Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 8. Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 28)

Studies - Judit Molnár: The Spatio-Temporal Dimension of Diasporic Discourse from the Carrebian on the Canadian Literary Scene

The attractive interpersonal space helps him to cope. He appreciates his mother's and stepfather's endeavours to move up the social ladder. They move up in the physical sense of the word, too: "We moving up the hill, Flagstaff Hill" (54). The road was named after the flag staff on which the Union Jack was raised each morning. (65) The fractured society inhabited easily distinguishable locations in the dwelling: Belleville packed with the rich and Carrington Village with the extremely poor. Growing up has happened in an idiosyncratic way for Clarke. It is only with mixed feelings that he remembers his sexual initiation into manhood, but his mental growth provided him with pleasure and it saw no limits: Every other boy at Combermere wanted to be a barrister-at-law. It seemed as if it was the only profession open to us. And it meant going up to England. Nothing could be better than seeing the Mother Country with your own eyes. (172) Thus Brown rightly observes: [...] Growing Up Stupid is as much about emigration as it is about Barbados per se. Poverty and colonialism are forms of social dispossession, amounting to a kind of local exile. Emigration, real or imaginary, is a logical extension of that sense of exile. (13) In the novel it is England that seems to be the best country to go to. America is depicted both with admiration and despise. Canada in the 1940s loomed only at a very large distance and as something unknown: "Canada was not talked about ... It was a blur on our consciousness." (31) There was a strong disire to move from one cultural zone/space to another. The numerous episodes unfold in a blend of different languages in the course of the novel. Standard English and the language of native Barbadians nicely mix. By the end of the novel we almost hear the local dialect: Day in and day out I working my fingers to the bone in that blasted Marine, and I can't see myself getting nowhere or it. It's slavery. Tomorrow is Monday, however, and the tourisses leffing. They going back up to Englund and Amurca. (36) The multicoloured nature of the text is enhanced by the insertion of songs, hymns, proverbs, letters and tales. 210