover, I believe the story shows the interrelations Canadians and the immigrants in downtown Toronto and through the interactions brings out issues of frustration, stereotyping and segregation based the lifestyle variance. I the story the man by Clarke, it is undeniable that the man focuses is derived from the ordinary life of the immigrants’ discrimination in Canada. There is the symbol of flashbacks and the Barbados man used to show the in-depth thoughts of the personalities whose misery forms the central base of the author’s inquiry. Remarkably, the lives of the characters are formed through a crisis in identity, isolation as well as racism which stir hostility. Clarke in his short story accomplishes to chronicle the personal challenges through a describing the social environment of the immigrant community. The man from Barbados goes through sufferings and is enforced to get used to the oppression and miseries that are enacted against him. These features form the catastrophic finishing off the short story.
More significantly, he focuses the life of the immigrants through a wide range of opinions on the scale of oppression, colonialism, and segregation of the people. I assert the character challenged by estrangement and self-dislike. For this reason, the bad experiences push individual’s plight to take charge of their own life which lead to catastrophe. Racism executed on the black people, segregation, death, and isolation profoundly exemplify Clarke’s short story. The aggressiveness in the story is the primary factor that shows unfulfilling institution of marriage and men only strive to proclaim authority. Moreover, the author relates the aggressiveness to the pain of self-denial and self-hatred. Racial conflict triggers brutality, and he offers a sophisticated communal scene through the skilled prose style. Learning from this, the author reflects the powers of racism articulating cold-heartedness and envisions a community which is grounded on discrimination. The concept of black identity, marginalization, and the emasculation of the black’s male are among the themes stated in the short story.
I believe that one of the central themes in the story majors on multiculturalism. This forms the uniting component regarding the Canadian identity and creates a clear separation of layers of cultural heterogeneity from the diverse cultural context. The short story describes the condition of the man comes up with the issue of identity in the various cultures. Camille indicates that ‘the protagonist re-lives the forming of the identity of the nation which determines his reflection’ (Camille 15). Mostly, as the story progresses, this concept becomes clearer, and the man sees that he does not belong to the community. According to the author, it is the color of the skin which makes the man not to feel the Canadian dream and hence cannot completely fit into the Canadian community. Undoubtedly, the story stipulates that the color of the skin defines to be a key factor in adapting to the Canadian life and creates the ground for discrimination. The author even writes that “They are laughing…because they have become accommodating to the hostile society” Clarke 17). More importantly, the white’s opinion on black people as an inferior race and this undermines their position in the community. Most of the people do not have an option but to face the reality of discrimination.
The symbol of using flashback in the story cannot be underestimated. The man longing to have his Barbados life back after realizing Canada life cannot be fulfilling to him is a symbol of flashback. The objective of the flashback is to give a comparison between the growth in Barbados and that of Canada. The flashback brings to the understanding of the reader that racism in Canada destroys the hopes of many immigrants who presume to have a restored life. One is able to understand the challenge of the Barbadian man in the marginalized society through the flashback. Through this, it is clear that moving to a new nation could be one of the hardest changes in a person’s life. The flashback shows the many variations that the protagonist experiences in contradiction of his will in the multicultural location. He is required to change his morals, and the fear of disappointment drives him to the edge
William Jefferson is also a symbol of the many persons who wish to get assimilated into the white community and receive their identity. Clarke notes that “immigration had transformed Jefferson; and five years made him deceitful, selfish and very ambitious…Jefferson had his mind on a house and a piece of land around the house. ‘ I must own a piece o’Canada!” (Clarke 51). Jefferson’s fascination with the white identity made him detained at night in one of the richest and reputable districts in Toronto. Jefferson pushes to be assimilated and alienated into the Canada ways. Finally, Jefferson acquires his dream house, but his still viewed as a gardener by his neighbors. This aspect shows how is hard for one to get assimilated into the white society and Jefferson’s comes down to mimicry. His aim in the short story is to elucidate how people struggle with the issues of identity in the white community and effect it has on the other races. He suffers the consequences of isolation and lack of identity. Brown and Wickham state that “Given that family, influence a tremendous strong factor in the development of one’s sense of self and often impacts everyday decisions, it is fitting to first look at the ways in which family pressure and interactions shaped the life of the man” (Brown and Wickham 5) According to Brown and Wickham this played a vital responsibility in shaping the identity of the character. The final scene of the story is catastrophic and the closing metaphoric moment showcases the final closing of the optimistic immigrates. The disastrous end shows the inability of the characters to assist themselves through the difficulties of multiculturalism, and this reshapes and forms the image of the immigrants in the Canadian community. This negativity of the mind has to lead the man to be unhappy. Moreover, the cultural and societal pressures make the story to end catastrophically generating emotions of empathy in the reader. The hindrances related to being an immigrant in a new nation are indeed unbearable to many people. This catastrophic ending where the character dies is a symbol of the truth on the ground and alludes to the main theme of multiculturalism. It is here the Barbados man is unable to fit in the Canadian community and opts to commit suicide. This indicates that many immigrant persons, not only those in Canada but in various white countries fight with the identity to a breaking point where they lose optimism. They become challenged by the fundamental concept of multiculturalism which undermines their worth and regards themselves as being inferior. The principal theme of the hunt for identity in a new setting is revealed in the tragic ending. The author emphases on the themes of suffering, hardship, and oppression in the Canadian multicultural society as a way of informing the reader the true nature of being an immigrant. Many countries are pledged with racism, and this makes a person’s living to be a substantial problem.
It is no doubt that Austin Clarke was the first Caribbean-Canadian writer to earn global reputation. He is attributed to his outstanding works including the man story. Clarke centers on the plight of the migrants and specifically the Barbadians. His short stories are explicit replications of the familiarities of discrimination and give insights into the problem of disaffection and the hunt for identity. Repression of the black race is stated in the story. Immigrants are forced to cope hardships and suffering in the new land and the fight against oppression which endanger the black identity.
Works Cited
Brown, Stewart, and John Wickham. The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories . Oxford,
Oxford University Press, 2001.
Clarke, Austin. The Man . Toronto, Mcclelland and Stewart, 1999.
Camille A Isaacs. Austin Clarke . Toronto, Guernica Editions, 2013.
