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highway in the sun
PAGES 34-41
START POINT: “It is a few days later. The Americans have arrived and the labour of clearing the land for the highway is under way. There are noises of bulldozers and heavy machinery in motion. The whole atmosphere is one of noise and bustle. A gang is working at clearing some bushes. JOHN, a young seabee, hails LARRY, another American.” (Selvon, 34).
SETTING
- The construction site.
- Tall Boy’s shop.
- Joe and Rita’s house.
SUMMARY
Pages 34-41: John and Larry, two Americans, solve a construction issue, and John decides to organize overtime labour and use Tiger to do it, so they offer him a promotion. They say Tiger is literate and the best person for the job. Boysie, who has been driving the lorries and carrying boulders, talks about how the price of tomatoes went up just when everyone, with the exception of Sookdeo, lost their garden plots. Boysie then asks Tiger if he has seen Sookdeo. Tiger admires Boysie’s cap, and Boysie tells him that he can get one at the store that is managed by the Americans for one dollar. Boysie believes that it makes you look like an American when you wear it. Tiger tells him to get one for him because it blocks the sun as well.
Rita visits Tall Boy’s shop and sees him constructing a partition and asks why. He tells her that it is to accommodate the Yanks; an Indian girl got sick beside one of them, and they didn’t like it. Tall Boy elaborated that the Yanks spend more money in his shop in one evening than the villagers spend in a week. The villagers in question, when they see the partition and special chairs and glasses, are disgruntled at the unequal service that Tall Boy is offering. They notice how he moves quickly to attend to the Americans, who call him Shorty, and Sookdeo points out that the separation is because the Americans are white. The person who is most irate at this injustice is Boysie, and Tiger tries to explain the segregation that exists in America and England. Boysie explains that his friend, in England, does not experience this segregation, so he has changed his mind and wants to go to England now, but Sookdeo points out that after the war has ended, and his friend is no longer in the army, the white people, from England or America, will go back to treating them, especially the Creoles, unfairly.
Boysie expresses that he feels betrayed by Tiger’s collusion with his Creole neighbour, the white doctor, and now the Yanks; he believes that Indians need to come together. He declares that he will no longer drink in Tall Boy’s shop because his money is as good as any Yanks’. Tiger goes to Joe’s house, but Joe is annoyed with him because Tiger has not been home and is clearly drunk. He tells Joe that Boysie thinks that he is a traitor for siding with the Yanks and the progressive changes that they will bring. He tries to argue with Joe about it, but Joe tells him that he works in town, so the village issues do not affect him, plus he just wants to eat his dinner. Tiger tries to stretch out the discussion by mentioning the book that he is writing, but Joe leaves, telling Tiger to go and have his dinner.
Pages 34-41: John and Larry, two Americans, solve a construction issue, and John decides to organize overtime labour and use Tiger to do it, so they offer him a promotion. They say Tiger is literate and the best person for the job. Boysie, who has been driving the lorries and carrying boulders, talks about how the price of tomatoes went up just when everyone, with the exception of Sookdeo, lost their garden plots. Boysie then asks Tiger if he has seen Sookdeo. Tiger admires Boysie’s cap, and Boysie tells him that he can get one at the store that is managed by the Americans for one dollar. Boysie believes that it makes you look like an American when you wear it. Tiger tells him to get one for him because it blocks the sun as well.
Rita visits Tall Boy’s shop and sees him constructing a partition and asks why. He tells her that it is to accommodate the Yanks; an Indian girl got sick beside one of them, and they didn’t like it. Tall Boy elaborated that the Yanks spend more money in his shop in one evening than the villagers spend in a week. The villagers in question, when they see the partition and special chairs and glasses, are disgruntled at the unequal service that Tall Boy is offering. They notice how he moves quickly to attend to the Americans, who call him Shorty, and Sookdeo points out that the separation is because the Americans are white. The person who is most irate at this injustice is Boysie, and Tiger tries to explain the segregation that exists in America and England. Boysie explains that his friend, in England, does not experience this segregation, so he has changed his mind and wants to go to England now, but Sookdeo points out that after the war has ended, and his friend is no longer in the army, the white people, from England or America, will go back to treating them, especially the Creoles, unfairly.
Boysie expresses that he feels betrayed by Tiger’s collusion with his Creole neighbour, the white doctor, and now the Yanks; he believes that Indians need to come together. He declares that he will no longer drink in Tall Boy’s shop because his money is as good as any Yanks’. Tiger goes to Joe’s house, but Joe is annoyed with him because Tiger has not been home and is clearly drunk. He tells Joe that Boysie thinks that he is a traitor for siding with the Yanks and the progressive changes that they will bring. He tries to argue with Joe about it, but Joe tells him that he works in town, so the village issues do not affect him, plus he just wants to eat his dinner. Tiger tries to stretch out the discussion by mentioning the book that he is writing, but Joe leaves, telling Tiger to go and have his dinner.
QUESTIONS
- Why is Tiger the best person to organize the overtime labour for the American contractors?
- What is Boysie’s job on the construction site?
- What does Boysie wear to make him look American?
- How do the villagers feel about Tall Boy’s partition?
- Why did Tall Boy feel the need to put up the partition?
- What name did the American customers call Tall Boy?
- Why is Boysie so upset about the partition?
- What are Sookdeo and Tiger’s thoughts on the partition?
- Aside from his desire to eat his dinner, why is Joe annoyed at Tiger?
CHARACTERIZATION
Tall Boy
Tall Boy is opportunistic and, by extension, disloyal. His opportunistic nature is seen in the fact that he erects the partition to ensure that his best customers, the white Americans, who spend more money in his shop in one afternoon than the villagers do in a week, are comfortable. An Indian girl vomited in his shop and the American was uncomfortable, so Tall Boy took the initiative to ensure their comfort because “I know which side my bread butter” (Selvon, 36). By seeking to maintain this economic windfall, however, he is disloyal to the villagers, his original clientele, because he insults them. The insult is verbalized by Boysie, who loudly proclaims that his money is as good as the Americans’ money, so he wants to be treated equally. Sookdeo and Tiger are able to see the economic advantages of Tall Boy’s choice, and can therefore suspend their feelings of betrayal, but Boysie is unable to do so because he is just now realizing that the world is not fair and the Americans have brought the world to Barataria.
Boysie
Boysie is short-sighted. This phrase is used to describe him because when Boysie heard of the coming of the Americans, he only saw the positives for himself. He saw that he could make money to travel to America and England. He did not look beyond the financial benefits that it would have for him, to think about the impact that the American presence would have on the village of Barataria. The betrayal that he suffers at the hands of Tall Boy’s opportunism and Tiger’s open-mindedness is a testament to his short-sightedness. He did not think about how people would change when money changed hands, or when two different cultures meet.
Tiger
Tiger is open-minded. His open-mindedness is seen in the fact that he is open to the changes that the Americans make, unconsciously, by simply being in the village. One could argue that Tiger, initially, fought to keep the village in its secluded and communal state; he even called it a war, but he was outvoted and outmanned. So, now that they are in the village, the ripples of change that they bring are something that he is able to identify, understand, and accept. So he understands why Tall Boy has erected the partition, and because he knows why, he can accept it.
Joe
Joe is caring. His caring nature is seen in his annoyance that Tiger has arrived home late and drunk. He is concerned that Tiger has stopped at his house first, when his wife and child are waiting for him in their hut.
Tall Boy is opportunistic and, by extension, disloyal. His opportunistic nature is seen in the fact that he erects the partition to ensure that his best customers, the white Americans, who spend more money in his shop in one afternoon than the villagers do in a week, are comfortable. An Indian girl vomited in his shop and the American was uncomfortable, so Tall Boy took the initiative to ensure their comfort because “I know which side my bread butter” (Selvon, 36). By seeking to maintain this economic windfall, however, he is disloyal to the villagers, his original clientele, because he insults them. The insult is verbalized by Boysie, who loudly proclaims that his money is as good as the Americans’ money, so he wants to be treated equally. Sookdeo and Tiger are able to see the economic advantages of Tall Boy’s choice, and can therefore suspend their feelings of betrayal, but Boysie is unable to do so because he is just now realizing that the world is not fair and the Americans have brought the world to Barataria.
Boysie
Boysie is short-sighted. This phrase is used to describe him because when Boysie heard of the coming of the Americans, he only saw the positives for himself. He saw that he could make money to travel to America and England. He did not look beyond the financial benefits that it would have for him, to think about the impact that the American presence would have on the village of Barataria. The betrayal that he suffers at the hands of Tall Boy’s opportunism and Tiger’s open-mindedness is a testament to his short-sightedness. He did not think about how people would change when money changed hands, or when two different cultures meet.
Tiger
Tiger is open-minded. His open-mindedness is seen in the fact that he is open to the changes that the Americans make, unconsciously, by simply being in the village. One could argue that Tiger, initially, fought to keep the village in its secluded and communal state; he even called it a war, but he was outvoted and outmanned. So, now that they are in the village, the ripples of change that they bring are something that he is able to identify, understand, and accept. So he understands why Tall Boy has erected the partition, and because he knows why, he can accept it.
Joe
Joe is caring. His caring nature is seen in his annoyance that Tiger has arrived home late and drunk. He is concerned that Tiger has stopped at his house first, when his wife and child are waiting for him in their hut.
TECHNIQUE
Irony
It is ironic that Boysie, who was initially so excited about how he could exploit the coming of the Americans to do the road construction, is now suffering from their presence in his village. Boysie only focused on the opportunities that their presence would bring, not the negative impact of their presence. In this case, it is the mimicry of segregation at that time, in America, on a micro level, in Tall Boy’s shop.
Symbolism
The cap that Boysie is so excited about, the one that makes you look like an American: “you look like an American when you wear one!” (Selvon, 36), is a symbol of change. The hat symbolizes change because the focus is shifting from a communal way of life to the individualism that is associated with American culture. Tall Boy’s partition is an example of individualism because he rejects the people who have consistently supported his shop in favour of the comfort of a group, the Americans, who bring a much higher short-term value. This is individualism. If Tall Boy valued community, he would have decided to enforce the thing that ensures the comfort of the community.
Sookdeo is a symbol of knowledge. He is the fool who is, paradoxically, the wisest person in the village. He is able to clearly articulate what Tiger clumsily tries to articulate. The final symbol is the partition that was erected in Tall Boy’s shop. This partition represents the change that the Americans bring to Barataria. Before the Americans arrived, the village was communal and whole, but their arrival brought separation and conflict, as seen in the community’s response surrounding its erection; they are generally displeased, especially Boysie. It is important to note that the partition is dismantled when the Americans leave, which points to the possibility of Barataria reclaiming some aspects of community.
It is ironic that Boysie, who was initially so excited about how he could exploit the coming of the Americans to do the road construction, is now suffering from their presence in his village. Boysie only focused on the opportunities that their presence would bring, not the negative impact of their presence. In this case, it is the mimicry of segregation at that time, in America, on a micro level, in Tall Boy’s shop.
Symbolism
The cap that Boysie is so excited about, the one that makes you look like an American: “you look like an American when you wear one!” (Selvon, 36), is a symbol of change. The hat symbolizes change because the focus is shifting from a communal way of life to the individualism that is associated with American culture. Tall Boy’s partition is an example of individualism because he rejects the people who have consistently supported his shop in favour of the comfort of a group, the Americans, who bring a much higher short-term value. This is individualism. If Tall Boy valued community, he would have decided to enforce the thing that ensures the comfort of the community.
Sookdeo is a symbol of knowledge. He is the fool who is, paradoxically, the wisest person in the village. He is able to clearly articulate what Tiger clumsily tries to articulate. The final symbol is the partition that was erected in Tall Boy’s shop. This partition represents the change that the Americans bring to Barataria. Before the Americans arrived, the village was communal and whole, but their arrival brought separation and conflict, as seen in the community’s response surrounding its erection; they are generally displeased, especially Boysie. It is important to note that the partition is dismantled when the Americans leave, which points to the possibility of Barataria reclaiming some aspects of community.
CONFLICT
The conflict is man versus man. The villagers are in conflict with Tall Boy over the insult that the partition represents, and Boysie is in conflict with his friend, Tiger, who has become too open-minded due to the education that he receives from Sookdeo.
THEME
Change
Change is seen with the arrival of the Americans. One of them is uncomfortable in Tall Boy’s shop, and then a partition goes up to ensure that they are comfortable. This is an important change because it highlights that maintaining community relations and relationships is no longer important. What is important is money, making it and keeping it.
Racial Tension
Dreams and aspirations are seen in Urmilla's desire to live in a house and have furniture, while Tiger’s desire has transcended physical comforts; he wants to be educated. So these two characters are focused on escaping two different types of poverty. Urmilla is focused on improving her physical day-to-day living comforts, while Tiger wants himself and his children and their children to be educated, elevated, like Sookdeo, not chasing the dream of owning a taxi, like his father. Boysie also has aspirations; he wants to leave Trinidad and travel to America and London.
Racial tension is seen in Boysie’s reaction to Tiger’s open-mindedness. Boysie believes that Tiger is not maintaining his relationship with Indians: “you friendly with your neighbour Joe, who is Creole …You favour the white man since that doctor come when Urmilla was having the baby … and with the arrival of the Yanks on the scene, you gone mad … Boy, we is Indians together …”. So, Boysie wants Tiger to be closed-minded and prioritize his relationship with him, an Indian. This translates to Tiger siding with his worldview as a fellow Indian.
Change is seen with the arrival of the Americans. One of them is uncomfortable in Tall Boy’s shop, and then a partition goes up to ensure that they are comfortable. This is an important change because it highlights that maintaining community relations and relationships is no longer important. What is important is money, making it and keeping it.
Racial Tension
Dreams and aspirations are seen in Urmilla's desire to live in a house and have furniture, while Tiger’s desire has transcended physical comforts; he wants to be educated. So these two characters are focused on escaping two different types of poverty. Urmilla is focused on improving her physical day-to-day living comforts, while Tiger wants himself and his children and their children to be educated, elevated, like Sookdeo, not chasing the dream of owning a taxi, like his father. Boysie also has aspirations; he wants to leave Trinidad and travel to America and London.
Racial tension is seen in Boysie’s reaction to Tiger’s open-mindedness. Boysie believes that Tiger is not maintaining his relationship with Indians: “you friendly with your neighbour Joe, who is Creole …You favour the white man since that doctor come when Urmilla was having the baby … and with the arrival of the Yanks on the scene, you gone mad … Boy, we is Indians together …”. So, Boysie wants Tiger to be closed-minded and prioritize his relationship with him, an Indian. This translates to Tiger siding with his worldview as a fellow Indian.
Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Seovon, S. Highway in the Sun. Peepal Tree Press, Great Britain, 1991.
Seovon, S. Highway in the Sun. Peepal Tree Press, Great Britain, 1991.
