The play "Dream on a Monkey
Mountain" is written by Derek Walcott, a Caribbean poet, and
playwright, highlighting a journey of a West Indian to reclaim his identity and
heritage.
Colonization refers to the "full or partial
control of one nation over another." Similarly, the term
post-colonial refers to the after-effects of colonization. The post-colonial
Literature deals with writing back to the Empire. It gives voice to the side of
history that was never presented, as highlighted through a famous African
proverb:
"Until the Lions
have their historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."
Post-colonial literature highlights the
effects of colonization, a need for a colonial discourse, the significance of
language, and the need to reclaim the past. According to Peter Barry, the
foremost principle of colonial perspective is to reclaim one's past.
The play "Dream on a Monkey
Mountain" deals with the journey of Makak, a black charcoal burner, to
reclaim his identity and heritage. At the start of the play, Makak is shown as
a person "without a mind, a name, a will, a tribe of his own," we pointed out by
Lestrade. When Lestrade questioned him about his name and race, he was not able
to answer him:
"Corporal: What is
your name?
Mark: I forget.
Corporal: What is your
race?
Mark: I am tired".
Through the course of the events in his
dream, i.e., his unconscious, he, in the end, can tell his name: "My name is Felix
Hoban."
After beheading the white Goddess, whom Lestrade calls a white witch, he can know his identity. This was due to the reason that the colonization had left a profound impact on the mind of the native. They started suffering from psychosis because of the discrimination they had to face in the name of colonization.
The image of the white Goddess is the image of inferiority which made Makak forget about his character and race and forced him not to look at his reflection for thirty years. Lestrade rightly points out that the whole Goddess is actually "a mirror of the moon," Upon looking at her, Makak finds himself unbearable.
Other than identity and inferiority,
colonization had many impacts. The character of Lestrade highlights the
confusion of the Africans who have adopted the mindset of the colonizers. He
calls his fellow Africans "apes," "savages," and
"monkeys" who have come from the "cave
of darkness." Upon entering the forest and encountering
Basil, he realizes his true self and admits that his mind was never his:
"It was never yours."
In conclusion, one may say that this
play, "Dream on a Monkey Mountain," highlights the plights of natives
when analyzed from a post-colonial lens.
The article is written by Syeda Areeba Fatima, one of the permanent writers at the School of Literature.
