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WEST INDIES, U.S.A
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Stewart Brown is an English-born lecturer in Caribbean and African culture, particularly Literature, at the Centre of West African Studies, University of Birmingham. He is one of the foremost scholars of West Indian literature in the UK and has edited several seminal works on the subject. (more)
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LITERAL MEANING
The persona is travelling in a plane, looking down at San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the plane descends. He is saying that this island is the wealthiest in the Caribbean because it has won the jackpot, it has come up lucky. He then points out that he, and others, had travelled to many Caribbean islands and received a hint of the flavour of each island through its calling card, - its airport - all of which fail when compared (www.bulbsoup.com) to plush San Juan. As they land, they are instructed to stay on the plane if their destination is not San Juan. The persona takes offence and states that America does not want blacks in San Juan, implying that they might be a disruptive force. He notes the efficiency with which things flow, enabling them to take to the skies once more. During the ascent, the persona notes the contrast between the influences of the Caribbean and America. He likens San Juan to a broken TV, it looks good on the outside but is broken on the inside.
The persona is travelling in a plane, looking down at San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the plane descends. He is saying that this island is the wealthiest in the Caribbean because it has won the jackpot, it has come up lucky. He then points out that he, and others, had travelled to many Caribbean islands and received a hint of the flavour of each island through its calling card, - its airport - all of which fail when compared (www.bulbsoup.com) to plush San Juan. As they land, they are instructed to stay on the plane if their destination is not San Juan. The persona takes offence and states that America does not want blacks in San Juan, implying that they might be a disruptive force. He notes the efficiency with which things flow, enabling them to take to the skies once more. During the ascent, the persona notes the contrast between the influences of the Caribbean and America. He likens San Juan to a broken TV, it looks good on the outside but is broken on the inside.
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Cruising at thirty thousand feet above the endless green
1. the island seems like dice tossed on a casino's baize, some come up lucky, others not. Puerto Rico takes the pot, 2. the Dallas of the West Indies, 2. silver linings on the clouds 5 as we descend are hall-marked, 1. San Juan glitters like a maverick's gold ring. All across the Caribbean we'd collected terminals - 1. airports are like calling cards, cultural fingerprints; the hand written signs at Port- 10 au-Prince, Piarco's sleazy tourist art, the lethargic contempt of the baggage boys at 'Vere Bird' in St. Johns .... And now for 5. plush San Juan. But the pilot's bland, you're safe in my hands drawl crackles as we land, 15 'US regulations demand all passengers not disembarking at San Juan stay on the plane, I repeat, stay on the plane.' 3. Subtle Uncle Sam, afraid too many 6. desperate blacks might re-enslave 4. this Island of the free, might jump the barbed 20 electric fence around 7. 'America's back yard' and claim that vaunted sanctuary ..... 3. 'give me your poor .....' Through toughened, tinted glass 8. the contrasts tantalise; US patrol cars glide across the shimmering tarmac, containered baggage trucks unload with 9. fierce efficiency. 25 So soon we're climbing, low above the pulsing city streets; galvanized shanties overseen by condominiums polished Cadillacs shimmying with pushcarts and as we climb, San-Juan's 10. fools-glitter calls to mind 30 the shattered innards of a TV set that's fallen off the back of a lorry, all painted valves and circuits 1. the road like twisted wires, the bright cars, micro-chips. 11. It's sharp and jagged and dangerous, and belonged to some-one else. Poet: Stewart Brown |
LITERARY DEVICES
1. SIMILE
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3. SARCASM
- Stanza 3, line 17: This statement means the exact opposite of what is stated. The persona is disgusted that Uncle Sam (America) would have such a regulation. This regulation bars anyone from stepping a toe on Puerto Rican soil if it is not your intended destination. You just have to remain in the aircraft, no matter the waiting (www.bulbsoup.com) period, until it is time for takeoff. The persona believes that the Americans are being blatantly discriminatory, and are attempting to camouflage it through the use of regulations. He does not believe that they have achieved their goal of subtlety.
- Stanza 4, line 21: The statement, 'give me your poor...' is particularly sarcastic because it is a direct quote from the New Colossus, which rests on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty, and signifies that the disenfranchised of the world are welcome. The persona, as a member of the 'disenfranchised' masses, clearly feels unwelcomed. The persona implies that America is all talk and no action. They really do not want the poor because they bar them from entering and expediently send them on their way when they enter their airport. The statement is sarcastic because it is loaded with an alternate meaning, due to the contrast in statement and action.
- Stanza 3, line 18: The pun is placed on 'land of the free', it becomes 'Island of the free'. This pun emphasizes how isolated Puerto Rico is from the rest of the Caribbean (www.bulbsoup.com) islands. It belongs to the U.S.A. This state of belonging to, or being owned by the US is asserted through its insertion into the Star Spangled Banner.
- The contrast in this poem is found in stanza 5. The American cars etc., against the pushcarts. The American culture versus the Puerto Rican culture.
IMPORTANT WORDS/ PHRASES
5. 'plush' (Stanza 2, line 12)
This word implies soft, like a teddy bear. It also implies luxury. So San Juan is all of these things.
6. 'desperate blacks might re-enslave this Island of the free' (Stanza 2, lines 17-18)
These 'desperate blacks' to whom the persona is referring are the poor people of the Caribbean. If they converge on the glistening San Juan, sucking up its resources, then it might become re-enslaved by poverty.
7. 'America's back yard' (Stanza 4, lines 20-21)
A backyard means one of two things for people. It is a haven where you relax, therefore you decorate it and invest time and money in it. Or, you ignore it and spend all your time indoors, not (www.bulbsoup.com) investing any time, energy, or money in it. America viewed Puerto Rico as the latter, a prize in which it saw value. Therefore, when the persona uses this phrase, he is implying that while it is valued, it is still at the back. Slight sarcasm is being used here.
8. 'the contrasts tantalise' (Stanza 4, line 22)
When something, or someone, is tantalising, it implies that it is intriguing. The persona, by using this phrase, is trying to draw the readers' attention to the jarring contrasts by stating that he finds them intriguing.
9. 'fierce efficiency' (Stanza 4, line 24)
The word fierce, used to describe the level of efficiency with which the people worked to get the plane off the ground, shows the extent to which they were not wanted on the island.
10. 'fools-glitter' (Stanza 5, line 29)
This implies that the flashiness of San Juan was not authentic.
11.'It's sharp and jagged and dangerous, and belonged to some-one else.' (Stanza 6, line 34)
This implies that San Juan is not safe. The cultures are not melding, but jarring against each other. The reason for this is because it belongs to someone else.
5. 'plush' (Stanza 2, line 12)
This word implies soft, like a teddy bear. It also implies luxury. So San Juan is all of these things.
6. 'desperate blacks might re-enslave this Island of the free' (Stanza 2, lines 17-18)
These 'desperate blacks' to whom the persona is referring are the poor people of the Caribbean. If they converge on the glistening San Juan, sucking up its resources, then it might become re-enslaved by poverty.
7. 'America's back yard' (Stanza 4, lines 20-21)
A backyard means one of two things for people. It is a haven where you relax, therefore you decorate it and invest time and money in it. Or, you ignore it and spend all your time indoors, not (www.bulbsoup.com) investing any time, energy, or money in it. America viewed Puerto Rico as the latter, a prize in which it saw value. Therefore, when the persona uses this phrase, he is implying that while it is valued, it is still at the back. Slight sarcasm is being used here.
8. 'the contrasts tantalise' (Stanza 4, line 22)
When something, or someone, is tantalising, it implies that it is intriguing. The persona, by using this phrase, is trying to draw the readers' attention to the jarring contrasts by stating that he finds them intriguing.
9. 'fierce efficiency' (Stanza 4, line 24)
The word fierce, used to describe the level of efficiency with which the people worked to get the plane off the ground, shows the extent to which they were not wanted on the island.
10. 'fools-glitter' (Stanza 5, line 29)
This implies that the flashiness of San Juan was not authentic.
11.'It's sharp and jagged and dangerous, and belonged to some-one else.' (Stanza 6, line 34)
This implies that San Juan is not safe. The cultures are not melding, but jarring against each other. The reason for this is because it belongs to someone else.
THEMATIC CATEGORY: Discrimination, Desire, Places
ATMOSPHERE
The mood of the poem is perturbed.
The tone of the poem is slightly bitter, which is fueled by the sarcastic atmosphere.
The mood of the poem is perturbed.
The tone of the poem is slightly bitter, which is fueled by the sarcastic atmosphere.
Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Brown, S. 'West Indies, U.S.A' in A World of Poetry. Edited by Mark McWatt and Hazel Simmonds McDonald. Pearson Education Ltd, 2005.
Brown, S. 'West Indies, U.S.A' in A World of Poetry. Edited by Mark McWatt and Hazel Simmonds McDonald. Pearson Education Ltd, 2005.
